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 2022).

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%) 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 rate of homelessness in Australia has fluctuated between 51 people per 10,000 population in 2001 and 48 in 2021 (ABS 2023). The rate fell between the last 2 Census collections; from 50 people per 10,000 in 2016 to 48 in 2021. Census data shows that:

  • 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. 
  • From 2011 to 2021, the number of people living in boarding houses increased by 48%, from 14,900 in 2011 to 22,100 in 2021.
  • The number of people living in other temporary lodgings increased by almost 5-fold, from 700 in 2016 to 3,900 in 2021 (Figure 1).

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 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 2022–23, about 274,000 clients were assisted; a rate of 105.2 clients per 10,000 population, or 1.1% of the Australian population (AIHW 2023). Most clients were at risk of experiencing homelessness (53% or 130,000 clients) when first presenting to SHS. Another 116,000 clients (47%) were homeless. Housing status at the start of support was unknown for around 27,000 SHS clients.

SHS agencies have supported more than 1.6 million Australians since the collection began on 1 July 2011 (AIHW 2023).

Characteristics of SHS clients

Of the 274,000 clients SHS agencies assisted in 2022–23:

  • 6 in 10 were female (59% or 162,000 clients)
  • 1 in 6 were children under the age of 10 (16% or 43,200 clients)
  • 1 in 10 were children and youth aged 10–17 (12% or 32,800 clients)
  • the largest age group of adult clients was those aged 25–34 (18% of all clients or 50,000 clients)
  • about 14,400 were women aged 55 or older (8.8% of total female clients) and 12,900 were men aged 55 or older (12% of total male clients)
  • 1 in 3 (35% or 90,100) clients were living as a single parent with one or more children when they sought support (AIHW 2023).

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 2022–23, around 104,000 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 (60% of the cohort), young people aged 15–24 presenting alone (55%) and clients who are current or former members of the Australian Defence Force (55%).

Table 2: Characteristics of SHS client groups of interest, 2022–23

Client group

Number of clients

Female

(%)

Homeless at the beginning of support

(%)

Median length of support (days)

Receiving accommodation

(%)

Family and domestic violence

104,000 

75

43

72

39

Current mental health issues

85,300

63

51

88

35

Indigenous Australians

74,700

62

50

58

39

Young people presenting alone
(15–24 years)

38,300

65

55

64

32

Older people (55 years or older)

27,300

53

38

45

19

Problematic drug or alcohol issues

23,500

48

60

116

49

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 2023.

Trends in clients assisted by SHS agencies

The number of clients assisted by SHS agencies each year decreased from around 290,000 people in 2018–19 to about 274,000 in 2022–23 (Table 3). Over the same period, the:

  • rate of all SHS clients decreased from 116.3 to 105.2 clients per 10,000 population
  • number of support days increased by 2.4 million days, from 26.0 to 28.4 million.
Table 3: SHS clients, by number, rate and housing situation at the beginning of support, 2018–19 to 2022–23

SHS clients

2018–19

2019–20

2020–21

2021–22

2022–23

Number of clients

290,317

290,462

278,275

272,694

273,648

Rate (per 10,000 population)1

116.3

114.6

108.5

106.2

105.2

Homeless (per cent)2

44

45

46

46

47

At risk of homelessness (per cent) 2

56

55

54

54

53

Total days of support (millions)

26.0

26.1

27.7

28.2

28.4

Length of support (median number of days)

44

43

51

53

56

Median number of nights accommodated

29

28

31

32

31

Notes:

  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: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2018–19 to 2022–23.

Between 2011–12 and 2022–23, the rate of SHS clients was highest in 2016–17, decreasing in more recent years. The overall rate for female clients decreased from around 124.4 clients per 10,000 population in 2011–12 to 124.0 in 2022–23; the rate of male clients declined from 87.1 in 2011–12 to 86.2 in 2022–23 (Figure 2). 

Figure 2: Rate of SHS clients by sex, 2011–12 to 2021–22

This line graph shows that the rate of all clients assisted by specialist homelessness agencies increased from around 105.8 clients per 10,000 population in 2011–12 to 106.2 in 2021–22. The rate for female clients increased from around 124.4 in 2011–12 to 127.1 in 2021–22; the rate for male clients declined from 87.1 in 2011–12 to 84.9 in 2021–22.

Source: AIHW Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2011–12 to 2021–22.

Where do I go for more information?

For further information on homelessness and homelessness services, see: