The federal government must prioritise ending Australia’s massive social housing shortfall, Everybody’s Home said, as a new report reveals housing stress is the fastest growing main factor triggering homelessness.
This year’s Australian Homelessness Monitor reports a 36 percent rise in new service users citing housing affordability stress as their primary reason for seeking support from homelessness services in the three years to 2023-24.
The research by UNSW in partnership with Homelessness Australia also found that in recent years, the risk of homelessness has been affecting a broader range of people, with an increasing proportion of workers seeking crisis support.
Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said: “Australia’s worsening housing crisis is fueling the rise in homelessness. People simply cannot afford insanely high rents week after week - it’s pushing many into housing stress, leading them to sleep in cars or improvised dwellings, and on couches or the streets.
“People on low incomes, including those receiving Centrelink payments, are bearing the brunt of the housing crisis, but it has now escalated to a point where more employed people are turning to homelessness services for help too. The housing crisis is driving a new wave of people seeking crisis support for the first time and is trapping many Australians in homelessness for longer periods.
“Building more social housing will reduce homelessness. Australia needs an extra 640,000 social homes right now, and this is projected to rise to nearly one million over the next two decades. While the federal government has made a start with some welcome social housing investments, these efforts fall far short of meeting demand.
“We urgently need the federal government to make a stronger commitment to end the social housing shortfall. It must also scrap unfair tax handouts for property investors, raise the rate of Centrelink payments, and protect renters by limiting rent increases.
“Everybody deserves a safe, decent, affordable place to live and the government can and must make that happen.”
Media contact: Sofie Wainwright 0403 920 301