As we come together to mark Homelessness Week from Monday 4 August to Sunday 10 August, I find myself reflecting on the strength and resilience I see every day in the people Mission Australia works alongside.
With 165 years of experience meeting human need, we know that a safe, secure and affordable home is more than just shelter. It's the stable starting point people need to rebuild their lives, find hope and create brighter futures. But too many people in Australia still don't have access to that safe and secure place to call home that so many of us take for granted.
During the last Census, 122,000 people in Australia were homeless . Millions more - between 2.7 and 3.5 million - are just one life shock away from losing their home . More than 220,000 households are waiting for social housing, and every hour, around 3,000 people seek help from homelessness services like those provided by Mission Australia . These figures highlight the scale of the housing emergency and homelessness crisis, but behind every number is a person, a family, a story.
I often hear from people about the life-changing impact of having a safe place to call home. One young person who had been homeless told us that stable accommodation and support from our team gave them the safety and confidence to pursue goals they once thought were out of reach. They found balance in their life and began to feel hopeful again. Another person, who was at risk of homelessness, shared how staying in their rental home with help from our tenancy support team, meant they avoided losing everything. That sense of safety and security and that layer of support made all the difference.
Our most recent Safe and secure homes: Stopping homelessness before it begins snapshot shows a 52 per cent rise between 2023 and 2024 in people seeking support through our tenancy services. Many are working, many are young, and many are escaping family and domestic violence. An increasing number of people are reaching out for help to remain living in their homes or to move into safer, more secure housing.
Importantly, almost all people who accessed our tenancy support services (98 per cent) were able to stay living in their homes and avoid homelessness. This shows that with the right support, delivered at the right time, homelessness can be prevented.
That's why we're calling for a $500 million Homelessness Prevention Transformation Fund to grow the services that stop homelessness before it starts. Support that helps people remain living in their homes must be an urgent national priority. It's simply not sustainable to have a system that only steps in once someone reaches crisis point. We need to make sure people get the early support they need, before they lose their home and before they’re pushed into homelessness.
Safe, secure homes is also at the heart of our Strategy 2030. We're committed to doubling our community housing portfolio to 10,000 social and affordable homes by the end of the decade, and to delivering five new supported housing models that combine housing with the tailored services people need to thrive. Alongside this, we’re also focused on expanding our prevention and early intervention services to support people before they reach crisis point.
Every day, our dedicated staff work across the country alongside people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. From crisis support through to community or specialist housing and early intervention, where possible they help connect people to safe, secure homes that they can afford, along with tailored support to help people and families remain safely housed and begin to rebuild their lives. Their compassion, commitment and tireless efforts make a real and lasting difference in thousands of people’s lives each year.
Recent policy measures - such as $1 billion for crisis and transitional housing for young people who are homeless and women and children escaping violence, and tax incentives for build-to-rent developments available from January 2025 - are welcome steps forward. However, the need remains urgent with a significant shortage of affordable homes. That's why we advocate for one in 10 of all new homes to be dedicated social and affordable housing nationally. We also call for a 60 per cent increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance so people aren't forced to choose between paying rent and meeting basic needs - and can stay safely housed.
Homelessness is solvable and this should be our national expectation. It stems from Australia’s severe shortage of social and affordable homes, increasingly unaffordable private rentals, the high cost of living, poverty, family violence and other systemic challenges. But with courage, compassion, commitment and collective action, it’s something we can end.
We know we can't do this alone. This Homelessness Week, I invite you to take action. Support campaigns like Everybody’s Home, Queensland’s Town of Nowhere, the Home Time youth homelessness campaign, and back the call for more Youth Foyers like our first one in Townsville, which has been changing young people’s lives for just over a year. Or you might consider partnering with us or donating to help people facing tough times today.
Together, we're building hope and possibility for all. Together, we can create an Australia where everyone has a safe, secure place to call home.
Sharon Callister
CEO Mission Australia
@Sharon Callister (LinkedIn)
1 ABS (2021) Census of Population and Housing: Estimating Homelessness, https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/estimating-homelessness-census/latest-release.
2 Jackson, A. and Blane, E. (2024). Call Unanswered. Unmet Demand For Specialist Homelessness Services. Impact Economics: Homelessness Australia, https://homelessnessaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Impact-Economics-Call-Unanswered.pdf.
3 Calculations on the data tables available at: Productivity Commission (2025). Report on Government Service 2025: Housing and homelessness, https://www.pc.gov.au/ongoing/report-on-government-services/2025/housing-and-homelessness.
4 AIHW (2024) Specialist Homelessness Services Annual Report 2023-24, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/homelessness-services/specialist-homelessness-services-annual-report.