New census data shows WA rough sleeping has doubled in five years and is the worst in Australia

Peak community housing and homelessness sector body Shelter WA and the WA Alliance to End Homelessness are shocked at new data showing significant increases to homelessness and the number of people rough sleeping more than doubling since the last census.

The release of Estimating Homelessness data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today shows that Western Australia is failing in its response to homelessness.

 

Homelessness Increase

The number of people experiencing homelessness in Western Australia has increased by eight per cent to a total of 9,729 people in the five years between the 2016 and 2021 Census – an increase of over 720 people since 2016.

People Sleeping Rough

In a distressing trend, the number of Western Australians sleeping rough increased by 113.8 per cent between census periods, from 1,083 in 2016 to 2,315 people in 2021.

WA now has the highest proportion of all states and territories of people living in improvised dwellings, tents, sleeping out (aka rough sleepers). People sleeping rough now account for one quarter (23.8 per cent) of the total homelessness population – up from 12 per cent in 2016.

This is by far the highest of all states and territories and bucks the national trend which saw rough sleeping decrease from seven per cent to 6.2 per cent as a proportion of total homelessness.

Rough sleeper numbers across Australia actually dropped by 6.9 per cent since the last census.

WA’s rough sleeping is now three times the national average, or put another way, almost one in three (30.3 per cent) rough sleepers in Australian are in WA.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples has increased significantly by 29 per cent from 2,618 to 3,378 people in 2021.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples now make up 35 per cent of WA’s total homeless population, up from 29 per cent in 2016, and despite comprising just 3.3 per cent of the WA population.

In 2021, WA has second highest rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander homelessness – 381 per 10,000 people. Only NT has higher rate than WA (1,865 per 10,000).

Older People

The number of older people experiencing homelessness has increased significantly. The number of people over 55 experiencing homelessness has increased by 23.7 per cent in WA, up from 1,500 in 2016 to 1,855 people in 2021.

Couch Surfing

Number of couch surfing, or ‘staying temporarily with others’ increased in WA by 8.9 per cent, from 1,950 to 2,125 people.

Severe Overcrowding

In some good news, the number and proportion of Western Australians living in severe overcrowding is down from the previous Census, dropping from 3,871 individuals in 2016 to 2,935 in 2021 –representing a decrease of 24.2 per cent. (‘Severely overcrowded’ means living in a house requiring four or more bedrooms to accommodate the people living there.)

Statements

These comments are attributable to Shelter WA and the WA Alliance to End Homelessness (WAAEH).

Shelter WA is the peak body representing the community housing and homelessness sector.

Ms Kath Snell, Chief Executive Officer of Shelter WA said:

“These figures are devastating and demonstrate Western Australia’s responses to housing and homelessness is not making an impact in reducing the number of people experiencing homelessness.

“This data demonstrates what we have been saying for years – that our services are overwhelmed, we are witnessing record numbers of people being turned away with nowhere to go – and there is an urgent need for more investment into homelessness services and faster pathways for social and affordable housing.

“Our services are overwhelmed.”

“We commend the WA Government on its commitment to delivering more social housing, and modest increases to homelessness services in the last few years. However, we appreciate they are playing catch up after years of under investment in social housing, and we need a response that matches the need.

“We also need to tackle this in a holistic way – looking at prevention and diversion programs to prevent people entering into homelessness, especially from the private rental market, emergency relief for households in crisis in the private rental market, a plan for tenants who will lose their National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) properties, and innovative fast build accommodation and housing.

“We are proud of the tireless work our members do on the frontline, many of whom feel they are almost at breaking point. With everyone in this sector working hard, figures like these are startling and heartbreaking.

“If we want to see the reduction in the numbers of people experiencing homelessness in the next Census, and if the WA government is serious about ending rough sleeping by 2025 we need to act now and act with urgency,” Ms Snell concluded.

David Pearson, WAAEH said:

“The overall picture painted by the Census data is a bad situation getting worse.

“The data reveals we have a particular challenge with rough sleeping, which is no doubt significantly influenced by the fact that while other states made significant investments in providing temporary shelter and in some cases ongoing housing for people experiencing rough sleeping when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, the same didn’t occur in WA.

“We have a particular challenge with rough sleeping.”

“It is worth noting that the Governments leadership on efforts to end rough sleeping are showing signs of progress, because since this census data was collected 19 months ago, the by-name list data is showing reductions since then, as reflect on the WAAEH data dashboard.

“The data also reveals a concerning increase in Aboriginal homelessness, this needs to be urgently addressed,” Mr Pearson concluded.

Solutions

Shelter WA’s 2023-24 Pre-Budget Submission seeks commitments that would immediately address the homelessness crisis in WA, including:

  • Immediate additional investment in homelessness services to address the indexation gap of $16 million;
  • Significant new investment into Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations to provide culturally-led homelessness services by at least $12.8 million;
  • New investment for a flexible youth homelessness diversion fund, to prevent young people entering homeless, especially from the private rental market of at least $1 million; and; and
  • Reallocating unspent First Homeowner Grant (FHOG) funding of over $200 million from 2023/24 – 2025/26 (of approximately $69 million a year) to provide safe, stable homes for people experiencing chronic homelessness instead. Redirecting $69 million annually could pay for about 200 homes per year through spot purchasing, or pay for a hotel room or emergency accommodation for every person that is sleeping rough in WA for an entire year.

“We need greater investment in homelessness, services. WA has the worst turn away rates in the country and our total annual spending on homelessness is the second lowest in the country and way below the national average, according to the 2023 Report on Government Services for Homelessness.

“In relation to rough sleeping, we need to expand the Advance to Zero efforts beyond the existing five regions, and based on this data, the (delayed) Common Ground supportive housing when built won’t be enough to meet the existing demand, and so need to be expanded.

Data

The WA Alliance to End Homelessness points out that “whilst the numbers in this census are concerning, what should alarm all Western Australians is that this data, released today, is already nineteen months-old. You can’t change what you don’t measure, and in Australia we don’t really measure how much homelessness there is, we only estimate it every five years.

“Imagine how we’d manage problems like unemployment if we estimated what was going on every five years and then took 588 days to release it.

“We only estimate it every five years.”

“The WA Alliance to End Homelessness, though our Advance to Zero Campaign, and with the support of a range of partners including the State Government, have set about providing monthly actual or By-Name list data, not just estimates as the census is calculated on.

The problem is, this data is only collected in five communities, Perth/Fremantle, Bunbury, Mandurah, Rockingham and Geraldton.

“In relation to rough sleeping, we need to expand the Advance to Zero efforts beyond the existing five regions, and based on this data, the (delayed) Common Ground supportive housing when built won’t be enough to meet the existing demand, and so need to be expanded,” Mr Pearson concluded.

SUMMARY OF FIGURES

Total Homelessness

  • WA’s total number of people experiencing homelessness increased by eight per cent from 9,005 to 9,729 – up by 724 people. (This compares to a national increase of 5.2 per cent from 116,427 to 122, 494).
  • The homelessness rate, or percentage of Western Australians who are homeless, slightly increased to 36.6 per 10,000.  This is the lowest rate of homelessness in the country – (the Australian average is 48 per 10,000).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Homelessness

  • The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness increased by 29 per cent, to a total of 3,378 people in 2021.  By comparison the number increased by just 6.4 per cent across Australia.
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people now account for 35 per cent of all homeless in WA despite making up just 3.3 per cent of the population. This has increased from 29 per cent in 2016.  This compares to the Australian average of 20 per cent, which is unchanged.

Youth 12 – 24 YO

  • The total number of young people experiencing homelessness between 2016 and 2021 was stable at 1,927. Young people account for 19.8 per cent of the homeless population (slightly down from 21 per cent in 2016) and less than the Australian average of 23 per cent.

Children Under 18

  • There was a slight increase (+2.3 per cent) from 1,949 to 1,994 in the number of children experiencing homelessness between 2016 and 2021.
  • Children now account for 20.5 per cent of the homeless population (slightly down from 2016 figure of 21.6 per cent).

Older People Age 55+

  • There has been a significant increase in the number of older people experiencing homelessness of 23.7 per cent in WA, up from 1,500 people in 2016 to 1,855 in 2021.

Gender

  • There was an increase (3 per cent) in the proportion of females experiencing homelessness, up from 42 per cent of the total in 2016 to 45 per cent in 2021 to a total of 4,389 Western Australian females experiencing homelessness.

Disability

  • The number of people experiencing homelessness needing assistance with core activities has increased by 47 per cent from 333 people in 2016 to 489 people in 2021.

Rough Sleeping

  • WA now has the highest proportion of rough sleeping of all states.  This could be a knock-on effect from COVID where we saw other states take an immediate response to provide housing.
  • The number of rough sleepers more than doubled (113.8 per cent increase) from 1083 in 2016 to to 2,315 in 2021.
  • The Australian average proportion of people rough sleeping by comparison is 6.2 per cent, down from 7 per cent in 2016.
  • Rough sleepers now account for one quarter (23.8 per cent) of the total homelessness population – by far the highest of all states and territories, and up from 12 per cent in 2016.
  • One surprise in the census data was that severe overcrowding has significantly decreased in WA, dropping from 3,871 individuals in 2016 to 2,935 in 2021 –representing a decrease of 24.2 per cent.

(NB: ‘severely overcrowded’ means living in a house requiring four or more bedrooms to accommodate the people living there. Anything less is ‘other overcrowded’ or marginal accommodation)

  • Other, less severe overcrowding also reduced from 5,787 people in 2016 to 5,334 people in 2021.

Temporary Lodging & Couch Surfing

  • There was a 8.9 per cent increase in Couch Surfing from 1,950 to 2,125 in 2021.
  • The number of people in temporary lodging doubled, from 51 to 107.
  • The number of people staying in supported accommodation for the homelessness increased by 53 per cent, from 1,054 in 2016 to 1,614 in 2021.

ABS Data

Read Shelter WA’s 2021 ABS Census Data Summary

Read the full (via the ABS website) amount of data Estimating Homelessness: Census.

Media Enquiries

Chantal Caruso, Shelter WA | E: chantal@shelterwa.org.au | M: 0447 201 377.