Specialist homelessness services annual report 2023–24

In 2020–2022, around 2 in every 5 (39%) people aged 16–85 with a history of homelessness experienced a mental health condition within the past year, almost twice as high as the general Australian population (21%) (ABS 2023). While the environmental stressors of homelessness can contribute to mental health issues, mental health issues can also contribute to the risk of experiencing homelessness (Moschion and Ours 2021, Brackertz et al. 2020).

For more information on people with mental health issues, and the policy landscape and government response, please see Clients with a current mental health issue.

Client characteristics

Figure MH.1: Key demographics, SHS clients with a current mental health issue, 2023–24

Labour force status

Around 17 in 20 clients with a current mental health issue (aged 15 and older) were not working in a paid job (85% or 68,600 clients) in 2023–24 (Supplementary table MH.7). More than half (53%) of clients were looking for work (that is, unemployed) and one-third (32%) were not in the labour force. Around 3 in 20 clients (15%) with a current mental health issue were employed.

Service use patterns

Patterns of service use have been stable in recent years. In 2023–24, clients received a median of 88 days of support, an average of 2.3 support periods per client, and a median of 49 nights of accommodation, similar to 2022–23 (Supplementary table CLIENTS.48).

New or returning clients

In 2023–24, among SHS clients with a current mental health issue (Supplementary table CLIENTS.42):

• 7 in 10 (72% or 63,200 clients) were returning clients, that is, clients had received assistance from a SHS agency some time since July 2011 onwards.
• 3 in 10 (28% or 25,000) were new to SHS agencies.

Clients’ needs and main reason for assistance

Main reasons for seeking assistance

In 2023–24, the main reason that clients with a current mental health issue sought assistance from a SHS agency was not commonly related to mental health issues (4.0% or 3,500 clients). Instead, the main reasons for seeking assistance were for (Supplementary table MH.5):

• housing crisis (20% or 18,000 clients)
• family and domestic violence (19% or 16,800)
• inadequate or inappropriate dwelling conditions (13% or 11,300).

Among those experiencing homelessness, the main reason was housing crisis (23% or 10,200 clients), while for those at risk of homelessness it was family and domestic violence (23% or 9,300) (Supplementary table MH.6).

Services needed and provided

Services provided to clients range from the direct provision of accommodation, such as a bed in a shelter, to more specialised services such as counselling and legal support. These services are generally either provided to the client directly by the agency or the client is referred to another SHS agency or other specialised service. 

In 2023–24, assistance with accessing mental health services was relatively common, with more than one-quarter (26% or 23,000) of clients with a current mental health issue needing assistance with mental health-based services (Figure MH.2, Supplementary table MH.2). Specifically:

• 24% (21,000 clients) needed mental health services; with 10,000 of these clients provided with this type of service.
• 8.0% (7,100 clients) identified a need for psychological services; 2,300 of these clients had this need met.
• 5.2% (4,600 clients) identified a need for psychiatric services; 1,500 of these clients had this need met.

Other services most commonly needed by clients with a current mental health issue during 2023–24 were:

• short-term or emergency accommodation (47%, 42,000 clients), with 22,300 clients provided this assistance
• material aid/brokerage (48%, 42,000 clients), with 37,000 clients provided this assistance.

Figure MH.2: Clients with a current mental health issue, by services needed and provided, 2023–24

Housing situation and outcomes

Outcomes presented here highlight the changes in clients’ housing situation at the start and end of support. That is, the place they were residing before and after they were supported by a SHS agency. The information presented is limited only to clients who have stopped receiving support during the financial year and who were no longer receiving ongoing support from a SHS agency. That is, information on client housing situations at the start of their first period of support during 2023–24 is compared with the client housing situation at the end of their last period of support in 2023–24. As such, this information does not cover any changes to their housing situation during their support period.

By the end of support, many clients with a current mental health issue had achieved or progressed towards a more stable housing situation. That is, the number or proportion of clients ending support in public/community housing or private housing had increased compared with the start of support.

In 2023–24, of those who were known to be experiencing homelessness at the start of support (around 28,500 clients) (Figure MH.3, Supplementary table MH.3):

• More than 10,800 clients were in short-term accommodation at the start of support; around 4,400 of these clients remained at the end of support.  
• Fewer clients were homeless when support ended (around 16,600 clients).
• Clients were mostly either in short-term accommodation (6,800 clients) or couch surfing (5,500 clients) at the end of support.
• About 4,300 clients were living in public/community housing and 4,500 in private housing by the end of support.

In 2023–24, of those who were known to be at risk of homelessness at the start of support (28,300 clients), most clients maintained their housing situation at the end of support; around 14,000 clients maintained private housing and around 5,100 clients maintained public/community housing.

Figure MH.3: Housing situation for clients with a current mental health issue with closed support, 2023–24