Clients with disability
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Key findings and insights Client characteristics Client needs and main reason for assistance Housing situation and outcomesKey findings and insights
In 2024–25:
- SHS agencies assisted around 9,100 clients with disability; around 4,270 were experiencing homelessness at first presentation.
- SHS clients with disability made up 3.1% of all SHS clients.
- The rate of clients with disability was 3.3 per 10,000 people in the general population, an increase from 2.9 in 2018–19.
- Clients with disability were most likely to be living alone and not part of a family group.
- Three in 5 clients (aged 10 years and over) were currently experiencing a mental health issue and over a quarter were experiencing family and domestic violence.
In 2024–25, around 9,100 people with disability received support from specialist homelessness services (SHS).
Disability can increase the risk of homelessness through lower income, higher unemployment, discrimination in rental markets, and limited accessible housing (Beer et al. 2019; Wilkinson 2018).
This chapter highlights the characteristics, service needs and housing outcomes of SHS clients with disability, recognising the complex factors that shape their experiences. More information about people with disability experiencing housing issues, and the policy landscape and government response is available in Clients with disability.
Disability is a challenging concept to measure and there are numerous definitions. The SHSC disability questions aim to establish whether a client has any difficulty and/or need for assistance with 3 core activities (self-care, mobility and communication). These questions are asked of all specialist homelessness services (SHS) clients. Since the SHSC questions are restricted to core activities, people with disability who have limitations or need for assistance in non-core activities only are not flagged in the SHSC as having disability.
For the purposes of this report, the term ‘people with disability’ is used to refer to people who identified that they have a limitation in core activities, and who also reported that they always or sometimes needed assistance with one or more core activities. This group may be described in other disability-related publications as people with severe or profound core activity limitation, or people with severe or profound disability.
Data for clients with disability who required assistance may not be comparable across age groups due to differences in the interpretation of the SHSC disability questions. This issue mainly relates to young children, and therefore any comparisons between age groups should be made with caution.
Further details about measuring disability in the SHSC and the definition of a client with severe or profound core activity limitation are provided in the glossary.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) supports people with a permanent and significant disability which affects their ability to take part in everyday activities. It is jointly funded and governed by the Australian Government, as well as state and territory governments. Further details about the NDIS are provided in the glossary.
NDIS participation indicator
The NDIS participation indicator was introduced into the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC) from 1 July 2019. A participant in the NDIS is an individual who reports they are receiving an agreed package of support through the NDIS. The NDIS question is asked of all clients at the start of a support period from a SHS agency. Data are only available for support period(s) starting from 1 July 2019 onwards.
National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants
A person can be identified as being a SHS client with severe or profound disability but not be a participant in the NDIS. This may be because the client did not meet the NDIS eligibility criteria, has not applied for the NDIS or has a pending application. These clients may still be receiving disability support under other programs provided by Australian and state/territory governments.
In 2024–25, 5.9% (around 15,000 clients) of SHS clients were NDIS participants, ranging from 2.9% of clients in the Northern Territory to 8.7% in Tasmania (Supplementary table CLIENTS.17). It is important to note that Not stated responses were high, around 31,600 clients in 2024–25 (Supplementary table CLIENTS.17), similar to 31,700 clients in 2023–24.
Of the 9,100 SHS clients with disability, 3,100 (36%) indicated that they received support from the NDIS.
Further details about the NDIS indicator are provided in the Technical notes.
Client characteristics
In 2024–25, around 4,100 SHS clients aged 10 or over with disability had a mental health issue, 2,000 experienced family and domestic violence, and 960 reported problematic drug or alcohol use; almost 335 faced all three.
Figure DIS.1: Key demographics, SHS clients with disability, 2024–25
Dashboard shows the number of SHS clients with a disability, 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
The length of support clients with disability received increased in 2024–25 to a median of 90 days, up from 86 days in 2023–24. The median number of nights accommodated also increased, from 46 in 2023–24 to 53 in 2024–25 (Supplementary table CLIENTS.48).
New or returning clients
In 2024–25, more than 1 in 3 (37% or 3,400) clients with disability were new clients (Supplementary table CLIENTS.2 and CLIENTS.42). Clients with disability were as likely as all SHS clients to have previously received SHS support since 2011 (63% for both groups in 2024–25).
Client needs and main reason for assistance
In 2024–25, nearly one-quarter (23%) of SHS clients with disability cited housing crisis (for example, eviction) as their main reason for seeking support.
Main reasons for seeking assistance
For clients with disability presenting at risk of homelessness in 2024–25, the most common main reasons for seeking assistance were (Supplementary table DIS.6):
- housing crisis (24%)
- family and domestic violence (21%)
- Financial difficulties (11%).
For clients presenting experiencing homelessness, the most common main reasons for seeking assistance were:
- housing crisis (24%)
- inadequate or inappropriate dwelling conditions (22%)
- family and domestic violence (16%).
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 directly by the agency or via referral to another SHS agency or specialised service.
The top 6 needs reported by clients with disability were related to housing (provision of long-term housing and short-term or emergency housing) and general services related to information and advocacy (advice/information, other basic assistance, advocacy/liaison and material aid/brokerage) (Figure DIS.2, Supplementary table DIS.2).
In 2024–25 (Figure DIS.2, Supplementary tables CLIENTS.24 and DIS.2):
- Clients with disability were more likely to need help with living skills/personal development (19%) and health/medical services (13%) than all SHS clients (15% and 7.5% respectively).
- Almost two-thirds (63% or 5,700) of clients with disability needed accommodation-related assistance, mostly long-term housing (46%) or short term or emergency accommodation (42%).
- Of the 1 in 7 clients with disability (around 1,200) who needed health or medical services, most (around 930) either received support directly or were referred to another provider.
- Over 1 in 5 clients with disability (23% or 2,100) needed assistance for family and domestic violence and about 1,900 clients (91%) with these identified needs were provided with assistance.
Figure DIS.2: Clients with disability, by services needed and provided, 2024-25
Stacked bar chart shows assistance for long-term accommodation was the most common service needed and the least provided.
Housing situation and outcomes
For clients with disability who were experiencing homelessness at the start of support, the proportion who ended support in public/community housing was higher than most other client groups.
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 with disability had achieved or progressed towards a more stable housing situation. In particular, the number of clients ending support in public/community housing or private housing had increased compared with the start of support.
In 2024–25, of those who were known to be experiencing homelessness at the start of support (around 2,600 clients) (Figure DIS.3 and Supplementary table DIS.3):
- Fewer clients were known to be homeless when support ended (around 1,500).
- At the end of support, clients were mostly either in short-term accommodation (around 715 clients), couch surfing (around 450 clients), or public/community housing (420 clients).
- By the end of support, around 1 in 3 (32% or 830) clients were housed in public/community or private housing.
In 2024–25, of those who were known to be at risk of homelessness at the start of support (around 3,000 clients):
- Almost 4 in 5 (2,400 clients) were housed in public/community or private housing by the end of support; mostly in private housing (1,600 clients).
- Most clients maintained their housing situation at the end of support; around 1,500 clients maintained private housing and around 570 clients maintained public/ community housing.
Figure DIS.3: Housing situation for clients with disability with closed support, 2024-25
Sankey diagram shows the most common housing situation at the start and end of support for clients with a disability was private or other housing.
For more information on people with disability, see People with disability in Australia, AIHW.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2024) People with a disability in Australia, AIHW website, accessed 17 September 2025.
Beer A, Baker E, Lester L, and Lyrian D (2019) The relative risk of homelessness among persons with a disability: New methods and policy insights. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16 (22), 1-12.
National Disability Insurance Scheme (2021) Understanding the NDIS, NDIS website, accessed 13 September 2024.
Wilkinson A, Brackertz N, Foringham M & Winkler D (2018) Housing for people with disability: Evidence review of post-occupancy evaluation instruments. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), Melbourne.