Clients, services and outcomes

Specialist homelessness agencies provide a wide range of services to assist those who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness, ranging from general support and assistance to immediate crisis accommodation. Characteristics of all clients assisted by specialist homelessness services (SHS) in 2019–20 are described below, including their need/s for assistance and the services they received.

Key findings

  • Around 1.3 million clients have been assisted by SHS agencies since the collection began in 2011–12.
  • More than half (58%) of all clients in 2019–20 had previously been assisted by a SHS agency at some point since the collection began in 2011–12.
  • In 2019–20, almost 290,500 clients sought assistance from SHS agencies, equating to 114.5 clients per 10,000 population.
  • Upon first presentation, most clients seeking assistance were housed but at risk of homelessness (57% or 152,300); of these, most were living in private or other housing (61% or 92,900) or public or community housing at the time (24% or 36,000).
  • 4 in 10 clients were experiencing homelessness on presentation to a SHS agency. Of these, agencies assisted about 37% into housing, most into private or other housing (almost 16,600) and a further 9,700 into public or community housing.
  • The average amount of financial assistance provided totalled $976 per client, up from $874 in 2018–19 (not adjusted for inflation).

SHS clients at a glance

The number of clients assisted by specialist homelessness agencies increased from 279,200 in 2015–16 to almost 290,500 in 2019–20; an average annual increase of 2.6% since 2011–12. The rate of SHS clients decreased from 117.2 clients per 10,000 population in 2015–16 to 114.5 clients in 2019–20 (Table CLIENTS.1).

It is important to note, the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC) data provide a measure of service response. Changes in client numbers reflect the agency engagement of people which is not necessarily a change in the underlying level of homelessness in Australia.

Table CLIENTS.1: SHS clients—2015–16 to 2019–20

 

2015–16

2016–17

2017–18

2018–19

2019–20

Number of clients

279,196

288,273

288,795

290,317

290,462

Rate (per 10,000 population)

117.2

119.2

117.4

116.2

114.5

Notes:

  1. Rates are crude rates based on the Australian estimated resident population (ERP) at 30 June of the reference year. Minor adjustments in rates may occur between publications reflecting revision of the estimated resident population by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
  2. Data for 2015–16 to 2016–17 have been adjusted for non-response. Due to improvements in the rates of agency participation and SLK validity, data from 2017–18 are not weighted. The removal of weighting does not constitute a break in time series and weighted data from 2015–16 to 2016–17 are comparable with unweighted data for 2017–18 onwards. For further information, please refer to the Technical Notes.

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2015–16 to 2019–20.

Characteristics of clients

42% of SHS clients in 2019–20 were first time clients since the collection began in 2011–12.

The characteristics of clients, the main reasons for seeking assistance, and the services that had been supplied to clients, have remained relatively stable over the 5 years to 2019–20. Key changes include:

  • Length of support has increased with the median number of days a client was supported increasing from 35 days in 2015–16 to 43 days in 2019–20.
  • In 2019–20, the number of females presenting homeless (60,000) was higher than the number of males (53,700), an increase from 55,500 females and 53,100 males in 2015–16.
  • The number of SHS clients who have experienced family and domestic violence has increased; up from 105,600 (38% of SHS clients) in 2015–16 to almost 119,200 (41%) in 2019–20.

Age and sex

Reporting sex in the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC)

The additional category “Other” has been added to the question which records the person’s sex and applies to support periods and unassisted instances starting on or after 1 July 2019. Analysis of the updated 2019–20 sex of client data demonstrated some variable data quality and consistency of use among services. After detailed technical review of the data, including data quality investigations and consideration of data confidentiality issues, for the 2019–20 Annual Report these clients were combined with the ‘Female’ category for reporting purposes only. For further information, please see the Technical Information.

Figure CLIENTS.1 illustrates the age and sex distribution of SHS clients in 2019–20:

  • The majority of clients were female (60% or almost 174,700 clients).
  • 3 in 10 clients were aged under 18 (29% or around 85,000).
  • Among adult clients, the largest age group was those aged 25–34, accounting for almost 1 in 5 clients (18%), most of whom were female.
  • The most common age group for males was 0–9 years (21%) while for females, the most common age group was 25–34 (21%).
  • The overall rate of SHS clients was higher for females: 1 in 73 females in the Australian population received support in 2019–20 compared with 1 in 109 males.

Figure CLIENTS.1: Clients by age and sex, 2019–20

The horizontal population pyramid shows the marked differences between the age profiles of male and female SHS clients. The highest numbers of male clients were aged between 0 and 9 years (almost 24,300) while females aged 25–34 were the age group with the highest number (more than 37,200).

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2019–20, Supplementary table CLIENT.1.

Figure CLIENTS.2 illustrates the rate of SHS clients by age in 2019–20:

  • The highest rate of clients were those aged 15–17 years: higher for females (237.3 per 10,000 population) than for males (158.6).
  • The lowest rate of clients was for those aged 65 and over (21.3 per 10,000 population): again higher for females (22.2 per 10,000 population) than males (20.2).

Figure CLIENTS.2: Clients per 10,000 population, by age and sex, 2019–20

The horizontal population pyramid shows the marked differences between the rate of service use of SHS clients by age. The highest rate of clients were those aged 15–17 years: higher for females (237) than for males (159). The lowest rate of clients was for those aged 65 and over: again higher for females (22) than males (20).

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2019–20, Supplementary table CLIENT.1.

Indigenous status

In 2019–20, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continued to be over-represented among SHS clients with more than one-quarter of clients (27% or almost 71,600) who provided information on their Indigenous status identifying as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin. Nationally, this equated to 798 Indigenous clients per 10,000 Indigenous population compared with a rate of 85 for non-Indigenous clients.

For further information please see Indigenous clients.

State and territory of clients

The largest number of clients accessed services in Victoria (115,300), followed by New South Wales (70,400) and Queensland (43,100) (Supplementary table CLIENTS.1), noting that clients may have accessed services in more than one state or territory.

  • The highest rate of SHS clients was in the Northern Territory where there were 418.0 clients per 10,000 population, followed by Victoria (174.8) and Tasmania (120.6) (Figure CLIENTS.3).
  • Females had higher rates of service use than males across all states and territories; the Northern Territory had the most pronounced difference between males and females where 546.9 per 10,000 females received services compared with 297.4 per 10,000 males (Supplementary table CLIENTS.1).
  • Overall, more than half of clients (58%) in 2019–20 had received services at some point since the collection began in 2011–12. The proportion of returning clients varied across jurisdictions with South Australia and Tasmania reporting the highest proportion (65%) and Queensland the lowest (55%).

Figure CLIENTS.3: Clients per 10,000 population, by state and territory, 2019–20

The bar graph shows the wide range of specialist homelessness client rates among jurisdictions. The Northern Territory had the highest rate at 418 clients per 10,000 population and Queensland had the lowest rate at 85 per 10,000. The national rate of was 115 clients per 10,000 population.

Note: Rates are crude rates as detailed in Technical information.
Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2019–20, Supplementary table CLIENTS.1.

Country of birth

Almost 9 in 10 clients (86% or 226,500 clients) of specialist homelessness agencies in 2019–20 were born in Australia (Supplementary table CLIENTS.3), higher than the general Australian population (71% were born in Australia; ABS 2019). Of those clients who reported their country of birth and were born overseas, the most common country of birth was New Zealand (2%) (Supplementary table CLIENTS.4). Over half of the clients (56%) who were born overseas had arrived in Australia in 2010 or before (Supplementary table CLIENTS.5). Almost 9 in 10 (86% or almost 31,600) clients who were born overseas lived in Major cities (Supplementary table CLIENTS.6).

Language

Main language spoken at home other than English

In 2019–20, the most common language spoken at home by SHS clients other than English was Aboriginal English (so described) (21%), followed by Arabic (13%) and Vietnamese (4%) (Supplementary table CLIENTS.7).

Proficiency in spoken English

In 2019–20, proficiency was rated highest among clients whose main language spoken at home (other than English) was grouped as Northern European languages (other than English); with 71% of clients reporting they spoke English very well and a further 22% reporting they spoke English well. English proficiency was rated lowest among clients whose main language other than English was grouped as Eastern Asian languages, with 24% rating their English proficiency as very well (Supplementary table CLIENTS.8).

Living arrangements

Living alone may be a sign of social disadvantage (De Vaus and Qu 2015). For some, it is associated with lower income, low participation in the labour force and lower levels of education. Living alone has also been shown to be a risk factor for social isolation (AIHW 2017). With limited economic resources and social networks, lone persons may be more vulnerable to homelessness. In 2016, 24% of households in Australia consisted of a lone person (ABS 2017).

The most common living arrangement reported by clients at the beginning of support in 2019–20 was lone parent with 1 or more children (34% or around 91,700), followed by lone persons (30% or around 81,600) and couples with 1 or more children (13% or around 33,800) (Figure CLIENTS.4). Female clients were more likely than male clients to be living as a single parent with 1 or more children (41% females compared with 24% males) while males were more likely than females to be living alone (41% males compared with 23% females).

Figure CLIENTS.4: Clients, by living arrangement, 2019–20

The stacked vertical bar graph shows the proportion of male and female clients by 8 usual living arrangements, captured at the first support period during 2019–20. The most common usual living arrangement of SHS clients was either one parent households with 1 or more children (34%25), with more than twice as many females than males, or lone person households (30%25), with 1.2 times more males than females.

Notes:

  1. This data item indicates the group of people with whom the client lives.
  2. Per cent calculations based on total clients, excluding 'Not stated'.

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2019–20, Supplementary table CLIENTS.10.

Selected vulnerabilities

Many clients face additional challenges that may make them more vulnerable to experiencing homelessness. The selected additional vulnerabilities presented here include family and domestic violence, experiencing a current mental health issue and/or problematic drug and/or alcohol use.

In 2019–20, of the almost 242,000 clients aged 10 and over, 6 in 10 (62%) reported experiencing one or more of these vulnerabilities (Table CLIENTS.2):

  • 2 in 5 reported a family and domestic violence (38% or almost 91,700 clients)
  • almost 2 in 5 reported a current mental health issue (37% or over 88,300 clients)
  • more than 1 in 10 reported problematic drug and or alcohol use (12% or almost 28,500 clients)
  • Very few (4% or almost 8,700 clients) reported experiencing all 3 vulnerabilities.
  • Almost 2 in 5 (38% or almost 92,800 clients) reported experiencing none of these vulnerabilities.
Table CLIENTS.2: All clients, by selected vulnerability characteristics, 2019–20

Family and domestic violence

Mental health issue

Problematic drug and
or alcohol use

Clients

Per cent

Yes

Yes

Yes

8,684

3.6

Yes

Yes

No

27,099

11.2

Yes

No

Yes

2,368

1.0

No

Yes

Yes

12,435

5.1

Yes

No

No

53,537

22.1

No

Yes

No

40,120

16.6

No

No

Yes

4,972

2.1

No

No

No

92,751

38.3

 

 

 

241,966

100.0

Notes:

  1. Clients are assigned to one category only based on their vulnerability profile.
  2. Clients are aged 10 and over.
  3. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2019–20.

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) supports people with a permanent and significant disability which affects their ability to take part in everyday activities. It is jointly governed and funded by the Australian and participating states and territory governments. The NDIS began its national rollout on 1 July 2016, it was expected to be fully implemented by July 2020 (DPS 2019). Further details about the NDIS are provided in the Technical information.

NDIS participation indicator

The NDIS participation indicator was introduced into the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC) from 1 July 2019. A participant in the NDIS is an individual who reports they are receiving an agreed package of support through the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The NDIS question is asked of all clients at the start of a support period by SHS agency. Data are only available for clients who only had support period(s) starting from 1 July 2019 onwards.

In 2019–20, 3% (almost 6,400) of SHS clients indicated that they were receiving a package of support through the NDIS, ranging from 2% in Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory to 4% in Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania. There was a high level of not stated responses for this indicator in 2019–20: 15% or more than 43,300 clients (Supplementary table CLIENTS.17).

Housing situation on first presentation

Among those clients whose housing status was known at the beginning of their first support period in 2019–20:

  • The proportion of males (50%) who were experiencing homelessness was higher than for females (38%).
  • Most (57% or more than 152,300 clients) were at risk of homelessness rather than homeless (43% or more than 113,700 clients) (Figure CLIENTS.5).
  • More than 1 in 3 clients (32% or more than 92,900) were living in private or other housing (renter, rent-free, or owner).
  • Of those clients with no shelter/improvised dwelling (more than 25,000 clients), 47% were sleeping in no dwelling, either on the street, in a park or out in the open and a further 22% (1 in 5) were sleeping in a car (Supplementary table CLIENTS.13).

Figure CLIENTS.5: Clients by housing situation at the beginning of support, 2019–20

The stacked vertical bar graph shows proportions of male and female clients by 6 housing situations captured in the SHSC. For those clients who were homeless, similar proportions were in either short-term or emergency accommodation, or couch surfing or no tenure (both 15%25). For those clients housed, but at risk of homelessness, most were in private or other housing (32%25) when they sought homelessness services, with nearly twice as many female clients than male clients in this housing situation.

Notes:

  1. Per cent calculations based on total clients, excluding 'Not stated'.
  2. Housing situation 'Other' not shown.

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2019–20, Supplementary table CLIENTS.11.

Main source of income

Income support was high among SHS clients with 77% of clients aged 15 and over receiving some form of government payment as their main source of income at the time they sought support in 2019–20 (Supplementary table CLIENTS.16). The most common government payments were Newstart Allowance (30% or about 58,300 clients), Parenting Payment (17% or 32,800) and Disability Support Pension (15% or 28,200). A total of 9% reported income from employment as their main source and 10% reported having no income.

It is important to note that as of 20 March 2020, Centrelink made changes to their payments. These changes included the introduction of a new payment—JobSeeker Payment and the removal of Newstart Allowance. Existing recipients of Newstart Allowance were transferred to the new JobSeeker Payment. From this date, if a client reports that they are receiving ‘JobSeeker Payment’ it is recorded under the existing ‘Newstart allowance’ category.

Education

Of those whose educational status was known, over half of young people aged 5–24 (54% or over 47,500) were enrolled in some form of education in 2019–20 (Supplementary table CLIENTS.18). Almost 9 in 10 (85%) clients aged 5–14 were enrolled in school, 13% of clients aged 5–14 (about 4,900) were not enrolled in education. Almost 7 in 10 (69%) clients aged 15–24 were not in some form of education (around 35,500 clients).

Labour force

Over 96,300 (51%) clients aged 15 or over were unemployed at the beginning of support in 2019–20 (Supplementary table CLIENTS.19). Males (57%) were more likely to be unemployed than females (47%). More than 69,700 (37%) clients were not in the labour force. More than 1 in 10 (13%) clients were employed and of these, 3 in 5 (67%) were employed on a part-time basis.

New or returning clients

In 2019-20 (Supplementary table CLIENTS.2):

  • More than half (58% or 168,400 clients) of all clients in 2019–20 had previously been assisted by a SHS agency at some point since the collection began in 2011–12.
  • Females (59%) were more likely than males (57%) to be returning to SHS for assistance.
  • The highest proportion of clients returning to SHS for assistance was in South Australia and Tasmania (both at 65%), while the lowest proportion of returning clients was in Queensland (55%).

Clients service use in 2019–20

Support periods

Data collected by specialist homelessness agencies are based on support periods or episodes of assistance provided to clients (see Technical information for further information). Clients may have had more than 1 support period in 2019–20, either with the same agency at different times or with different agencies. In 2019–20:

  • Clients assisted by homelessness agencies had more than 515,000 support periods. The number of support periods has increased by an average annual growth of 3.6% each year since 2011–12 (Supplementary table CLIENTS.1 and Historical table 1).
  • Two-thirds of clients had only 1 support period (65%) while 1 in 5 (19%) had 2 support periods, 7% had 3 support periods and 8% had 4 or more (Supplementary table CLIENTS.26).
  • The majority of support periods were opened and closed within 2019–20 (75% or around 385,700). An additional 12% of support periods opened during the year and remained open on 30 June 2020. Just 2% were ongoing throughout the 2019–20 reporting period (Figure CLIENTS.6).

Figure CLIENTS.6: Support periods, by indicative duration over the reporting period, 2019–20

The diagram shows collection periods from 2018–19 to 2020–21. Bars indicate the proportion of support periods opened in one reporting period and closed in the same or the subsequent period. Arrows indicate ongoing support, opening either in 2018–19 or 2019–20 and remaining open into 2020–21. Most support periods began and ended in 2019–20 (75%25); 12%25 remained opened. Just 2%25 of support periods that opened in 2018–19 remained open the entire reporting period.

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2019–20, Supplementary table CLIENTS.27

Number of days clients received support

26.1 million support days were provided in 2019–20.

  • Nationally, 26.1 million support days were provided in 2019–20. Support provided by services in Victoria were responsible for the major share of the increase in support days (an increase of more than 200,000 days), and also reported the greatest change (increase of 10%) since the previous reporting period.
  • The median number of support days for all clients was 43 days, while clients received an average of 1.7 support periods (Table CLIENTS.3).
  • The proportion of SHS clients receiving accommodation has remained consistent across time from 31% in 2015–16 to 30% in 2019–20, while the median number of nights accommodated has decreased, from 33 nights in 2015–16 to 28 nights in 2019–20.
  • Males (42 days) and females (44 days) received a similar median length of support (Supplementary table CLIENTS.28).
  • The needs of some clients can be met relatively quickly but clients with more complex needs received more support. Three in 10 clients (30% or about 85,600) received between 6 and 45 days of support during 2019–20, while 22% received support for up to 5 days. Seventeen per cent received over 180 days of support; while 16% received support for 91–180 days.
Table CLIENTS.3: SHS clients: service use patterns—2015–16 to 2019–20

 

2015–16

2016–17

2017–18

2018–19

2019–20

Length of support (median number of days)

35

37

39

44

43

Average number of support periods per client

1.7

1.7

1.7

1.7

1.7

Proportion receiving accommodation

31

30

29

30

30

Median number of nights accommodated

33

33

32

29

28

Notes:

  1. The denominator for the proportion receiving accommodation is all SHS clients. Denominator values for proportions are provided in the relevant supplementary table.
  2. Data for 2015–16 to 2016–17 have been adjusted for non-response. Due to improvements in the rates of agency participation and SLK validity, data from 2017–18 are not weighted. The removal of weighting does not constitute a break in time series and weighted data from 2015–16 to 2016–17 are comparable with unweighted data for 2017–18 onwards. For further information, please refer to the Technical Notes.

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2015–16 to 2019–20.

Reasons that support ended

  • More than half (58%) of support periods ended in 2019–20 because the client’s immediate needs were met or case management goals were achieved (Supplementary table CLIENTS.29).
  • Almost one-quarter (23%) of support periods ended because the client no longer requested assistance; that is, a client may have decided that they no longer required assistance or they may have moved from the state/territory or region.
  • A further 12% of support periods closed because the client was referred to another specialist homelessness agency and 13% closed because contact was lost with the client.

Clients’ needs for assistance and services provided

The SHSC includes information about clients’ needs for services from two perspectives:

  • The client’s reasons for seeking assistance at the start of support—both the main reason for seeking support and all reasons for seeking support are collected.
  • The agency worker’s assessment of the client’s needs—this information is captured when clients first present for assistance and each month while a client is still in contact with the agency.

Technical information and Glossary provide more information about how clients’ needs for assistance are captured in the SHSC.

Services provided to clients range from the direct provision of accommodation, such as a bed in a shelter, to more specialised services such as counselling and legal support. These services are generally either provided to the client directly by the agency or the client is referred to another service. Unmet need provides further information about clients’ needs that went unmet.

Reasons for seeking assistance

SHS clients can identify a number of reasons for seeking assistance, reflecting the range of situations that contribute to housing instability (Figure CLIENTS.7). In 2019–20:

  • Accommodation issues (including housing crisis, inadequate or inappropriate dwelling conditions or that previous accommodation had ended) were nominated by 52% of clients (or around 149,500 clients).
  • More than one-third (34% of clients) were experiencing housing crisis.
  • A high proportion were experiencing financial difficulties, identified by 41% of clients, while over 1 in 4 clients were affected by housing affordability stress (29%).
  • Interpersonal and relationship issues, including family and domestic violence, affected over half of all SHS clients (53% or about 152,600 clients). Within this group, 39% identified family and domestic violence.

Figure CLIENTS.7: Clients by all reasons for seeking assistance (top 6), 2019–20

The stacked vertical bar graph shows the most common reasons for seeking assistance for male and female clients. Financial difficulties was the most common reason for seeking assistance (41%25), followed by family and domestic violence (39%25). Housing crisis and housing affordability stress were the two other most common reasons.

Note: Top 6 excludes "Other' reason and cases where reason was 'Not stated'.
Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2019–20, Supplementary table CLIENTS.20.

While clients can identify a number of reasons for seeking assistance, SHS agencies also record the main reason for seeking assistance:

  • Family and domestic violence was the most common main reason identified for seeking assistance for almost 1 in 3 clients (29% or about 82,300 clients) (Figure CLIENTS.8). For more information, see Clients experiencing family and domestic violence.
  • Almost 1 in 5 (18% or around 50,700) identified housing crisis as the main reason for seeking assistance.

Figure CLIENTS.8: Clients by main reason for seeking assistance (top 6), 2019–20

The stacked vertical bar graph shows the most common main reasons for seeking assistance for male and female clients. Family and domestic violence (29%25) was the most common main reason for seeking assistance, followed by housing crisis (18%25). Financial difficulties and inadequate dwelling conditions were the next most common main reasons for seeking assistance.

Note: Top 6 excludes "Other' reason and cases where reason was 'Not stated'.
Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2019–20, Supplementary table CLIENTS.21.

For those clients presenting at risk of homelessness, the most common main reasons for seeking assistance were (Supplementary table CLIENTS.22):

  • family and domestic violence (33%)
  • housing crisis (15%)
  • financial difficulties (14%).

For those clients presenting as homeless, the most common main reasons for seeking assistance were:

  • housing crisis (23%)
  • family and domestic violence (18%)
  • inadequate or inappropriate dwelling conditions (18%).

Note that from 26 March 2020, ‘COVID-19’ became an ‘other’ reason for seeking assistance. It could mean that the client and/or the agency were affected directly or indirectly by the crisis. Analyses on this reason is not presented in this report, however, can be found in the Specialist Homelessness Services: monthly data product.

General support and assistance

Some types of assistance provided by SHS agencies can be described as ‘general support and assistance’, compared with more specialised services. These services include advice and information, material aid, meals and living skills. In 2019–20:

  • Clients most commonly needed advice and information, needed by 77% of clients (almost 224,700). The next most common need was advocacy and liaison, needed by 55% of clients (more than 159,700) and material aid/brokerage which was needed by 36% of clients (more than 104,000) (Figure CLIENTS.9).
  • Services almost always provided the required advice and information. This differs from some specialised services, such as legal information and training or employment assistance, for which clients were more often referred to another agency (see Supplementary table CLIENTS.23).

Figure CLIENTS.9: Clients by need for general services and service provision status (top 10), 2019–20

The stacked horizontal bar graph shows advice and information was the most needed service with almost 224,700 clients needing this and of those 98%25 were provided it. Of the top 10 general services needed, material aid and brokerage was the most likely to be referred (9%25 of those needing the service).

Notes:

  1. Top 10 excludes "Other basic assistance'.
  2. 'Neither' indicates a service was neither provided nor referred.
  3. The general services group is a count of unique clients within all categories in the service and assistance group. A client may request multiple services and assistance types, therefore the sum of the categories is not equal to the group total.

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2019–20, Supplementary table CLIENTS.23.

Housing and accommodation services

Housing and accommodation services provided by agencies include support to access:

  • short-term or emergency accommodation
  • medium-term/transitional housing
  • long-term housing
  • assistance to sustain tenancy or prevent tenancy failure or eviction
  • assistance to prevent foreclosures or for mortgage arrears.

In 2019–20, 59% of SHS clients identified a need for accommodation services. Of these nearly 170,900 clients:

  • 86,400 (51%) were provided with accommodation by the agency
  • 27,000 (16%) were referred to another agency for accommodation provision
  • 57,500 (34%) were neither provided nor referred for assistance. These clients are further described in Unmet need.

Assistance to sustain tenancy/prevent eviction was needed by 33% of clients at some stage during their support in 2019–20. This group includes those who were still housed when they approached a SHS agency and were supported to remain in that housing. It also includes those who identified a need for accommodation, were assisted to secure new housing and then supported to sustain that housing. Most clients (77,200 clients, or about 82% of those who needed it) received assistance to sustain tenancy directly from the specialist homelessness agency.

Specialised services

Specialised services refer to those services that require specific knowledge or skills and are usually undertaken by someone with qualifications to provide the particular service.

  • Health/medical services were identified as needed by 1 in 10 clients (or just over 26,900) and were one of the services most often referred (23%) (Figure CLIENTS.10).
  • There has been little change in the most common specialised services needed and provided over the past 5 years; for example, health/medical services, mental health services and specialist counselling remain the most commonly needed services.

Figure CLIENTS.10: Clients by need for specialised services and service provision status (top 10), 2019–20

The stacked horizontal bar graph shows that health and medical services was the most needed specialised service with just over 26,900 clients needing the service; it was also the most likely to be referred (5,900 clients). Mental health services were the next most needed service (24,700) with more than one-third (36%25) neither provided nor referred.

Notes:

  1. Excludes "Other specialised service'.
  2. 'Neither' indicates a service was neither provided nor referred.
  3. The specialised services group is a count of unique clients within all categories in the service and assistance group. A client may request multiple services and assistance types, therefore the sum of the categories is not equal to the group total.

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2019–20, Supplementary table CLIENTS.23.

Financial assistance

$68.7 million in financial assistance was provided to clients in 2019–20.

Around $68.7 million in financial assistance was provided to clients in 2019–20 (Figure CLIENTS.11), a 12% increase from the $61.1 million provided in 2018–19 (not adjusted for inflation). This represents an average of $976 provided per client requesting financial assistance, and an increase from $874 in 2018–19 (not adjusted for inflation).

More than three-quarters of the financial assistance was used to assist clients with housing in 2019–20.

  • Around $32.3 million (47%) of the financial assistance was used to assist clients to establish or maintain their existing tenancy.
  • Almost one-third of the financial assistance (32% or $21.9 million) was used to provide short-term or emergency accommodation.

Figure CLIENTS.11: Total amount of financial assistance provided to clients, by payment type, 2019–20

Note: Includes financial assistance, material aid, brokerage and vouchers provided to, or on behalf, of the client during the reporting period.
Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2019–20, Supplementary table CLIENTS.36.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, need for assistance has increased. This increased demand has resulted in some jurisdictions increasing funding for SHS services. For example, Victoria provided almost $6 million in additional funding to SHS agencies in March and April in 2020. This increased funding was primarily aimed at purchasing short-term emergency accommodation and maintaining tenancies in mostly rental accommodation.

Outcomes at the end of support

Outcomes presented here describe the change in clients’ housing situation between the start and end of support. Data is limited to clients who ceased receiving support during the financial year—meaning that their support periods had closed and they did not have ongoing support at the end of the year.

Many clients had long periods of support or even multiple support periods during 2019–20. They may have had a number of changes in their housing situation over the course of their support. These changes within the year are not reflected in the data presented here, rather the client situation at the start of their first period of support during 2019–20 is compared with the end of their last period of support in 2019–20.

Clients whose support period(s) both opened and closed in 2019–20 accounted for 75% of all clients (Figure CLIENTS.6). A proportion of these clients may have sought assistance prior to 2019–20, and may seek assistance again in future years.

Three aspects of a client’s housing situation are considered in their housing circumstances: dwelling type, housing tenure and the conditions of occupancy. See Technical information for details on how each of these categories are derived.

  • The number of clients who were known to be homeless at the start of support reduced when support ended: 1 in 3 clients (32% or over 58,200) were known to be homeless when support ended, down from 43% (80,500) at the start of support (Table CLIENTS.4).
  • The reduction in the proportion of clients who were homeless following support was due to decreases in the proportion of clients rough sleeping or with no shelter or living in improvised dwellings (from 10% to 6%) and in the proportion of clients living in a house, townhouse or flat as a ‘couch surfer’ with no tenure (from 17% to 11%).
  • There was an increase in clients living in some form of tenure over the course of support, including an increase in the proportion of clients living in public or community housing from 15% (or 28,200 clients at the beginning of support) to 21% (or more than 38,600 clients at the end of support); and an increase in the proportion of clients living in private or other housing from 39% (or 73,400 clients at the beginning of support) to 45% (or 82,100 clients at the end of support).

These trends demonstrate that by the end of support, many clients have achieved or progressed towards a more positive housing solution. That is, clients ending support in public or community housing (renter or rent-free) or private or other housing (renter or rent-free) had increased compared with the start of support.

Table CLIENTS.4: Clients (closed support), by housing situation at the beginning and end of support, 2019–20

Housing situation

Beginning of support
(number)

End of
support
(number)

Beginning of support
(per cent)

End of
support
(per cent)

No shelter or improvised/inadequate dwelling

18,265

10,284

9.7

5.6

Short term temporary accommodation

30,945

27,109

16.4

14.7

House, townhouse or flat - couch surfer or with no tenure

31,244

20,813

16.5

11.3

Total homeless

80,454

58,206

42.6

31.6

Public or community housing - renter or rent free

28,171

38,643

14.9

21.0

Private or other housing - renter, rent free or owner

73,374

82,069

38.8

44.6

Institutional settings

7,005

5,101

3.7

2.8

Total at risk

108,550

125,813

57.4

68.4

Total clients with known housing situation

189,004

184,019

100.0

100.0

Not stated/other

33,643

38,628

 

 

Total clients

222,647

222,647

 

 

Notes:

  1. Percentages have been calculated using total number of clients as the denominator (less not stated/other).
  2. It is important to note that individual clients beginning support in one housing type need not necessarily be the same individuals ending support in that housing type.
  3. Not stated/other includes those clients whose housing situation at either the beginning or end of support was unknown.

Source: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection. Supplementary table CLIENTS.30.

Housing outcomes for homeless versus at risk clients

In general terms, for those clients who were known to be homeless at the start of support, agencies were able to assist clients into temporary accommodation and sometimes into public or community housing or private or other housing. SHS agencies were also often successful in preventing those known to be at risk of homelessness from becoming homeless during support (Supplementary table CLIENTS.30, Interactive data visualisation).

  • Over 8 in 10 (85% or 59,600) clients who were living in private or other housing were assisted to maintain their housing, while a further 5% (3,700) were assisted into public or community housing.
  • Almost 9 in 10 (86% or 23,400) clients who were living in public or community housing were assisted to maintain their existing tenancy. A further 14% (1,600) were assisted into private or other housing and less than 1% (130) were in an institutional setting.

For clients with closed support in 2019–20 who were homeless on presentation to SHS agencies (Supplementary table CLIENTS.30, Interactive data visualisation):

  • About 1 in 3 (36%) were assisted by agencies into housing; most were assisted into private or other housing (about 16,600) and a further 9,700 into public or community housing.
  • Almost 4 in 10 (41%) of those who were in short-term or emergency accommodation were assisted into housing; most were assisted into private or other housing (about 6,800) and a further 4,800 were assisted into public or community housing.
  • The reduction in clients who were homeless following support was mostly due to reductions in the proportion of clients rough sleeping or with no shelter or living in improvised dwellings (from 10% to 6% of clients) and in the proportion of clients living in a house, townhouse or flat as a ‘couch surfer’ with no tenure (from 17% to 11%).

Other outcomes for clients

Specialist homelessness agencies may support clients in a number of non-housing areas to reduce their vulnerability to homelessness. These include changes in educational enrolment status, labour force status and income. In 2019–20:

  • Education: Education enrolment remained stable: 21% at the start of support and 22% at the end of support (Supplementary table CLIENTS.31). Of those who needed support for education or training assistance, 39% were enrolled at the start of support and 41% were enrolled at the end of support.
  • Employment: Employment increased following support. Of those with a need for employment assistance, 16% were employed at the start of support and 22% were employed at the end of the support (Supplementary table CLIENTS.32).
  • Income: Agencies assisted some clients with a need for and receiving a government payment: 70% at the start of support and 78% at the end of support (Supplementary table CLIENTS.33). There was a reduction following support in those reporting no income from 13% to 8%), and the proportion waiting for government benefits halved from 7% to 3%.

Achievement of case management goals

Case management plans enable agency workers to assist a client to work towards agreed goals. In some cases, support periods are too short to allow for development of a case management plan; for example, when a client stays for a 24-hour period or less. In other cases, a client may decline a case management plan. Case management approaches can differ across SHS agencies and over time as state and territory policies and practices change. In 2019–20:

  • For clients with closed support, 64% (or 143,000 clients) had a case management plan—52% in their own right and 13% were part of another client’s case management plan, often as part of a family (Supplementary table CLIENTS.34). The proportion of clients with a case management plan was similar in 2018–19 (65%).
  • Among those who had a plan in their own right, 73% achieved some of their case management goals, 21% achieved all their goals and 7% did not achieve any goals. The proportion of clients achieving all their goals was slightly lower than the previous year (25%).
  • Of the 36% of clients whose support had ended and who did not have a case management plan, the most common reason given for not having one was that the service episode was too short (71%) while a further 11% did not agree to have a case management plan.