Homelessness services

Australia’s welfare 2019: in brief tells the story of welfare in Australia with key findings on housing, education and skills, employment and work, income and finance: government payments, social support, justice and safety, and Indigenous Australians.

Australia’s welfare 2019 is the 14th biennial welfare report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. This edition introduces a new format and expanded product suite:

• Australia’s welfare 2019: data insights
• Australia’s welfare snapshots
• Australia’s welfare 2019: in brief
• Australia’s welfare indicators

In 2018 most tenants in social housing were satisfied with services from their housing provider. Nearly all tenants cited feeling more settled and being able to manage their rent better as benefits of living in social housing. Australia-wide, satisfaction is high (3 in 4 tenants are satisfied), but there are differences between housing programs and states and territories. The most important explanation for these differences is variation in the structural condition of dwellings between populations.

At a glance summary with data visualisations was added in July 2019.

Two short supplementary reports were added in July 2019.

Short-term or emergency accommodation is a service provided for the homeless, and those at risk of homelessness. This report explores the circumstances, experiences and housing outcomes of clients in short-term or emergency accommodation who sought assistance from specialist homelessness services between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2015.

Based on service use patterns across a 4-year period, this comprehensive analysis highlights the diversity and the complexities of the short-term or emergency accommodation population.

The SHSC data cubes are a subset of the SHSC dataset and contain data for 2011–12 to 2017–18, where available.

New for 2017–18 are data on the geographical location of clients.

Couch surfers are among the most hidden groups of people experiencing homelessness. This report explores the circumstances, experiences and housing outcomes of couch surfers who sought assistance from specialist homelessness services between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2015. Based on service use patterns across a 4–year period, this comprehensive analysis highlights the diversity and the complexities of the couch surfer population. 

The Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC) describes all clients who receive services from specialist homelessness agencies and the assistance they receive, including clients with an alcohol and other drug issue.

In 2016–17, there were almost 241,000 SHS clients aged 10 years or over, and of these 11% (27,295) were clients with a current alcohol and other drug issue.

This proportion has remained relatively stable since the SHSC commenced in 2011–12.

Rough sleepers are the most visible population experiencing homelessness. This report explores the circumstances, experiences and housing outcomes of rough sleepers who sought assistance from specialist homelessness services between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2015.

Based on service use patterns across a 4-year period, this comprehensive analysis highlights the diversity and the complexities of the rough sleeper population.

Family, domestic and sexual violence is a major health and welfare issue. It occurs across all ages, socioeconomic and demographic groups but mainly affects women and children. Indigenous women, young women and pregnant women are particularly at risk. This report explores the extent, impact and cost of family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia, and looks at what could be done to fill important data gaps.  

The specialist homelessness services 2016–17 web report is the sixth annual report from the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC). It describes the characteristics of clients of specialist homelessness services, the services requested, outcomes achieved, and unmet requests for services during 2016–17.

This report was first published on 14 December 2017. Additional material was added on 12 February 2018:

• fact sheets,
• historical data and
• an interactive data visualization.

The specialist homelessness services 2015–16 web report is the fifth annual report from the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC). It describes the characteristics of clients of specialist homelessness services, the services requested, outcomes achieved, and unmet requests for services during 2015–16.

This report reveals that individuals who experience multiple, cross-sector services in the specialist homelessness, protection or youth justice service areas are a particularly vulnerable group. Clients experiencing 2 or more of these services were more likely than specialist homelessness services-only clients: to report having substance use issues; to report having mental health issues; to have an over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; and to receive more days of support and more support periods from specialist homelessness services agencies.

Clients who approach Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) for assistance do so for a variety of different reasons, but similarly they all have a lack of suitable housing or are facing the prospect of losing their current housing. This web report examines the key characteristics of SHS clients who present to services for assistance in one of three cohorts: rough sleepers, couch surfers, or resident of short-term or emergency accommodation.

There is much research to suggest a considerable overlap between people experiencing precarious housing, and drug and alcohol misuse. Linking client data from specialist homelessness services and alcohol and other drug treatment services, this report provides a picture of the intersection of these two issues on a national scale. It reveals a vulnerable population, in which Indigenous Australians and experiences of domestic and family violence and mental health issues were all over-represented. Their poorer drug treatment and housing outcomes highlight the level of difficulty faced in assisting these people to achieve long-term outcomes.

Domestic and family violence causes considerable disruption to the lives of Australian families, with many affected seeking alternative accommodation; this puts them at an increased risk of falling into homelessness. The report, Domestic and family violence and homelessness 2011–12 to 2013–14, is the first of its kind to examine multiple years of homelessness data. The report describes the characteristics of clients of specialist homelessness services who sought assistance for domestic and family violence, the services requested, outcomes achieved, and unmet requests for services between 2011–12 and 2013–14.

The Specialist homelessness services 2014–15 web report is the fourth annual report from the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection and the first presented as a web report. It describes the characteristics of clients of specialist homelessness services, the services requested, outcomes achieved, and unmet requests for services during 2014–15.

This report provides an overview of the national findings of the 2014 National Social Housing Survey. The report shows that the majority of tenants are satisfied with the services provided by their housing organisation, with community housing tenants the most satisfied. Tenants report a range of benefits from living in social housing and the majority live in dwellings of an acceptable standard.

This report is the first of its kind produced by the AIHW linking homelessness and public housing data in order to better understand the clients of both. The report shows that specialist homelessness agencies were very successful in assisting clients to sustain their public housing tenancies.

This is the third annual report of the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection. Over the past three years, agencies have supported more than half a million Australians who were homeless or at risk of homelessness. In 2013-14, specialist homelessness services assisted around 254,000 clients, a 4% increase from the previous year. The report describes the clients that have received specialist homelessness support, the assistance they sought and were provided, and the outcomes achieved for those clients. For the first time, data about clients with a disability are included in the report.

This report presents information on trends and issues in housing policy, housing affordability and housing assistance provided to populations with special needs. As housing and rental affordability declines, the need for housing assistance continues to increase, with 1.3 million recipients of Commonwealth Rental Assistance and over 400,000 households living in social housing. Of those households who were recently provided assistance through social housing, the majority were identified as either homeless or at risk of homelessness.