There has been a lot of discussion lately about housing affordability in Australia. What is less often visible is the impact of this crisis on children and young people in Australia. Roughly 45,000 of all people without stable housing on the night of the 2021 Census were under the age of 24; with over 17,000 of these children under the age of 12. The effects of this can stunt a young people’s future trajectory, as homelessness can inhibit the development of intellectual, physical, emotional, social and life skills. Children and young people who experience homelessness are more likely to experience persistent homelessness as adults.
Young people who experience homelessness or unstable domestic situations are more likely to enter the justice system or struggle to gain employment. Two thirds of young people over the age of 10 who were under the supervision of the youth justice system in Australia had been involved with child protection services before becoming involved with the justice system.
As the 2026 report by Social Ventures Australia (SVA), Youth Housing in Australia, stated:
“Youth homelessness entrenches disadvantage and increases the likelihood of long-term social and economic exclusion…Homeless youth face an unemployment rate of 84%, compared to just 10% in the general youth population.”
Housing affordability has emerged in the last 10 years as a major reason for young people seeking support from homelessness services, accounting for about 12% of young people seeking assistance in 2024-25. Investing in social and affordable housing and providing a wider range of housing options, both public and private, is an urgent priority. However, the leading cause of homelessness is family and domestic violence. Providing early intervention support systems can help people to avoid homelessness due to family breakdown.
In addition to staunching the current crisis by finding stable accommodation for those already experiencing insecure housing, a far more effective policy approach would be to improve support for families who are struggling in order to prevent family violence and breakdown in the first place, and to address the structural barriers to housing affordability that force families out of secure accommodation.
In fact, we need two specific approaches: 1) address the urgent current need for stable housing for children and young people and 2) create the systems to support a considered, long-term approach to the upstream issues that cause homelessness, especially domestic violence and housing affordability, the two predominant causes of homelessness.
There are a number of short-term crisis accommodation and support services across Australia, as well as an urgent need for a greater number of medium-term supported accommodation options for young people. Youth housing solutions don’t just provide a roof over one’s head but also provide wrap-around support so that a child or young person can learn domestic and social skills, stay in education, access physical, mental and dental health care, and receive emotional support to deal with any trauma they have experienced. As SVA has stated, what is needed is an ecosystem of models that address the specific needs of children and young people.
One such service is St Laurence House (SLH). Founded in 1976, SLH provides medium-term accommodation for young people at risk of homelessness, including 24/7 care worker support. Residents share a suburban house, learn domestic and life skills, access medical, dental, emotional and mental health care, finish their education and prepare for employment or higher education. Residential accommodation is followed by a transitional step-down program that provides support as young people enter into independent living. I have been a personal supporter of SLH for many years and have seen that the results speak for themselves: over the past 50 years hundreds of young people have been able to finish school, break cycles of violence and disadvantage, and create positive adult lives for themselves.
Solutions at the structural level are needed as well. Housing All Australians brings together organisations from the private, not-for-profit and community sectors to repurpose unused buildings to provide shelter for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. People who have stable and secure housing can turn their attention to other essential aspects of life such as health, education and employment. The benefits of this to Australia as a whole are enormous in terms of productivity, health and vitality, and innovation (although admittedly difficult to measure).
No single organisation or government department has the answer. Services such as St Laurence House address the immediate needs of young people at risk of homelessness. Partnerships such as the ones promoted by Housing All Australians provide opportunities to utilise the strengths of many different organisations to address an entrenched problem. We need many more of these partnerships. We also need better longitudinal data to demonstrate the long-term impacts of avoiding homelessness (such as young people entering employment and participating fully in society) as well as the impact of ongoing homelessness on individuals and communities.
Governments can facilitate this by ensuring that policy and funding decisions enable the two-pronged solution of addressing housing affordability and reducing family violence and breakdown. For-profit and not-for-profit organisations can contribute their particular skills and experience to developing innovative solutions that are commercially sustainable and effective. Indeed, virtually any sector from health and education to construction and transport can be part of the solution.
Australia is one of the richest nations in the world, with vast human, natural and economic resources, a stable rule of law and democratic system, and a highly educated population. What would it take for us to ensure that every person has a secure roof over their head?
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
Previously published on LinkedIn