Specialist homelessness services annual report

Stable and secure housing is fundamentally important to health and well-being. Historically, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are more likely to experience insecure housing, live in overcrowded dwellings and experience homelessness, including intergenerational homelessness than non-Indigenous Australians (AIHW 2019).  Indigenous Australians continue to be over-represented in both the national homeless population and as users of specialist homelessness services (see Clients, services and outcomes and ABS 2018). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 3.1% of the Australian population (ABS 2019), yet they made up 27% of the clients (an estimated 71,600 clients) assisted by specialist homelessness services (SHS) in 2019–20. It is important to note that Indigenous status was not reported for 8% of SHS clients in 2019–20 (similar to 2018–19; 9%).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are a national priority cohort in the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, which came into effect 1 July 2018 (CFFR 2018) (see Policy section for more information). This agreement provides a framework for all levels of government to work together to improve housing and homelessness outcomes for Indigenous Australians (AIHW 2019).

Client characteristics

Over 271,200 Indigenous clients have been supported by homelessness agencies since the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC) began in 2011–12. The number of Indigenous clients has been steadily increasing over this time. The key trends identified were (Table INDIGENOUS.1):

• SHS agencies assisted around 71,600 Indigenous clients in 2019–20. This equates to 27% of the 268,300 SHS clients (with a known Indigenous status).
• The rate of service use by Indigenous clients has increased from 779.4 clients per 10,000 Indigenous people in 2015–16 to 798.3 in 2019–20. The rate of support was 9.4 times that of non-Indigenous clients in 2019-20.
• After taking into account differences in population size, in 2019–20 Indigenous clients living in Remote/very remote areas had the highest rate of service use.
• The rate of service use among Indigenous clients living in Remote/very remote areas increased over time; from 738.7 Indigenous clients per 10,000 population in 2015–16 to 919.2 in 2019–20. The rate ratio has also increased, from 19.1 in 2015–16 to 23.2 in 2019–20.

Table INDIGENOUS.1: Indigenous clients—2015–16 to 2019–20

	2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19	2019–20
Number of clients	61,700	64,644	65,184	68,853	71,582
Proportion of all clients where Indigenous status reported	24	25	25	26	27
Rate (per 10,000 population)	779.4	806.4	753.2	782.0	798.3
Rate ratio	9.0	9.2	8.8	9.1	9.4
Rate difference (per 10,000 population)	693.1	718.3	667.4	696.3	713.4
Remoteness rate (per 10,000 population)
Major cities	716.2	726.2	717.0	730.3	727.9
Inner/outer regional	739.8	802.5	808.4	828.6	820.8
Remote/very remote	738.7	720.4	716.5	798.3	919.2
Rate ratio
Major cities	8.9	9.0	9.2	9.5	9.5
Inner/outer regional	6.6	6.8	7.0	7.0	6.9
Remote/very remote	19.1	17.4	18.7	21.3	23.2

Notes:

1. Rates were directly age-standardised as detailed in the Technical information section. Minor adjustments in rates may occur between publications reflecting revision of the estimated resident population by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

2. Rate ratio is the Indigenous rate divided by the Non-Indigenous rate and is used to compare the 2 service use rates. Rate difference reveals the gap between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous rates. 

3. Data for 2015–16 to 2016–17 have been adjusted for non-response. Due to improvements in the rates of agency participation and SLK validity, data from 2017–18 are not weighted. The removal of weighting does not constitute a break in time series and weighted data from 2015–16 to 2016–17 are comparable with unweighted data for 2017–18 onwards. For further information, please refer to the Technical Notes.

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2015–16 to 2019–20.

Age and sex

In 2019–20 (Supplementary table INDIGENOUS.1):

• More than half (53% or almost 38,000 clients) of Indigenous SHS clients were under the age of 25, compared with 41% (79,800) of non-Indigenous clients
• The largest age group for Indigenous male clients was 0–9 years (28% or 7,700); for Indigenous females it was 25–34 (21% or 9,200)
• The proportion of clients aged 55 and over was lower in Indigenous clients (5% or 3,600) compared with non-Indigenous clients (10% or 18,600).

State and territory and remoteness

In 2019–20 (Supplementary table INDIGENOUS.2 and 5):

• Victoria had the highest rate of Indigenous clients (1,679.6 per 10,000 Indigenous people) and Tasmania the lowest (327.7 per 10,000 Indigenous people). Victoria also had the highest rate of non-Indigenous clients (144.7 per 10,000 non-Indigenous people).
• The Northern Territory had the highest proportion of Indigenous clients (86%) and Victoria the lowest (9%).
• The proportion of Indigenous clients receiving services in Major cities (35% or 25,000) was lower than non-Indigenous clients (67% or 132,600).
• A higher proportion of Indigenous clients sought services in Remote (15% or 10,400) and Very remote areas (7% or 4,700), compared with non-Indigenous clients (1% and <1%, respectively).

Presenting unit

In 2019–20, over half of the Indigenous clients presenting to a SHS agency presented alone (55% or 39,500 clients) and a further 34% (or 24,400 clients) presented as a single parent with child/ren (Supplementary table INDIGENOUS.8).

Living arrangements

In 2019–20, at the beginning of support (Supplementary table INDIGENOUS.9):

• Indigenous clients (34% or 23,300 clients) were most likely living as a single parent with child(ren)
• 1 in 4 (16,900 or 25%) Indigenous clients were living alone
• A further 18% (or 12,100) of 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. Over half (55% or 30,900) of Indigenous SHS clients aged 10 years and over reported 1 or more of these vulnerabilities. In 2019–20 (Table INDIGENOUS.2):

• Less than half (45% or around 25,200) of Indigenous clients did not experience any of the selected vulnerabilities which was higher than the rate for all SHS clients (38%).
• 1 in 20 (5% or 2,700 clients) Indigenous SHS clients were experiencing all 3 vulnerabilities.
• Almost 1 in 5 (16% or around 8,900) Indigenous clients were experiencing 2 vulnerabilities.
• More than 1 in 3 (35% or almost 20,000) Indigenous clients reported experiencing family and domestic violence.

Table INDIGENOUS.2: Indigenous clients, by selected vulnerability characteristics, 2019–20

Family and domestic violence	Mental health issue	Problematic drug and or alcohol use	Clients	Per cent
Yes	Yes	Yes	2,654	4.7
Yes	Yes	No	5,136	9.1
Yes	No	Yes	1,184	2.1
No	Yes	Yes	2,575	4.6
Yes	No	No	10,979	19.5
No	Yes	No	6,820	12.1
No	No	Yes	1,593	2.8
No	No	No	25,228	44.9
			56,169	100.0

Notes:

1. Clients are assigned to one category only based on their vulnerability profile.

2. Clients are aged 10 and over.

3. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2019–20.

Housing situation on first presentation

In 2019–20, at the beginning of the first support period, more than half (54%) of clients whose Indigenous status was known presented to services at risk of homelessness, while over 2 in 5 (46%) were experiencing homelessness. These proportions have remained consistent since 2015–16 (Supplementary table CLIENTS.12).

Service use patterns

Since 2015–16, the number of Indigenous clients seeking assistance from SHS agencies has increased. Key trends identified in this client population are (Table INDIGENOUS.3):

• The median number of days Indigenous clients receive support has increased from 44 days in 2015–16 to 47 days in 2019–20; a decrease from 49 in 2018–19.
• In 2019–20, 40% of Indigenous clients received accommodation services. This proportion has declined from 44% in 2015–16 but remained steady since 2018–19 (41%)
• The median number of nights accommodated has decreased, down from 20 nights in 2016–17 and 2017–18 to 15 nights in 2019–20.

Table INDIGENOUS.3: Indigenous clients: service use patterns—2015–16 to 2019–20

	2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19	2019–20
Length of support (median number of days)	44	46	48	49	47
Average number of support periods per client	1.7	1.7	1.8	1.7	1.7
Proportion receiving accommodation	44	42	41	41	40
Median number of nights accommodated	19	20	20	18	15

Notes:

1. The denominator for the proportion receiving accommodation is all Indigenous SHS clients. Denominator values for proportions are provided in the relevant supplementary table.

2. Data for 2015–16 to 2016–17 have been adjusted for non-response. Due to improvements in the rates of agency participation and SLK validity, data from 2017–18 are not weighted. The removal of weighting does not constitute a break in time series and weighted data from 2015–16 to 2016–17 are comparable with unweighted data for 2017–18 onwards. For further information, please refer to the Technical Notes.

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2015–16 to 2019–20.

New or returning clients

In 2019–20, there were more returning Indigenous clients (65%) (that is, those who had received SHS services at some point since the collection began in 2011–12) than there were new Indigenous clients (35%) (Supplementary table INDIGENOUS.6). The proportion of returning non-Indigenous clients was lower (57%).

Main reasons for seeking assistance

The three most common main reasons why Indigenous clients sought assistance from SHS agencies in 2019–20 were (Supplementary table INDIGENOUS.7):

• family and domestic violence (24% or 16,900 clients)
• housing crisis (18% or 12,200 clients)
• inadequate or inappropriate dwelling conditions (13% or almost 9,200 clients).

Services needed and provided

In 2019–20, 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 (51% or 36,400) needed short-term or emergency accommodation, higher than the proportion of non-Indigenous clients (37% or 72,900). Two-thirds of Indigenous clients who needed short-term or emergency accommodation received this support (65%); a higher proportion than non-Indigenous clients (56%).

Other services commonly needed by Indigenous clients during 2019–20 were:

• advice/information (76%) with 98% provided this assistance
• advocacy/liaison (55%) with 97% provided this assistance
• material aid/brokerage (36%) with 87% provided this assistance.

Assistance for family and domestic violence was another frequently requested service (28%), with 88% of clients with this need having such assistance provided.

Around 1 in 3 Indigenous clients needed long-term (38%, provided to 4%) or medium-term/transitional housing (30%, provided to 27%) (similar proportions were recorded for non-Indigenous clients).

For some general services, needs were higher for Indigenous clients when compared with non-Indigenous clients, including meals (31% compared with 12%), laundry/shower facilities (24% compared with 9%) and transport (31% compared with 15%).

The proportion of Indigenous clients with a case management plan has remained comparatively consistent over time (69% in 2019–20); however the proportion achieving all case management goals has declined (20% in 2019–20, down from 24% in 2018–19) (Supplementary table CLIENTS.35).

Outcomes at the end of support

Outcomes presented here describe the changes in a client’s housing situation between the start and end of support. Data is limited to clients who ceased receiving support during the financial year—meaning that their support periods had closed and they did not have ongoing support at the end of the 2019–20 reporting period.

Many clients had long periods of support or even multiple support periods during 2019–20. They may have had a number of changes in their housing situation over the course of their support. These changes within the year are not reflected in the data presented here, rather the client situation at the start of their first support period in 2019–20 is compared with the end of their last support period in 2019–20. A proportion of these clients may have sought assistance prior to 2019–20, and may again in the future.

In 2019–20 (INDIGENOUS.4):

• The proportion of Indigenous clients who were known to be experiencing homelessness decreased from under half (45%) at the start of support to 34% at the end of support; a reduction of 5,800 clients.
• The reduction in the proportion of clients who were known to be homeless following support was due mainly to a reduction in the proportion of clients living in a house, townhouse or flat as a ‘couch surfer’ with no tenure (from 19% to 14%). Clients who were ‘rough sleeping’ also decreased, from 8% to 5%.
• There was an increase in clients living in housing with some form of tenure over the course of support, including an increase in the proportion of clients living in public or community housing from 32% to 39% (or an increase of almost 3,000 clients).

These trends demonstrate that by the end of support, many clients have achieved or progressed towards a more positive housing solution. That is, the proportion of clients ending support known to be housed but at risk of homelessness had increased compared with the start of support, and the proportion who were homeless had decreased.

Table INDIGENOUS.4: Indigenous clients with closed support, by housing situation at the beginning and end of support, 2019–20

Housing situation	Beginning of support (number)	End of support (number)	Beginning of support (per cent)	End of support (per cent)
No shelter or improvised/inadequate dwelling	3,893	2,180	8.1	4.7
Short term temporary accommodation	8,242	6,985	17.2	15.2
House, townhouse or flat - couch surfer or with no tenure	9,198	6,362	19.2	13.8
Total homeless	21,333	15,527	44.6	33.7
Public or community housing - renter or rent free	15,039	18,006	31.5	39.1
Private or other housing - renter, rent free or owner	10,049	11,523	21.0	25.0
Institutional settings	1,386	1,031	2.9	2.2
Total at risk	26,474	30,560	55.4	66.3
Total clients with known housing situation	47,807	46,087	100.0	100.0
Not stated/other	6,031	7,751
Total clients	53,838	53,838

Notes:

1. Percentages have been calculated using total number of clients as the denominator (less not stated/other).

2. It is important to note that individual clients beginning support in one housing type need not necessarily be the same individuals ending support in that housing type.

3. Not stated/other includes those clients whose housing situation at either the beginning or end of support was unknown.

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection. Supplementary table INDIGENOUS.4.

Housing outcomes for homeless versus at risk clients

In 2019–20, 44,700 clients had a known housing status at both the start and end of support. Of these clients, more than 25,200 were at risk of homelessness at the start of support, by the end of support (Figure INDIGENOUS.1):

• More than half (55% or 13,800 clients) were in public or community housing
• Almost one-third (31% or 7,900 clients) were in private housing.

A smaller number were experiencing homelessness at the end of support (around 2,800 clients or 11% of those who started support at risk of homelessness).

Figure INDIGENOUS.1: Housing situation for clients with closed support who began support at risk of homelessness, 2019–20

Notes:

1. Excludes clients with unknown situation.

2. Includes only those clients who ceased receiving support during the financial year (meaning that their support period(s) had closed and they were not in ongoing support at the end of the year).

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection, 2019–20.

For clients who were known to be homeless at the start of support (almost 19,500 clients), by the end of support, agencies were able to assist (Figure INDIGENOUS.2):

• 5,100 clients (26%) into short term accommodation
• 3,200 (17%) into private housing.

A further 5,200 clients (27%) were couch surfing at the end of support.

Figure INDIGENOUS.2: Housing situation for clients with closed support who were experiencing homelessness at the start of support, 2019–20

Notes:

1. Excludes clients with unknown situation.

2. Includes only those clients who ceased receiving support during the financial year (meaning that their support period(s) had closed and they were not in ongoing support at the end of the year).

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection, 2019–20.

References

ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2018. Census of Population and Housing: Estimating homelessness, 2016. ABS cat. no. 2049.0. Canberra: ABS.

ABS 2019. Australian demographic statistics, Jun 2019. ABS Cat. no. 3101.0. Canberra: ABS.

AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) 2019. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: a focus report on housing and homelessness. Cat. no. HOU 301. Canberra: AIHW.

AHRC (Australian Human Rights Commission) 2017. Face the facts: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. Webpage viewed 20 November 2018.

CFFR (Council on Federal Financial Relations) 2018. National Housing and Homelessness Agreement. Viewed 23 January 2019.