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Australia is a reasonably well off country, with quite good social services and welfare resources. However, the country still has a number of homeless people.

According to the Australian National Census, these numbers have been:

Homeless people in Australia:

• 1996 105,304 (20,579 people were ‘sleeping rough’)
• 2001   99,900 (14,200 people were ‘sleeping rough’)
• 2006 104,676 (16,375 people were ‘sleeping rough’)

Of these homeless people on each Census night,  most were sheltered somewhere.  The figures for 2006 are:

47,250 of the homeless (45%) were staying temporarily with friends or relatives
22,050 of the homeless(21%) were staying in boarding houses
19,950 of the homeless(19%) were staying in supported accommodation (hostels for the homeless, night shelters and refuges)
This leaves about 15,750 not accounted for, presumably living rough.

Note the definition for being homeless in Australia:

• People without conventional accommodation (living on the streets, in deserted buildings, improvised dwellings, in parks, etc.).
• People staying in boarding houses, people using Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) and other similar emergency accommodation services.
• People with no secure accommodation staying temporarily with friends or relatives in private dwellings.

How many people do you know that are homeless ?

I can think of three.  They are all young people who have left home, and are living with friends.  They fit the official definition of being homeless.  I also know two more who have sold their house, and living with relatives while they buy another.  That is Five homeless people that I know, and not one of them is having any problems with this.

The split of homeless between the States, was:

State	2006	2001	1996
New South Wales	27,374 (3,715)	26,676	29,608 ()
Queensland	26,782 (5,165)	24,569	25,649 ()
Victoria	20,511 (2,204)	20,305	17,840 ()
Western Australia	13,391 (2,392)	11,697	12,252 ()
South Australia	7,962 (848)	7,586 (1,322)	6,837 (734)
Northern Territory	4,785 (1,588)	5,423	9,906 ()
Tasmania	2,507 (375)	2,415	2,014 ()
Australian Capital Territory	1,364 (78)	1,229	1,198 ()
Australia Total	104,676 (16,375)	99,900 (14,158)	105,304 (20,579 )

The figures in brackets are for those with no accommodation, sleeping rough.

The most common reasons for homelessness, according to an SAAP survey, were:

22% Domestic and family violence
11% Eviction/previous accommodation ended
11% Relationship/family breakdown
11% Usual accommodation unavailable
10% Financial Difficulty

The largest group of Homeless are single people (72%), who are unemployed and not looking for work (59%).

Looking at the above figures, it seems that 1,575, out of the 105,000 total, are homeless due to Financial Difficulty, with 930 of these unemployed and not looking for work.

What does Australia do to help the homeless:

In Australia the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) is a joint Commonwealth and state government program which provides funding for more than 1,200 organisations which are aimed to assist homeless people or those in danger of becoming homeless.

How does Australia compare to other Countries for homelessness:

From www.homelessworldcup.org there are the following statistics:

• Australia: 100,000 people sleep on the streets of Australia everyday.
• Brazil: 20 million homeless people.
• Columbia: 9,654,722 homeless people in Columbia
• France: 1 million people are homeless in France
• India: 78 million homeless people in India
• Indonesia: 3,000,000 homeless people in Indonesia
• Nigeria: 24.4 million people estimated homeless population by 2015
• Philippines: 32.8 million live in Slums
• Russia: An estimated 5 million people are homeless in Russia
• United Kingdom: The UK has one of the highest levels of homelessness in Europe with more than 4 people per 1,000 estimated to be homeless

Now, I am not sure how accurate the above is, especially after seeing the 100,000 for Australia, considering that the source quoted is the ABS, who actually state only about 16,000 sleeping rough, not the 100,00.  However, these figures do give us a starting point to realise that many people worldwide do not have a regular home.

Sources:

• 2001 Data www.abs.gov.au and PDF 2001 Homeless
• 2006 Data www.abs.gov.au and PDF 2006 Homeless
• World Figures www.homelessworld.org
• South Australia www.homelessnesssa.asn.au and PDF
• Queensland www.aihw.gov.au
• New South Wales: www.aihw.gov.au and www.parliament.nsw.gov.au
• Victoria www.aihw.gov.au
• Western Australia www.aihw.gov.au
• All: www.aihw.gov.au

Rate of Homelessness per 10,000 of population

State	2006	2001	1996
NSW	42	42.2	49.4
VIC	42	43.6	41.0
SA	53	51.6	48.1
TAS	53	52.4	43.9
WA	68	64.0	71.5
QLD	69	69.8	77.3
NT	248	288.3	523.1
ACT	42	39.6	40.3

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