Homelessness Strategy

This page contains information about homelessness and the City’s Homelessness Strategy.

What is homelessness?

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) definition states that when a person does not have suitable accommodation alternatives, they are considered homeless if their current living arrangement:

  • Is in a dwelling that is inadequate
  • Has no tenure, or if their initial tenure is short and not extendable
  • Does not allow them to have control of, and access to space for social relations.

How do people become homeless?

The causes of homelessness are numerous and complex. Contributing factors that increase the risk of homelessness are classified as ‘causal factors’ and these include:

  • Financial stressors, including poverty, lack of affordable housing and available rental housing, lack of superannuation in retirement​, and cost of living pressures
  • Vulnerability of people exiting facilities such as prison, care facilities, hospitals, and drug and alcohol treatment
  • Health including physical, mental, and disability
  • System failures​ and structural factors​
  • Individual circumstances​, including family and domestic violence, discrimination, addictions, and traumatic events
  • Global events including pandemics, war, economic collapse.

Did you know?

Being homeless is not a crime, everyone has the right to feel safe, including those without a home. 

Useful documents

Document nameDownloadable files