Overview
Mission Australia’s 2025–26 Federal Pre-Budget Submission presents evidence-based policy recommendations to address the urgent housing and homelessness crisis, youth disadvantage, and underfunded alcohol and other drug (AOD) services.
With over 160,000 people supported in 2023–24 across 477 programs, the submission highlights the need to scale early intervention and prevention, invest in youth-focused supports, and ensure long-term, sustainable funding for frontline services.
At the core of the recommendations is a shift toward structural reform—moving from crisis response to prevention, and ensuring equitable access to secure housing and tailored support services across Australia.
Priority recommendations
Housing and homelessness
- Establish a $500 million Homelessness Prevention Transformation Fund (from July 2025)
- Increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) by 60%
- Reinstate and increase funding for Homelessness Australia and National Shelter
Youth homelessness
- Equalise youth rental support by introducing a $408 ‘unreasonable to live at home’ payment
- Invest $100 million to extend the Reconnect program to 2031 Fund 10 new 40-unit Youth Foyers ($184 million capital investment)
- Support 15,000 dedicated youth housing tenancies each year
Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD)
- Provide minimum five-year funding for all youth AOD services
- Invest in new youth-specific AOD residential services via co-funded models
- Upgrade and expand Triple Care Farm facilities in NSW ($38 million investment)
Evidence snapshot
- 63% increase in people homeless or at risk (2016–2022)
- Over 28,000 young people experience homelessness, nearly 25% of the national total
- 1 in 3 young people aged 10–29 access AOD treatment for problematic use
- $90,000 per person benefit from Youth Foyers over 40 years (ROI modelling)
- National rent increase of 36.1% since COVID ($8,800 per year at median level)
Why this matters
This submission reaffirms Mission Australia's longstanding call for systemic reform:
We must shift from reacting to crisis, to preventing it. The evidence is clear—early intervention works. But without housing, we cannot hope to deliver lasting change.
These proposals build on proven practice models and partnership networks, and are aligned with national strategies to improve wellbeing, reduce homelessness, and support young people in vulnerable circumstances.