Unassisted requests for services
Key findings and insights
In 2024–25:
- There were around 350 unassisted requests per day on average, a total of around 129,000 unassisted requests throughout the period, which was an increase from 110,000 in 2023–24.
- Three-fifths (60%) of unassisted requests were for short-term or emergency accommodation, most often unmet due to a lack of available accommodation at the time.
- Around two-thirds of unassisted requests were made by females.
Unassisted requests for services occur when a person seeks support from a SHS agency but does not receive assistance at the time of request. In 2024–25, people making unassisted requests approached agencies an average of 1.6 times, and just under half (48%) went on to become clients after their initial unassisted requests (Historical table HIST.UNASSISTED).
The figures on unassisted requests are limited to people who approach SHS agencies for support, which may not reflect the level of unmet need across the Australian population. For example, results from the 2014 General Social Survey suggest that approximately 67% of people who had experienced homelessness in the past 10 years did not seek assistance during their most recent episode (ABS 2014). Although somewhat dated, this remains the most recent reliable data available for this type of measure and continues to provide valuable insight into help-seeking behaviours among people experiencing homelessness.
At the national level, in 2024–25, the most common reasons requests went unassisted were (Supplementary table UNASSISTED.6):
- No accommodation was available (127 unassisted requests each day).
- Insufficient staff to provide the service (25 unassisted requests each day).
- The person did not accept the service (24 unassisted requests per day).
The unassisted requests data does not reflect that some people may seek support from multiple different agencies on the same day, or that people unassisted on one day may become an SHS client and receive support on another day.
Analysis of how often an unassisted person requested assistance and how many were SHS clients at some point during the 2024–25 year can be examined and understood where the statistical linkage key (SLK) was complete and valid. In 2024–25, around 71% of all unassisted requests had a valid SLK. Of clients with a valid SLK:
- on average, each unassisted person approached an agency 1.6 times (Historical data table HIST.UNASSISTED)
- around half of the unassisted people became SHS clients and received services at some other point during 2024–25 (similar to 2023–24, 48%).
The service use experience for the remaining 51% of people with a valid SLK were unknown. They may have received assistance from a non-SHS service, used their own support networks or continued to experience unstable housing or homelessness without SHS support.
Also, some states/territories have central intake models, that is, agencies that link clients to specific services suited to the individual client's needs. This may decrease the number of unassisted requests for services for jurisdictions operating central intake services that deliver some sort of service to a client as part of the intake triage process.
Data limitations
It is important to note that data available on unassisted persons are limited due to two main factors:
- Data collection constraints – It is not always appropriate or feasible for agencies to collect detailed information from individuals who do not become clients.
- Sector pressures – Increasing complexity in SHS work and high levels of staff burnout have led to agencies closing doors or leaving phones unanswered (Pawson et al. 2024).
As a result, the reported number of unassisted persons does not include those who were unable to establish contact with an SHS provider, and for recorded requests, the available data are often incomplete.
See Technical notes for more information on measuring unassisted requests in the SHSC.
Unassisted requests for SHS support in 2024–25
Across Australia in 2024–25, there were around 129,000 unassisted requests made for SHS support; on average, around 350 unassisted requests per day.
In 2024–25, on average each day:
- Around two-thirds (65%) of unassisted requests were made by females and 35% by males (where both age and sex were known; Supplementary table UNASSISTED.2).
- Around one-quarter (23%) of unassisted requests were made by females aged 25–34; for males, the most common age group was 0–9 (20%), most commonly presenting as part of a family group.
- The majority of unassisted requests made by single adults with children (87%) were by females (Supplementary table UNASSISTED.7).
Unassisted requests for services over time
The proportion of unassisted SHS requests from individuals presenting alone has increased in recent years, rising from 56% of requests in 2018–19 to 65% in 2024–25.
Some key trends in unassisted SHS requests over time include:
- The number of unassisted requests increased from 110,000 requests in 2023–24 to 129,000 in 2024–25 (Historical table HIST.UNASSISTED), primarily due to increases in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. For further details, see the Data quality information and Technical notes.
- The proportion of unassisted requests made by people presenting alone increased from 56% of requests in 2018–19 to 65% in 2024–25, while the proportion of unassisted requests from single parents decreased from 38% of requests in 2018–19 to 30% of requests in 2024–25 (Historical table HIST.UNASSISTED).
Services requested
Around three in five (60%) unassisted SHS requests in 2024–25 were for short-term or emergency accommodation, most often unmet due to no availability.
In 2024–25 (Figure UNASSISTED.1):
- Requests for short-term or emergency accommodation were more likely to be made by females (on average 119 unassisted requests per day) than males (69 unassisted requests per day) (Supplementary table UNASSISTED.4).
- One-quarter (26%) of daily unassisted requests involved housing or accommodation other than short-term or emergency accommodation.
Figure UNASSISTED.1: Daily average unassisted requests, by type of service, by state and territory, 2024–25
Bar chart shows the highest daily average unassisted request is for Short-term or emergency accommodation (188.1 unassisted requests/day).
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (2014) General Social Survey: Summary Results, Australia, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 12 September 2025.
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (2021) Estimating Homelessness: Census, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 12 September 2025.
Pawson H, Parsell C, Clarke A, Moore J, Hartley C, Aminpour F and Eagles K (2024) Australian Homelessness Monitor 2024, Sydney: UNSW City Futures Research Centre, accessed 12 September 2025.