Startling rise of working Aussies, older Australians being plunged into homelessness

Australia has recorded a 22 per cent increase in homelessness in that last three years, with an alarming increase in the number of employed people seeking critical services which are “buckling” under unsustainable escalations in demand.

In the three years to 2023-24, the rate of people seeking homelessness support, despite being employed, has also increased from 10.9 per cent to 15.3 per cent, according to the 2024 Australian Homelessness Monitor.

Increases in people resorting to rough sleeping were especially pronounced in NSW which recorded a startling 55 per cent surge, more than double the national rate of 22 per cent, with regional communities hit hardest.

Older Australians also bore the brunt of the surge, with rates of Aussies aged over 65 rising by 31 per cent, and 15 per cent in people aged between 55 to 64.

Professor of Housing Research at UNSW Hal Pawson, who led the report, said the rental crunch was a major factor in rising levels of homelessness.

“Rental affordability stress has deepened to such a degree that more people are being forced into situations of severe instability and rough sleeping,” he said.

“Median rents have increased 51 per cent since the Covid-19 pandemic and there has been only a marginal expansion of social housing.”

According to the July figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, rents across Australia were 7.8 per cent more expensive in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of 2023, when rents are seasonally at their most expensive.

Annual rental hikes were recorded in all capital cities, expect for Hobart, with costs rising the highest in Perth - by 9.9 per cent.

Homelessness Australia chief executive Kate Colvin said larger proportions of the populations were being exposed to homelessness, and said there needed to be urgent government intervention with services “buckling” under pressure.

Agencies surveyed by the Homelessness Monitor reported “significantly increased” numbers of clients requiring assistance, with monthly caseloads increasing by 12 per cent since pre-Covid figures in 2019-20.

More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of services also said it was “significantly” harder to secure housing for clients in mid-2024 compared to 2023.

“Homelessness is no longer confined to the most vulnerable. With the housing crisis forcing working families into homelessness, this should be a wake-up call for action,” she said.

“Governments need to take immediate action and deliver an emergency homelessness investment so that when people reach out for homelessness support there is someone there to help them.

“We particularly need investment in homelessness prevention so we can stop people becoming homeless in the first place, as well as investment in world renowned Housing First programs to stop people cycling in and out of homelessness.”

Last month, Homelessness NSW and Impact Economics revealed 3.2 million Australians were just one negative shock away from homelessness, with the number of at-risk Australians increasing from 1.5-2 million to 2.7-3.2 million between 2016 to 2022.