Australians are experiencing homelessness on any given night
Estimating Homelessness: Census 2021, ABSJust 6% of those experiencing homelessness are sleeping rough – others are less visible. Hidden in plain sight.
Australians are at risk of homelessness
The number of people experiencing homelessness due to domestic violence more than doubled between 2021-2024.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and WelfareThe homelessness we can see is just the tip of the iceberg
On any given night, more than 122,000 Australians have no safe and secure place to call home. The 2021 census revealed that just 6% of people experiencing homelessness were sleeping rough, or on the streets.
The majority were couch surfing, sleeping in cars, or moving from one temporary location to the next, with no guarantee of security from night to night.
The cycle is hard to break
Once someone experiences homelessness, it becomes increasingly difficult to achieve the financial security and stability required to exit the cycle.
There is a stigma that homelessness is the result of poor choices, but the facts tell a different story.
An estimated 1 in 10 Australians live so close to the edge of housing insecurity due to the cost of living, that a small rise in rent, a medical bill, or relationship breakdown, could result in losing their home.
Losing your home is almost always circumstance, not about choices.
“Homelessness can be one bad month away for anyone. Support, without judgement, makes all the difference.”
– Maria S. Essential worker impacted by rental crisis.