Definitions and Facts
Housing Australia Fact sheet: a quick guide to housing facts and figures (PDF)
This fact sheet prepared for National Shelter by Shelter NSW gives quick facts and figures on housing stress, home purchase, rental, social housing and homelessness in Australia.
A Definition of Homelessness
The most commonly accepted definition of homelessness is Mackenzie and Chamberlain's definition which includes three categories in recognition of the diversity of homelessness.
Primary homelessness is experienced by people without conventional accommodation (e.g. sleeping rough or in improvised dwellings).
Secondary homelessness is experienced by people who frequently move from one temporary shelter to another (e.g. emergency accommodation, youth refuges, ‘couch-surfing’).
Tertiary homelessness is experienced by people staying in accommodation that falls below minimum community standards (e.g. boarding houses, caravan parks, and forced share arrangements such as experienced by many people with disabilities). This definition was adopted by the Commonwealth Advisory Committee on Homelessness in 2001 and is widely used in the community sector.
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The Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP)
SAAP defines someone who is homeless as: A person who does not have access to safe, secure, adequate housing. A person is considered not to have safe, secure adequate housing if the only housing to which they have access:
- damages, or is likely to damage, their health; or
- threatens their safety; or
- marginalises them through failing to provide access to:
- adequate personal amenities; or
- the economic and social supports that a home normally affords; or
- places them in circumstances which threaten or adversely affect the adequacy, safety, security, affordability of that housing; or
- has no security of tenure – that is, they have no legal right to continued occupation of their home.
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Please see these links for further information:
Fact sheets – Homelessness Australia
Each day nearly 1 in every 200 Australians is homeless, without safe or affordable housing. Last year, 105,000 Australians experienced homelessness.
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Australians for Ending Homelessness
The facts are shocking; 35,000 children are homeless in Australia. On any night, more than 105,000 Australians will be homeless. A further 17,500 live in insecure, unsafe accommodation that falls below minimum community standards. The following report outlines some of the data and the personal stories that accompany the facts.
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The Big Issue – homelessness facts and figures
- On any given night at least 99,000 Australians are homeless (2001 census, Australian Bureau of Statistics).
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Wesley Mission - Facts and figures
- There are over 1,200 Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) agencies assisting homeless people across Australia. SAAP is a Commonwealth government program, either fully or partially funding organisations to provide accommodation and support services to homeless people agencies assisting homeless people across Australia.
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Facts about homelessness ( USA)
- The National Coalition for the Homeless publishes fact sheets on various aspects of homelessness. Each sheet summarizes facts and issues and contains a list of recommended reading for further research.
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