Presenting unit
In 2020–21, over half of the Indigenous clients presenting to a SHS agency presented alone (56% or almost 41,100 clients) and a further 33% (or almost 24,300 clients) presented as a single parent with child/ren (Supplementary table INDIGENOUS.8).
Living arrangements
In 2020–21, at the beginning of support (Supplementary table INDIGENOUS.9):
- Indigenous clients (33% or about 23,200 clients) were most likely living as a single parent with child(ren)
- 1 in 4 (almost 18,000 or 26%) Indigenous clients were living alone
- A further 18% (or almost 12,800) Indigenous clients were living with other family.
Selected vulnerabilities
SHS clients can face additional vulnerabilities that make them more susceptible to becoming homeless, in particular family and domestic violence, a current mental health issue and problematic drug and/or alcohol use.
- Less than half (44% or around 25,300) Indigenous clients did not experience any of the selected vulnerabilities which was higher than the rate for all SHS clients (37%).
- While Indigenous clients had a higher rate of reported problematic drug and alcohol use (14% compared to 12% for all SHS clients), a lower rate of Indigenous clients reported experiencing Family and domestic violence (37% compared to 39%), and a significantly lower proportion of Indigenous clients reported experiencing a mental health issue (31% compared to 38%).

Service use patterns
The median length of support received by Indigenous clients increased to 55 days in 2020–21, up from 46 days in 2016–17. The average number of support periods per client was 1.8 in 2020–21. The proportion of clients receiving accommodation decreased from 42% in 2016–17 to 41% in 2020–21, while the median number of nights accommodated decreased from 20 in 2016–17 to 16 in 2020–21 (Supplementary table CLIENTS.44).
New or returning clients
In 2020–21, there were more returning Indigenous clients (67%) (that is, those who had received SHS services at some point since the collection began in July 2011) than there were new Indigenous clients (33%) (Supplementary table INDIGENOUS.6). The proportion of returning non-Indigenous clients was lower (60%).
Main reasons for seeking assistance
The three most common main reasons why Indigenous clients sought assistance from SHS agencies in 2020–21 were (Supplementary table INDIGENOUS.7):
- family and domestic violence (25% or 17,800 clients)
- housing crisis (17% or 12,300 clients)
- inadequate or inappropriate dwelling conditions (14% or almost 10,200 clients).
Services needed and provided
In 2020–21, the need for accommodation assistance was broadly similar between Indigenous and non-Indigenous clients, with the exception of short-term or emergency accommodation (Supplementary table INDIGENOUS.3).
Half of Indigenous clients (52% or 37,900) needed short-term or emergency accommodation, higher than the proportion of non-Indigenous clients (37% or 69,900). Two-thirds of Indigenous clients who needed short-term or emergency accommodation received this support (65%); a higher proportion than non-Indigenous clients (58%).
For some general services, needs were higher for Indigenous clients when compared with non-Indigenous clients, including meals (29% compared with 11%), laundry/shower facilities (23% compared with 8%) and transport (25% compared with 13%).