|
Current Issues
'There's no home-like place' - Homelessness in Australia
E-Brief: Online Only issued 9 November 2000
Greg McIntosh, Analysis
and Policy
Janet Phillips, Information/E-links
Social Policy Group
In an Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Occasional Paper, Counting
the Homeless; Implications for Policy Development, it was estimated
that on census night 1996 there were 20,579 people in improvised dwellings,
or sleeping out in Australia. When these figures were added to the figures
for those in boarding houses (23,299), those in Supported Accommodation
Assistance Program (SAAP) accommodation (12,926) and those staying with
friends and relatives (48,500), a total of 105,304 people were estimated
to be 'homeless' in Australia on that one night.
When the ABS study was released in December 1999, the Minister for Family
and Community Services, Senator Jocelyn Newman, noted in a media
release that the study 'has taken a broad and inclusive definition
of homelessness which has resulted in a much higher figure than some other
estimates.'
The difficulty of obtaining agreement on a set of figures to indicate
the number of homeless people in Australia is attributable, in part, to
the problem of how to define homelessness or, to put it another way, who
to include as 'homeless'.
Chris Chamberlain, author of the ABS Occasional Paper referred to above,
says that '[t]here can be no meaningful public debate about the best policy
responses to assist homeless people, unless there is reliable information
on the number of homeless people in the community'.
The Supported
Accommodation Assistance Program Act 1994 defines a 'homeless'
person as follows:
For the purposes of this Act, a person is homeless if, and only if,
he or she has inadequate access to safe and secure housing. (Section
4)
The Act goes on to define 'inadequate access to safe and secure housing'.
For the purposes of this Act, a person is taken to have inadequate
access to safe and secure housing if the only housing to which the person
has access:
- damages, or is likely to damage, the person's health; or
- threatens the person's safety; or
- marginalises the person through failing to provide access to:
- adequate personal amenities; or
- the economic and social supports that a home normally affords;
or
- places the person in circumstances which threaten or adversely affect
the adequacy, safety, security and affordability of that housing.
In its publication, Australia's
Welfare 1999, Services and Assistance, the Australian Institute
of Health and Welfare (AIHW) pointed to five situations on which definitions
of homelessness tend to focus. These are:
- currently living on the street;
- living in crisis or refuge accommodation;
- living in temporary arrangements without security of tenure-for example,
moving between the residences of friends or relatives, living in squats,
caravans or improvised dwellings, or living in boarding houses;
- living in unsafe family circumstances-for example, families in which
child abuse or domestic violence is a threat or has occurred;
- living on very low incomes and facing extraordinary expenses or personal
crisis.
Most definitions, including that in the SAAP Act, allow for considerations
of 'safety' and 'security' as well as the need for basic shelter.
Chamberlain suggests that different definitions arise for different purposes.
These fall into two main forms. There are, he says, 'service delivery
definitions', such as that included in the SAAP Act, and 'advocacy definitions',
such as the one used by the Council for
Homeless Persons in 1995:
A homeless person is without a conventional home and lacks most of
the economic and social supports that a home normally affords. She/he
is often cut off from the support of relatives and friends, she/he has
few independent resources and often has no immediate means and in some
cases little prospect of self support. She/he is in danger of falling
below the poverty line, at least from time to time.
It may be helpful to think of 'degrees' of homelessness, from the seemingly
destitute 'rough sleeper' to those who have a shelter but who are unsafe
in that shelter or who lack security of tenure and are therefore at risk
of homelessness. It is worth bearing in mind too that a count or an estimate
taken at a point in time cannot represent the episodes of homelessness
that individuals or families may experience over time and which may involve
a range of temporary solutions or responses.
According to Chamberlain, there is an 'emerging consensus' around a three
tiered idea of 'primary', 'secondary' and 'tertiary' homelessness. The
three tiered model is a cultural definition based on 'minimum community
standards' of housing. Thus, anyone living below what is accepted as a
minimum standard can be classified as 'homeless'.
As Chamberlain suggests, the formation of policy and the targeting of
resources depend on the availability of reliable information on the different
categories of homelessness. It may be that there is a greater willingness
in the community to direct resources at young homeless people,
or at those who appear to be living on the street or 'sleeping rough'
on a permanent basis. On the other hand, there may be a perception of
'choice' associated with those sleeping rough and a greater willingness
therefore to target those individuals or families living in temporary
accommodation, or those at risk or without security of tenure. In October
2000, Mission
Australia stated that, '[f]amilies with children are the fastest growing
group among Australia's homeless'. (Fact Sheet - Family Homelessness
in Australia)
An approach that acknowledges degrees of homelessness may allow for more
carefully categorised numbers and minimise the controversy stemming from
the use of disputed statistics.
There are numerous programs (Commonwealth, State and Local) that governments
in Australia run and/or fund with a view to alleviating or preventing
homelessness. The community sector, and to a lesser extent the private
sector, also provide resources and support to those suffering or in danger
of suffering homelessness. The emphasis here is on programs and support
for the homeless that are funded by the Commonwealth. As well as the programs
outlined below the Commonwealth also provides a range of social security
benefits (for example, the youth allowance and aged, disability and unemployment
benefits) and health and other welfare type benefits/support which may
be accessed by homeless people or by people who are in danger of being
homeless. Initiatives with regard to reducing drug abuse, improving family
relationships and various crime prevention measures can also be viewed
as measures that will have an impact on the level of homeless. Because
of this it is difficult to get an accurate overall picture of the total
Commonwealth effort being directed at alleviating homelessness. What follows
is a brief overview of the main programs and initiatives in the homeless
area.
The Commonwealth’s main homeless specific program is the Supported Accommodation Assistance
Program (SAAP). SAAP, which commenced in 1985, replaced a host of
programs that had been directed to homeless people prior to that time.
SAAP is a joint Commonwealth-State program that essentially provides recurrent
funding to in excess of 1200 agencies that provide services and assistance
to people who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless. On average
the Commonwealth provides approximately 55% of total SAAP funding with
the remaining 45% coming from the States and Territories. In 1997-98 a
total of $224m ($125m Commonwealth/$99m State-Territory) was provided
for the SAAP (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australia's
Welfare 1999, Oct.1999, p.304). The Commonwealth's contribution in
1999-2000 was $156.9m (FACS
Annual Report 1999-2000, p.88).
The main groups that the SAAP targets are women escaping domestic violence,
young people and single men and women, with the first two of these groups
being the areas where most SAAP resources are directed.
A detailed review and evaluation of SAAP was undertaken in 1998 and the
report from this evaluation
(released in 1999), whilst acknowledging the many achievements of the
Program, did highlight the problem of unmet demand with respect to the
homeless problem. With this in mind the evaluation recommended that the
Commonwealth should increase its recurrent funding in the first year of
the new SAAP Agreement (2000) by approximately 25%. The federal government
has only partly taken up this recommendation. In terms of forward commitments…
the Commonwealth has allocated over $650 million over the five years
to 2003-04 for the continuation of the Program, and the 1999-2000 Federal
Budget provided an additional $45 million over six years ($8 million
recurrently) to meet wage-related costs in some States and Territories.
A further $60 million over four years, beginning in 2000-2001 was announced
in the context of the tax reform negotiations.' (Australian Institute
of Health and Welfare, Australia's Welfare 1999, Oct.1999, p.305).
The Commonwealth
State Housing Agreement (CSHA) is also a long running Commonwealth-State
arrangement which aims to assist both renters and purchasers obtain appropriate
accommodation. It is mainly concerned with the provision of public housing
and in recent years housing from the CSHA has become increasingly the
preserve of people on low incomes or who are disadvantaged in some way.
Included under the ambit of the CSHA is the Crisis Accommodation Program
(CAP). The CAP is a Commonwealth program that provides capital funding
to allow the purchase of housing for people who are homeless or in crisis.
CAP funding allows the purchase of dwellings to accommodate clients of
the SAAP program. Funding for the CAP has remained constant at $40m per
year since 1996-97 and is projected to stay at this level through to 2002-2003.
(Data supplied by the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community
Services.) Thus, in real terms, funding for the CAP is declining.
Rent Assistance (provided by the Commonwealth) provides rental assistance
to low income households and individuals in the private housing market.
Assistance is in the form of a non-taxable income supplement paid to people
who receive income support payments or more than minimum family payment
in recognition of housing costs in the private market. Expenditure on
RA has been steadily increasing in recent years – from $1468 m in
1997-98 to $1538m in 1999-2000. (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare,
Australia's Welfare 1999 Oct.1999, p.341, Department of Family
and Community Services, Annual
Report 1999-2000, p.92.)
The Emergency
Relief Program (ERP) provides funding to community and welfare organisations
in order that they can assist families and individuals in short term financial
crisis. Assistance is provided in the form of income support and/or other
support. The Commonwealth provided approximately $24.5m for the Emergency
Relief Program in 1999-2000. (FACS,
Annual Report 1999-2000, p.102)
Youth
As well as targeted support for youth homelessness under the ambit of
SAAP, and the provision of income support measures such as the Youth Allowance,
there are other initiatives funded by the Commonwealth aimed at alleviating
homelessness amongst young people. In 1996 a Prime
Ministerial Youth Taskforce was established and arising out of the
deliberations of that Taskforce a Youth Homelessness Pilot Program was
trialed. The trial involved 26 pilot programs across Australia that aimed
at encouraging young people to reconcile their differences with their
families and improve their educational and training skills. Approximately
$11m of funding for the plot program was provided by the Commonwealth
over the period 1996-97 to 1998-99. (Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare, Australia's Welfare 1999 Oct.1999, p.306)
The pilot program ceased in 1999 but was replaced by the Reconnect
Program, a new Youth Homelessness Early Intervention Program. As announced
in the context of the 1999-2000 Federal Budget, the Commonwealth plans
to allocate a total of $60m over a period of four years to the new early
intervention program. (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australia's
Welfare 1999 Oct.1999, p.306)
For more information on youth homelessness see the Department of Family
and Community Services youth
homelessness website.
Families
The Commonwealth also provides funding for a range of other initiatives/strategies
that are aimed at preventing homelessness, for example…
- the Family
Relationships Services Program which provides counselling and mediation
support for families via 83 community organisations. $37m is provided
annually for this program. See Senator Newman, Minister for Family and
Community Services, (speech
to National Homelessness Conference, 19 May 1999).
- the Partnerships Against Domestic
Violence Strategy ($25m in 1998-99) which provides funding to help
prevent domestic violence, one of the key reasons causing homelessness
amongst women and children
- the National Crime Prevention Program (approximately $15m per annum)
that involves a range of projects aimed at reducing the incidence of
crime in Australia
- a host of initiatives and projects that come under the general banner
of the fight against drugs.
In May 2000, the Government launched a National
Homelessness Strategy which is aimed at providing a holistic and strategic
approach to the issue of homelessness. The four main themes of the Strategy
are:
- Working Together in a Social Coalition;
- Prevention;
- Early Intervention; and
- Crisis Transition and Support.
As part of the initial stages of the Strategy, the Government released
a Discussion
Paper. This is aimed at engaging the various stakeholders concerned
and allowing consultation with the broader community to occur. Additional
background on the Strategy can be obtained from the Australian
Federation of Homelessness Organisations website.
The following sites provide further information on homelessness. Links
to overseas homelessness sites are also listed.
Department
of Family and Community Services National Homelessness Strategy
Australian Federation of Homelessness
Organisations
Supported Accommodation Assistance
Program
Shelter NSW
National Community Housing Forum
Australian Housing and Urban Research
Institute
Council for Homeless Persons
Mission Australia
National Youth Affairs Research Scheme (NYARS), Homelessness
among young people in Australia: Early intervention and prevention
NSW Federation of
Housing Associations
European Federation of National Organisations
working with the Homeless
Habitat International
Coalition
International Union of Tenants
World
Homeless Union
New Zealand - Ministry
of Housing
Canada - Youth Without Shelter
UK – Shelter
UK - Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - About
Rough Sleeping
US - Department of Health and Human Services - Homelessness
US - National Alliance to End
Homelessness
US - National Coalition for
the Homeless
US - Coalition on Human Needs
US - National Center for Homeless
Education
For copyright reasons some linked items are only available to
Members of Parliament.
|
