Use of specialist homelessness services
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Short term accommodation was provided or referred in 74% of the support periods for humanitarian entrants where it was identified as a need.
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18%
For more than 18% of support periods, domestic violence was identified as the main reason for accessing support.
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1 in 3 humanitarian entrant SHS clients
were homeless when they first received specialist homelessness services
Service needs identified and whether provided or referred
Specialist Homelessness Service (SHS) provide a range of services to clients including 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. The need for particular services and whether they are provided or referred are collected as part of the SHS collection. The data presented below is based on individual support periods between 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2022. The approach used in this report differs from most other reports using SHS data, therefore comparisons with other reports are not valid.
General services were identified as a need at presentation for 87% of support periods provided to humanitarian entrants. General services include advice and information, material aid, meals and living skills. Where general services were identified as needed in humanitarian entrants they were provided in 98% of support periods, referred only in 1% of support periods, and neither provided or referred in 1.4% of support periods.
The need for more specialised services in humanitarian entrant SHS clients varied by service type (Figure 14).
- Accommodation services were commonly identified as a need including short-term or emergency accommodation in 31% of support periods, medium-term or transitional housing in 23% of support periods, and long-term housing in 33% of support periods.
- In 14% of support periods, immigration and cultural services were needed, of which these services were provided or referred on 93% of occasions. These include interpreter services, assistance with immigration services, culturally specific services, and assistance to connect culturally.
- In 16% of support periods, domestic violence services were needed, of which these services were provided or referred on 90% of occasions.
Figure 14: SHS support periods provided to humanitarian entrants by need for services and whether provided, referred only or neither provided nor referred, 2011–12 to 2021–22
Stacked bar chart showing the number of support periods where service was needed by service group. Within the bars the percent of the services needed that where provided, referred only or neither provided nor referred is shown. Long-term housing was the most needed support but only provided in 3.2% of support periods.
| Category | Provided | Referred only | Not provided nor referred |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short-term or emergency accommodation | 53.8% | 14.5% | 31.7% |
| Medium-term/transitional housing | 23.0% | 19.4% | 57.6% |
| Long-term housing | 3.2% | 29.6% | 67.2% |
| Assistance to sustain housing | 79.5% | 4.1% | 16.4% |
| Mental health services | 45.4% | 23.4% | 31.2% |
| Family services | 64.0% | 19.3% | 16.7% |
| Disability services | 49.8% | 24.3% | 25.8% |
| Drug and alcohol counselling | 45.9% | 20.4% | 33.7% |
| Legal/financial services | 48.3% | 30.7% | 21.0% |
| Immigration/cultural services | 82.7% | 10.1% | 7.2% |
| Domestic violence services | 86.8% | 3.2% | 9.9% |
| Other specialist services | 66.4% | 21.0% | 12.7% |
Source:
Refugee health linked data set
Notes:
- Services can be both provided and referred.
- The total length of the bar is the total number of support period where the services was recorded as needed.
- Totals percentage may not equal 100% due to rounding.
For further detail of the service and assistance types included in the service groups shown in Figure 14, see the Data table CLIENTS.24 in the Specialist homelessness services annual report 2022–23 data tables and the SHS data definitions on the AIHW website.
Reasons for accessing specialist homelessness services
SHS clients can identify a number of reasons for seeking assistance, reflecting the range of situations that contribute to housing instability. SHS agencies also record all reasons and a single main reason for clients seeking assistance for each support period (Table 9). Data presented here relate to every support period for humanitarian entrant and other permanent migrant SHS clients which differs from other reports, therefore, comparisons with other published data are not valid.
Accommodation issues (including housing crisis, inadequate or inappropriate dwelling conditions or that previous accommodation had ended) was the most common main reason group for seeking assistance among humanitarian entrants.
Family and domestic violence was the main reason 17.8% of the time, the highest for any specific reason. More than 1 in 7 support periods had lack of family and/or community support identified as a contributing reason for requiring SHS support.
Reason group | Proportion of support periods identified as main reason | Proportion of support periods identified as any reason |
|---|---|---|
Accommodation | 40 | 67 |
Financial | 22 | 69 |
Health | 1.6 | 14 |
Interpersonal relationships | 24 | 45 |
Not stated | 3.1 | 3.2 |
Other | 10 | 32 |
Source: Refugee health linked data set
Reasons are presented at higher level groupings. For more detailed breakdown of the reasons for humanitarian entrants accessing specialist homelessness services and for the reasons in other permanent migrants see Data tables.
Reasons for ending support
More than half of support periods provided to humanitarian entrants (53%) ended because the clients’ immediate needs were met or case management goals were achieved.
Additionally, almost 1 in 8 support periods (12%) 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.
Housing situation
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 notes for details on how each of the categories of housing situation are derived. These data are presented at the client level.
1 in 3 humanitarian entrant SHS clients (33%) were homeless when they first received specialist homelessness services. Of those who were homeless, half were living in a house, townhouse or flat as a couch surfer or with no tenure. Of those that were at risk of homelessness, 82% were living in private or other housing as a renter, rent free or owner.
For further detail on the housing situation of humanitarian entrants when they first receive support, and comparisons to other permanent migrants, refer to the Data tables.
Homelessness status at the beginning and end of support
Outcomes presented here describe the change in clients’ housing situation between the start and end of support (figure 15). There is an improvement in the proportion of humanitarian entrant clients who are homeless from 33% of clients at the beginning of support to 21% of clients at the end of support. Data are limited to clients who ceased receiving support during the reporting period, meaning that their support periods had closed and they did not have ongoing support at the end of the year 2021–22 financial year. By the end of 2021–22 financial year, 24,500 (97%) of humanitarian clients were no longer accessing SHS support.
Figure 15: Homelessness status at beginning and at end of support for humanitarian entrant SHS clients with closed support, 2011–12 to 2021–22
Diagram showing the proportion of humanitarian entrants who were homeless at the start and end SHS support, and the number which moved between classifications form the start to the end of support.
Notes:
- Occupancy, tenure and dwelling type information are combined to determine housing situation, which is then further aggregated to homelessness status.
- All clients are classified as either homeless or at risk of homelessness depending on the housing situation recorded at the start and end of support.
- Client are classified as homeless if they are living in no shelter or improvised dwelling, short-term temporary accommodation or couch surfing or with no tenure in a house, townhouse or flat.
- Clients are classified as at risk of homelessness if they are living in public or community housing (renter or rent free), private or other housing (renter, rent-free or owner) or institutional settings.