About 8200 will be ‘sleeping rough’ tonight
The Australian 12:00am May 15, 2018
Rick Morton
The number of people sleeping rough or living in insecure housing in NSW jumped 37 per cent in just five years, almost triple the rise of Queensland, the second-worst state according to analysis by independent researchers.
While homelessness fell 11 per cent in the Northern Territory, the housing crisis worsened in Darwin, where the number of homeless soared 36 per cent.
The snapshot, commissioned by community agency Launch Housing and written by University of NSW and University of Queensland researchers, measures homelessness as those sleeping on the streets, in overcrowded housing or with no secure, permanent shelter. About 116,000 people are homeless in Australia and of these about 8200 “sleep rough”.
Between the 2011 and 2016 censuses, the nation’s population grew 9 per cent but homelessness rose 14 per cent, affecting some groups, especially indigenous people, disproportionately.
The fastest growth by age was among 55 to 74-year-olds, rising 55 per cent in five years. The number of homeless 25 to 34-year-olds increased more than 50 per cent.
Researchers also analysed data on low-income tenants paying unaffordable rents. By this measure, West Australians fared worst with a 15 percentage point jump in between censuses; 48 per cent of low-income tenants were being squeezed on rent. This was just behind NSW, where just over half were in a similar position, up from 40 per cent five years earlier.
The report cites many factors that may contribute to homeless — especially domestic violence — and warns a fivefold increase in the number of welfare sanctions between 2011 and 2016 could push people over the edge.