Homelessness and homelessness services is an Australia's welfare topic

People experiencing homelessness, and those at risk of homelessness (see glossary), are among Australia’s most socially and economically disadvantaged. To support Australians at risk of or experiencing homelessness, governments across Australia fund housing and homelessness services. These services are mainly delivered by non–government organisations, including those specialising in delivering services to specific target groups (such as young people or people experiencing family and domestic violence) and those providing more general services to people facing housing crises (AIHW 2022).

The data on specialist homelessness services (SHS) (see glossary) on this page are drawn from the Specialist homelessness services annual report.

Why do people experience homelessness?

Homelessness can be the result of many social, economic and health–related factors. Individual factors, such as low educational attainment, whether someone is working, experience of family and domestic violence, ill health (including mental health issues) and disability, trauma, and substance misuse may make a person more at risk of becoming homeless (Fitzpatrick et al. 2013). Structural factors, including lack of adequate income and limited access to affordable and available housing, also contribute to risk of homelessness (Johnson et al. 2015; Wood et al. 2015). Determining how individual and structural risk factors interact to influence a person’s vulnerability to, and experience of, homelessness is an important ongoing focus of homelessness research (Culhane et al. 2020; Lee et al. 2010).

Defining homelessness

There is no single definition of homelessness.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) defines homelessness, for the purposes of the Census of Population and Housing, as the lack of one or more elements that represent ‘home’.

The ABS statistical definition of homelessness is ‘… when a person does not have suitable accommodation alternatives they are considered homeless if their current living arrangement:

  • is in a dwelling that is inadequate;
  • has no tenure, or if their initial tenure is short and not extendable; or
  • does not allow them to have control of, and access to space for social relations’ (ABS 2012).

The SHS collection is the national dataset about specialist support provided to Australians who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. It considers that a person is homeless if they are living in non–conventional accommodation (such as living on the street), or short–term or emergency accommodation (such as living temporarily with friends and relatives) (AIHW 2024).

People experiencing homelessness

On ABS Census night in 2021, more than 122,000 people were estimated to be experiencing homelessness in Australia – 56% were male, 21% were aged 25–34 and 20% were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people (ABS 2023). The highest rate of homelessness was in the Northern Territory (564 people per 10,000 population), while the lowest was in Western Australia (37 people per 10,000).

At this time, around 47,900 (39%) people were living in severely crowded dwellings. Over 24,300 (20%) were living in supported accommodation for the homeless and 7,600 (6.2%) were rough sleepers (Table 1).

Table 1: Number of homeless persons, by homelessness type, Census night 2021

Type of homelessness

Number

People living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out (rough sleepers)

7,636

People in supported accommodation for the homeless

24,291

People staying temporarily with other households

16,597

People living in boarding houses

22,137

People in other temporary lodgings

3,934

People living in ‘severely’ crowded dwellings

47,895

All homeless persons

122,494

Source: ABS 2023.

Trends in the number of people experiencing homelessness

The estimated number of people experiencing homelessness in Australia on Census nights has grown, from 95,300 in 2001 to 122,000 in 2021, with figures rising progressively from 89,700 in 2006, 102,000 in 2011, and 116,000 in 2016 (ABS 2018; ABS 2023).

Over the same period, the rate of homelessness in Australia has fluctuated between 51 people per 10,000 population in 2001 and 48 in 2021 (Figure 1). The rate fell between the last 2 Census collections; from 50 people per 10,000 in 2016 to 48 in 2021 (ABS 2023).

Between 2011 and 2021, most of the increase in the rate of homelessness was due to people living in severely crowded dwellings, increasing from 41,400 people in 2011 to 47,900 in 2021 (ABS 2023).

Figure 1: Rate of homelessness, people per 10,000 population, by homelessness group, 2001 to 2021

This vertical bar chart shows that the rate of homelessness has changed from 50.8 per 10,000 population in 2001, to 45.2 per 10,000 population in 2006, 47.6 per 10,000 population in 2011, 49.8 per 10,000 population in 2016 and 48.2 per 10,000 population in 2021.

This vertical bar chart shows that the rate of homelessness has changed from 50.8 per 10,000 population in 2001, to 45.2 per 10,000 population in 2006, 47.6 per 10,000 population in 2011, 49.8 per 10,000 population in 2016 and 48.2 per 10,000 population in 2021.

Note: Homelessness groups are mutually exclusive, therefore persons will only appear in one category.

Source: ABS 2023

Homelessness services

SHS agencies receive government funding to provide assistance to both people experiencing and people at risk of homelessness. The services are aimed at prevention, early intervention, crisis and post crisis assistance and include accommodation-related services and personal services. SHS agencies vary in size and in the types of assistance provided.

In 2024–25, about 289,000 clients were assisted; a rate of 106.3 clients per 10,000 population, or 1.1% of the Australian population (AIHW 2024). Most clients were at risk of experiencing homelessness (51% or 139,000 clients) when first presenting to SHS in 2024–25. Another 133,000 clients (49%) were experiencing homelessness. Housing status at the start of support was unknown for around 16,900 SHS clients.

SHS agencies have supported more than 1.7 million Australians since the collection began on 1 July 2011 (AIHW 2024).

Characteristics of SHS clients

Of the 280,000 clients SHS agencies assisted in 2024–25:

  • 6 in 10 were females (60% or 174,000 clients)
  • 1 in 6 were children under the age of 10 (15% or 44,600 clients)
  • 1 in 10 were children and youth aged 10–17 (12% or 34,200 clients)
  • the largest age group of adult clients was those aged 35–44 (18% of all clients or 52,400 clients)
  • about 17,000 were women aged 55 and older (9.8% of total female clients) and 14,700 were men aged 55 and older (13% of total male clients)
  • 1 in 3 (29% or 83,700) clients were living as a single parent with one or more children when they sought support (AIHW 2024).

Australians known to be at particular risk of homelessness include those who have experienced family and domestic violence, young people, children on care and protection orders, First Nations people, people leaving health or social care arrangements, and older Australians.

In 2024–25, around 116,500 SHS clients had experienced family and domestic violence at some point during the reporting period (Table 2). Some SHS client groups were more likely than other groups to be experiencing homelessness at the beginning of support, including clients with problematic drug or alcohol issues (61% of the cohort), clients who are current or former members of the Australian Defence Force (57%), and children and young people receiving support alone (55%).

Table 2: Characteristics of SHS client groups of interest, 2024–25
Client groupNumber of clientsFemale
(%)

Experiencing Homelessness at the beginning of support

(%)

Median length of support (days)Receiving accommodation
(%)
Older people (55 years or older)31,70054384920
Children and young people receiving support alone40,50065516631
First Nations people82,90061486139
Exiting custodial arrangements 8,80021304528
Care and protection orders 8,500525310944
Current mental health issues88,80063518934
Family and domestic violence 116,50075417637
Clients with disability9,10051609032
Problematic drug and/or alcohol use24,600495610847

Note: Clients may be in one or more client vulnerability group. Client vulnerabilities groups are domestic and family violence, mental health, and problematic drug and/or alcohol.

Source: AIHW 2025

For evidence summaries about key SHS client groups, see: Older clients, Children and young clients, First Nations clients, Clients exiting custodial arrangements, Clients on care and protection order, Clients with a current mental health issue, Clients experiencing family and domestic violence, Clients with disability, and Clients with problematic drug and/or alcohol use.

Trends in clients assisted by SHS agencies

The number of clients assisted by SHS agencies each year decreased from around 290,000 people in 2019–20 to about 289,000 in 2024–25 (Table 3). Over the same period, the:

  • rate of all SHS clients decreased from 114.6 to 106.3 clients per 10,000 population
  • number of support days increased by 4.3 million days, from 26.1 to 30.4 million.

Over the period 2019–20 to 2024–25, among client groups of interest within the total SHS client population, the:

  • proportions of some cohorts increased: older clients (from 8.4% to 11%), clients with current mental health issues (30% to 31%), and First Nations clients (27% to 29%)
  • proportions of some cohorts decreased: clients with problematic drug and/or alcohol use (from 9.8% to 8.5%) and clients experiencing family and domestic violence decreased (from 41% to 40%)
  • other client groups remained stable in this time frame.

The fastest growing client groups of interest during 2019–20 to 2024–25 were older clients (from 35 to 41 people per 10,000 population) and First Nations clients (from 714 to 784 people per 10,000 population).

Table 3: SHS clients, by number, rate, housing situation at the beginning of support, and length of support, 2020–21 to 2024–25

SHS clients

2020–21

2021–22

2022–23

2023–242024–25

Number of clients

278,275

272,694

273,648

280,078288,970

Rate (per 10,000 population(a)

108.5

106.2

105.2

105.1106.3

Homeless (per cent)(b)

46

46

47

4849

At risk of homelessness (per cent)(b)

54

54

53

5251

Total days of support (millions)

27.7

28.2

28.4

29.330.4

Length of support (median number of days)

51

53

56

5858

Median number of nights accommodated

31

32

31

3334
  1. Rates are crude rates based on the Australian estimated resident population (ERP) at 30 June of the reference year. Minor adjustments in rates may occur between publications reflecting revision of the ERP by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
  2. Homeless and at risk of homelessness are a client’s housing situation at the beginning of the first support period.

Source: AIHW Specialist Homelessness Services Collection, 2019–20 to 2024–25.

Between 2011–12 and 2024–25, the rate of SHS clients was highest in 2016–17, decreasing in more recent years. The overall rate for female clients increased from around 124.4 clients per 10,000 population in 2011–12 to 126.9 in 2024–25; the rate of male clients declined from 87.1 in 2011–12 to 85.4 in 2024–25 (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Rate of SHS clients by sex, 2011–12 to 2024–25


Source: AIHW Specialist Homelessness Services Collection, 2011–12 to 2024–25.

Data gaps and development activities in homelessness data

Limitations

Homelessness data in Australia is limited by several factors. The ABS Census, conducted every five years, provides a key snapshot on actual numbers of people experiencing homelessness, but cannot capture trends more frequently. The Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) data, collected monthly from around 1,800 service providers, offers more timely insights; however, the collection is limited to data on persons who have sought support from government funded organisations.

Additionally, recent research reported on the increasing rates of support services reaching capacity, closing their doors and turning off phones. This has been linked to increasing worker burnout within support services and has been observed across the industry (Jackson and Blane 2024).

As a result, while the SHS collection captures data on those who have received support from government funded SHS agencies it is an incomplete picture of the need for homelessness services across the country.

Development activities

To address these gaps, the National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness has introduced a Data Improvement Work Plan (Australian Government 2024). The Work Plan aims to enhance homelessness and social housing data, improve existing datasets, and create linkages between different datasets to gain a more comprehensive understanding of individuals’ housing experiences.

A key initiative of the Work Plan is to link service-based housing and homelessness datasets. This would improve understanding of the pathways people take when accessing services and support better decision-making about service provision. The AIHW is contributing to the development of consistent methods for linking datasets.

 Recently, the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC), Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services (AODTS), and the National Death Index (NDI) were linked to create the NACS linked dataset. This integrated data is being used to inform continued feature analysis, supporting deeper insights into service interactions and outcomes.

Where do I go for more information?

For further information on homelessness and homelessness services, see:

For more on this topic, see Homelessness services.