Housing plea as millions more at risk of being homeless

A sharp increase in the number of Australians facing homelessness has prompted calls to increase the amount of social housing available for the vulnerable. The number of people at risk of homelessness increased by 63 per cent to three million people, with many frontline services unable to meet demand, a report by Homelessness Australia found. The figures were alarming and the federal government needed to increase services for the sector and boost housing, Homelessness Australia Kate Colvin said. "Pressure at homelessness services is so intense. There are so many people being squeezed out of rental markets and services do not have the resources to respond," she told AAP on Monday. "The critical thing to protect people from homelessness and escape from it is really the amount of social housing." The report found families with children seeking emergency accommodation couldn't be provided with help about one in every five days, while people without kids were turned away every one in two days. Unaccompanied minors were turned away one in every nine days. Over a two-week period, there were 200 hours where services had to close their doors, 325 hours of unanswered phone calls and 666 urgent emails staff could not reply to. "We have had a massive increase in homelessness support needed at the frontline and workers don't have the resources they need," Ms Colvin said. "People are reaching out for support and services can't answer the phone or they're having to close their doors." The reports estimated that in 2022 there were between 2.7 million and 3.2 million Australians at risk of homelessness, a 63 per cent increase from those at risk between 2016 and 2022. Ms Colvin said a lot of people were only one "negative shock" away from homelessness. "You have the vulnerability of a person because they have risk factors like a low income, or face discrimination, then the negative shock is the life event that happens like losing a job, experiencing family violence, or you're discharged from hospital," she said. The homelessness report comes as the federal government is looking to get its long-stalled housing policy through parliament in the final sitting fortnight of the year. Labor has tried to legislate an equity scheme that would allow first homebuyers to put down a smaller deposit. The government has also tried to put in place a build-to-rent scheme, under which tax incentives would be offered to developers to construct properties to be leased out. The federal Greens have blocked support for the measures, calling for the government to invest more in social and affordable housing. Independent MP Helen Haines on Monday also upped calls for greater housing investment in regional areas. Ms Haines introduced a private member's bill to parliament that would set baselines for how many housing projects are undertaken outside major cities. "The simple and sad fact is that hard work and home ownership have become disconnected in this country, whereas it used to be that anyone with a decent job could buy a home, it's now your parents' wealth that often determines your chances of home ownership," she said. "The housing crisis is experienced differently in the regions." Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636