Clients who have experienced family and domestic violence
Key findings and insights
In 2024–25:
- SHS agencies assisted around 117,000 clients who had experienced family and domestic violence (FDV); around 46,800 of these were experiencing homelessness when they first presented to an agency.
- People who had experienced FDV were the largest group of SHS clients (2 in 5 or 40% of all SHS clients).
- Clients who had experienced FDV were most likely to be women and children, nearly half were living in single parent families (48% or 53,800 clients) and most had been assisted by an SHS agency prior to 2024–25.
- Almost 2 in 5 clients who had experienced FDV and were experiencing homelessness at the start of support were in stable housing by the end of support, most commonly in private housing.
Family and domestic violence (FDV) is a leading cause of homelessness. While FDV can be experienced by people across all ages, genders and backgrounds, it mainly affects women and children (AIHW 2025).
Specialist homelessness services (SHS) agencies provide essential assistance for people leaving violent home environments. People who have experienced FDV are the largest group of SHS clients accounting for 40% of all SHS clients in 2024–25. Since 2011–12, the number of people in this group has increased by an annual average of 3.0% (Historical data table HIST.FDV).
In this chapter, while the client cohort is described as those who have experienced FDV, many may still be experiencing violence or its ongoing effects when they access support services (Flanagan et al. 2019).
For more information about the prevalence of family and domestic violence in Australia, and the policy landscape and government response, see Clients experiencing family and domestic violence and Family, domestic and sexual violence.
Reporting clients experiencing family and domestic violence in the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC)
In the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC), a client is identified as experiencing family and domestic violence if in any support period during the reporting period:
- the client was formally referred from a non-SHS FDV agency to an SHS agency
- family and domestic violence was reported as a reason they sought assistance
- during any support period they required family or domestic violence assistance.
The SHSC collects information on clients experiencing family and domestic violence of any age. Changes made to the SHSC separates victim and/or perpetrators support services provided to clients. For 2024–25, data for SHS clients aged 10 and over who needed family and domestic violence victim/perpetrator support services are provided in the Supplementary data table FDV.2. For more information, see Technical notes.
Data quality statement note
Caution should be used when comparing Victorian client numbers over recent years. A practice correction to how some family violence agencies were recording clients as well as a phased shift of family violence intake to non-SHS services may result in an overall decrease in FDV client numbers since 2017–18. For more information, see 2019–20 SHS Data Quality Statement and 2024–25 SHS Data Quality Statement.
Client characteristics
Around 2 in 5 (44%, 46,800) SHS clients who had experienced FDV were experiencing homelessness when they first approached a SHS agency.
Figure FDV.1: Characteristics of SHS clients who have experienced family and domestic violence, 2024–25
Dashboard shows the number of SHS clients who have experienced family and domestic violence, by sex, by states and territories, by homeless status, by vulnerabilities, by Indigenous status, and by living arrangements.
To compare selected characteristics and experiences across the SHS client groups presented in this report, please refer to the Client group comparison visualisations.
Service use patterns
In 2024–25, clients who had experienced FDV received (Supplementary table CLIENTS.48):
- a median of 76 days of support, up from 60 days in 2020–21
- an average of 1.9 support periods
- a median of 35 nights of accommodation.
New or returning clients
Around 2 in 5 (38%) SHS clients who had experienced FDV were new clients and 62% were returning clients (Supplementary table CLIENTS.42). (Note: Whether returning clients were experiencing FDV when they were previously supported has not been studied.)
- Almost half (47%, 21,000) of new clients were aged under 18, half (48%, 21,600 clients) were aged 18–54, and 5.1% (2,300 clients) were aged 55 and over.
- Around 3 in 10 (30%, around 21,300) returning clients were aged under 18.
Client needs and main reason for assistance
Around 2 in 3 (66%) SHS clients who had experienced FDV identified family and domestic violence as the main reason for seeking SHS services in 2024–25; almost 1 in 10 (8.9%) identified housing crisis (for example, eviction).
Two-thirds (69% or 80,100) of SHS clients who had experienced FDV needed specific assistance for family and domestic violence, and the majority (73,100 clients) were provided with this service.
Main reasons for seeking assistance
For SHS clients who had experienced FDV and presented at risk of homelessness, the most common main reasons for seeking assistance in 2024–25 were (Supplementary table FDV.6):
- family and domestic violence (73% or 43,000 clients)
- housing crisis (6.6% or 3,900)
- financial difficulties (4.0% or 2,300).
Among SHS clients who had experienced FDV and presented experiencing homelessness, the most common main reasons for seeking assistance in 2024–25 were:
- family and domestic violence (52% or 24,100 clients)
- housing crisis (13% or 6,300)
- inadequate or inappropriate dwelling conditions (11% or 5,200)
- housing affordability stress (5.8% or 2,700).
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 2024–25, SHS clients who had experienced FDV often needed advice/information (76% of clients) and other basic assistance (70% of clients), which was provided in almost all cases (99%). Other commonly needed services were (Figure FDV.2, Supplementary table FDV.2):
- assistance for family/domestic violence (69% or 80,100 clients), provided to 9 in 10 (91% or 73,100 clients) of this group
- short-term or emergency accommodation (44% or 51,700 clients), provided to around 2 in 3 (69% or 35,600 clients) of this group.
Figure FDV.2: Clients who have experienced family or domestic violence, by services needed and provided, 2024–25
Stacked bar chart shows assistance for family and domestic violence services was one of the most common specialised services needed and were also one of the most frequently provided.
Housing situation and outcomes at the end of support
Almost 2 in 5 (11,400 clients) clients who had experienced FDV who were experiencing homelessness at the start of support were in stable housing by the end of support, with around one-fifth (20% or 6,000 clients) in private housing.
This section highlights changes in clients’ housing situation between the start and end of support. That is, the place they were living before and after receiving assistance from a SHS agency. The data includes only clients who ceased receiving SHS support during the financial year and were no longer receiving ongoing support from a SHS agency.
Specifically, it compares clients’ housing at the start of their first support period in 2024–25 with the end of their last support period in 2024–25. It does not capture changes that occurred during a support period, nor changes throughout the year between different support periods.
By the end of support, many clients who had experienced FDV had obtained or progressed towards a more stable housing situation. In particular, the number and proportion of clients ending support in public/community housing or private housing had increased compared with the start of support.
In 2024–25, around 30,200 clients who had experienced FDV were known to be experiencing homelessness at the start of support. Among these (Figure FDV.3, Supplementary table FDV.3):
- Around half (15,400 clients) started support in short-term temporary accommodation.
- Around 2 in 5 (11,400 clients) ended support no longer experiencing homelessness, with the majority of these (6,000 clients) living in private housing.
In 2024–25, around 41,600 clients who had experienced FDV were known to be at risk of homelessness at the start of support. Most of these clients (35,700) maintained their housing situation at the end of support, while around 1 in 10 (4,100) ended support experiencing homelessness.
Figure FDV.3: Housing situation for clients who have experienced family and domestic violence with closed support, 2024–25
Sankey diagram shows most clients started and ended support in private or other housing.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2025) Family and domestic violence - Housing, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 9 September 2025.
Flanagan K, Blunden, H, valentine k and Henriette J (2019) Housing outcomes after domestic and family violence, AHURI, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited, Melbourne, accessed 12 September 2025.