‘The current government has missed the opportunity provided by last night’s budget to demonstrate a real, long-term commitment to ending child and youth homelessness in Australia. The budget contains no long-term relief for tens of thousands of young Australians in crisis who are without a home, entering or stuck in a cycle of homelessness, and no relief for the services that support them,’ says Yfoundations CEO, John Macmillan.
Yfoundations welcomes the Australian Government’s recent investment to increase crisis and transitional housing for young people experiencing homelessness and women and children fleeing domestic violence through the National Housing Infrastructure Facility. However, we saw no additional investment in Budget 2025–26 for youth homelessness services and youth housing models specifically designed to address the growing child and youth homelessness crisis across the nation.
This government will end its term leaving young Australians experiencing homelessness with no long-term budget and policy commitments that address critical gaps in service delivery caused by increased demand for support and years of funding shortfalls, a lack of youth housing models, and the failure to develop a standalone national homelessness and housing plan for children and young people.‘We had hoped that with the government’s promise of the development of a Housing and Homelessness Plan, we would by now have a national strategy that would provide a road map for ending homelessness in this country and, most importantly for the youth homelessness services sector, that would seriously address child and youth homelessness. Despite numerous rounds of consultations and submissions, the silence on this front over the past year contradicts the commitment to deliver a plan that commits this and future governments to implementing strategies and providing budgets to this end.’
At the time of the 2021 Australian Census, almost 40 per cent of all people experiencing homelessness were aged 24 years and under. Children under 12 years old made up 14% of all people experiencing homelessness. Last year, specialist homelessness services assisted around 38,600 young people aged 15–24 years presenting alone. Of the 25,700 young people presenting alone who needed assistance with accommodation provision, over 50% did not get it.
About us:
Yfoundations is the NSW peak body advocating for young people at risk of and experiencing homelessness, and the services that support them.
Contact details:
Anna Schinella, Head of Policy and Advocacy, 0478 063 040.