National Housing and Homelessness Agreement Indicators
People experiencing homelessness or situations placing them at risk of homelessness can receive assistance from specialist homelessness services (SHS).
The National Housing and Homelessness Agreement (NHHA) aims to improve access to safe, affordable and sustainable housing and to prevent and address homelessness, and to support social and economic participation. The indicators presented here are two of the agreed National performance indicators set out in the agreement, namely:
- Indicator (h) a decrease in the number of people that experience repeat homelessness, and
- Indicator (i) an increase in the proportion of people who are at risk of homelessness that receive assistance to avoid homelessness.
These indicators will be used to report the progress against the objectives and outcomes of the NHHA. The data cannot be interpreted as an estimate of prevalence of homelessness or population level need for specialist homelessness services. Interpretation of trends based on four observations may not be statistically robust. Comparisons between states and territories should be made with caution given the differing models of support delivered through the SHS system in each state/territory.
NHHA client cohort groups are not mutually exclusive and SHS clients may be included in more than one cohort group.
See the Supporting technical information section below for more detail on each of the indicators presented, and the Explanatory Notes for state/territory specific data quality issues.
The data visualisation shows an interactive display of data for the NHHA Performance Indicator (h) “A decrease in the number of people that experience repeat homelessness” and Indicator (i) “An increase in the proportion of people who are at risk of homelessness that receive assistance to avoid homelessness”. All data are presented for the period 2018–19 to 2021–22, by state and NHHA client cohort groups. Two line charts are shown for Indicator (h): People experiencing persistent homelessness, and People returning to homelessness. Two line charts are shown for Indicator (i): People that avoided homelessness – client level, and People that avoided homelessness – service level, by sex. Data are available in the file available for download on this webpage.
Source data: SHS indicator data tables 2021–22
Supporting technical information
The data reflect high level insights into the SHS support system in each state or territory. Under the NHHA, state and territory governments are responsible for the delivery of homelessness services to support local needs, which means that each state and territory funds specific services through the SHS system, taking into consideration all other programs and services delivered through other funding pathways in the individual state or territory. The result is that the profile of SHS clients and their needs may differ between states and territories and therefore comparisons between the states and territories may not be valid.
More detailed information about how the data is collected and how the indicators are derived is available in the Supplementary technical documentation.
Describes the number of SHS clients who have been homeless for more than 7 months over a 24-months study period, that is, 30% of the study period. The homeless months do not need be consecutive. Clients must have at least one support period with a homeless housing status during the specific financial year, e.g. 2021–22. Data is based on the housing situation recorded on the last service provision date of each month during a client’s support period, therefore, may not reflect whether a client was continuously homeless over the entire period.
For example, for the 2021–22 financial year:
- A client is in scope if they have at least one support period between July 2021 and June 2022.
- If the in-scope client’s final support month is September 2021, then their monthly housing statuses are assessed back over 24-month period from September 2021 (i.e., October 2019 to September 2021) to identify whether the client has been homeless for more than 7 months during that period. If yes, then the client is considered to have experienced persistent homelessness.
This indicator identifies clients with a more chronic experience of homelessness than other clients. The identified cohort is not mutually exclusive with clients who return to homelessness after achieving housing. A persistently homeless client can be counted as:
- a persistent homelessness but not a return to homelessness client, or
- a return to homelessness and a persistent homelessness client.
For more detailed information on the methodology behind this indicator, see the Technical Specifications in the Supplementary technical documentation.
Describes the number of SHS clients who experienced an episode of homelessness during the financial year and a pattern of homeless–housed–homeless in the 24-months prior to the most recent record of homelessness. Data is based on the housing situation recorded on the last service provision date of each month during a client’s support period, therefore, may not reflect whether a client had continuous days experiencing homeless or more secure housing.
For example, for the 2021–22 financial year:
- A client is in scope if they have at least one support period with a monthly housing status of homeless between July 2021 and June 2022.
- If the in-scope client’s last homeless month is September 2021, then their monthly housing statuses are assessed back over 24-month period from September 2021 (i.e., October 2019 to September 2021) to identify whether the client has experienced a homeless–housed–homeless pattern in any time during that 24-month period. If yes, then the client is considered to be returning to homelessness after achieving housing.
This indicator identifies clients who return to homelessness after achieving housing. The identified cohort is not mutually exclusive with clients who experience persistent homelessness. A return to homelessness client can be counted as:
- a return to homelessness but not a persistent homelessness client, or
- a return to homelessness and a persistent homelessness client.
For more detailed information on the methodology behind this indicator, see the Technical Specifications in the Supplementary technical documentation.
Measures whether an SHS client who presented to an SHS agency at risk of homelessness within the first six months of a financial year was assisted to avoid homelessness over the following six months.
Clients:
- must have been at risk of homelessness at any time during the first 6 months of the reporting period
- who completed their support period after the follow up period or whose housing status during the follow up period was not stated were not included in this indicator.
The follow up period is derived by incrementing the start date by 6 months. For example, for the in scope period from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2021, if a client’s first at-risk support period commenced on 20 August 2021 then the follow up period would commence on 20 August 2021 and end on 20 February 2022.
| Date/s | Nomenclature |
|---|---|
| 1 Jul 2021 to 31 Dec 2021 | In scope period |
| 20 Aug 2021 | Example, First recorded in scope ‘At risk’ support period |
| 20 Aug 2021 to 20 Feb 2022 | Follow up period |
For more detailed information on the methodology behind this indicator, see the Technical Specifications in the Supplementary technical documentation.
Measures whether SHS clients at risk of homelessness were assisted to avoid homelessness over the period of an individual support period.
The indicator is derived from support periods; the period of time during which a client is receiving SHS support. A client’s housing status (that is, either at risk of homelessness or homeless) must be known at both the time of presentation and the end of the support period. Data are limited to only include those support periods which began and ended during the financial year reported period.
For more detailed information on the methodology behind this indicator, see the Technical Specifications in the Supplementary technical documentation.
Supplementary technical documentation outlining the calculation of the indicators, logic diagrams explaining visually how clients are included and excluded in the calculation of the indicators, as well as an explanation of how state/territory counting rules are applied, is available for both indicators: