Specialist homelessness services annual report 2023–24

Older SHS clients are defined as clients aged 55 years and over. For further information, see Technical notes, and Older clients.

Client characteristics

Figure OLDER.1: Key demographics, older SHS clients, 2023–24

Labour force

In 2023–24, (Supplementary table OLDER.7):

• There were more older clients not in the labour force (50% or 13,600 clients) than clients who were unemployed (42% or 11,400).

Living arrangements

In 2023–24, of the almost 28,400 older clients with known living arrangement at first presentation to a SHS agency (Supplementary table CLIENTS.45):

• most (18,200 clients) were living alone; higher for males (73% of older male clients) than females (56%)
• around 1 in 10 (11% or 3,200 clients) were living with other family.

Service use patterns

The average number of support periods per older SHS client has remained consistent at 1.6 support periods per client each year from 2017–18 to 2023–24 (Supplementary table CLIENTS.48).

In 2023–24, the length of support older clients received increased to a median of 47 days, up from 28 days in 2017–18.  This is lower than the median for all SHS clients (58 days in 2023–24).

The proportion of older clients receiving accommodation increased, from 16% of older clients in 2017–18 to 18% in 2023–24.   For both periods, the median number of nights accommodated was 29.  This is lower than the median for all SHS clients (33 nights in 2023–24).

Clients’ needs and main reason for assistance

Main reasons for seeking assistance

The main reasons older SHS clients sought assistance was different for those experiencing homelessness compared with those presenting to services at risk of homelessness in 2023–24. 

For those experiencing homelessness the main reasons for seeking assistance were (Supplementary table OLDER.6):

• inadequate or inappropriate dwelling conditions (25% or 2,700)
• housing crisis (23% or over 2,500 clients)
• housing affordability stress (12% or 1,300).

For those at risk of homelessness:

• housing crisis (22% or 3,700 clients)
• financial difficulties (18% or 3,100)
• housing affordability stress (12% or 2,100)

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 specialised service.

Services most commonly needed by older SHS clients during 2023–24 were (Figure OLDER.2, Supplementary table OLDER.2):

• short-term or emergency accommodation (29% of older clients or around 8,400 clients), with 3,800 clients provided this service
• assistance to sustain tenancy or prevent tenancy failure or eviction (34%, 10,000 clients), with 8,400 clients provided this assistance
• material aid/brokerage (33%, 9,800 clients), with 8,500 clients provided this assistance.

Figure OLDER.2: Older clients, by services needed and provided, 2023–24

Housing situation and outcomes

Older SHS clients who were experiencing homelessness at the start of support were more likely to be rough sleeping at the end of support than any other client group.

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 the clients who have stopped receiving support during the financial year, and who are no longer receiving ongoing support from a SHS agency. In particular, information on client housing situations at the start of their first period of support during 2023–24 is compared with 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.

In 2023-24, older SHS clients were more likely than other clients to be living in public/community housing at the start of support (21% compared with 15% of all clients) and at the end of support (30% compared with 23% of all clients) (Supplementary tables OLDER.3 and CLIENTS.31).

In 2023–24, of the approximately 7,700 older clients who were known to be experiencing homelessness at the start of support (Figure OLDER.3 and Supplementary table OLDER.3):

• around 4,900 clients were homeless when support ended 
• almost a quarter (23% or 1,800 clients) were rough sleeping when support ended, a greater proportion than any other client group.
• around 1,400 were in public/community housing when support ended.

In 2023–24, of the approximately 12,900 older clients who were known to be at risk of homelessness at the start of support (Figure OLDER.3 and Supplementary table OLDER.3):

• Most clients maintained their housing situation when support ended; around 6,600 clients maintained private housing and around 3,900 clients maintained public/community housing.
• Fewer than 1 in 16 clients (6%) were experiencing homelessness when support ended, a smaller proportion than any other client group.

Figure OLDER.3: Housing situation for older clients with closed support, 2023–24