Summary
This report presents an overview of the demand for Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) accommodation in 2007-08. It finds that SAAP agencies are operating to capacity with the demand for SAAP accommodation unable to be completely met.
Does SAAP meet the accommodation needs of existing clients and accompanying children?
Data collected via the SAAP Client Collection show that SAAP or Crisis Accommodation Program (CAP) accommodation was able to be provided directly to clients and their accompanying children in the majority of cases (87% and 85%, respectively). When it could not be provided directly, it was referred on to other organisations in 8% of cases and remained unmet in 5% of cases for clients and in 7% of cases for accompanying children.
How many people were turned away from SAAP accommodation?
In addition to the data collected in the Client Collection, requests made by people who wish to receive SAAP accommodation but do not, are collected in the Demand for Accommodation Collection (21-27 November 2007 and 14-20 May 2008).
On an average daily basis during this period, 735 people (446 adults and unaccompanied children and 289 accompanying children) made a valid unmet request for accommodation. The majority of these required immediate accommodation, that is, accommodation within 24 hours (410).
Some of the people with a valid unmet request for immediate accommodation received accommodation later on the same day (25). Taking this into account, it is estimated that 385 people (consisting of 241 adults and unaccompanied children and 144 accompanying children) who required immediate accommodation were turned away on an average day.
This report presents two measures of turn-away. Firstly, 59% of people initiating new requests for accommodation were turned away on an average day. Secondly, taking into account those already accommodated in SAAP accommodation, as well as new requests, 3% of those requiring SAAP accommodation were turned away.
Individual(s) without children are more likely to receive SAAP accommodation than other groups, with family groups experiencing particular difficulty obtaining accommodation. See Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 for more detail.
Why were people not offered accommodation?
The majority of valid unmet requests for accommodation occurred because there was a lack of accommodation available (83%).