Australia
Help for Australia's Homeless
Information for Australian communities, coalitions, and partners interested in the Compassion Network campus model — a turnkey, community-style answer to chronic homelessness.
The Crisis
Key research on Australia’s homelessness crisis
What Australia’s own researchers and agencies report about the scale of the crisis — and why current responses fall short.
Specialist homelessness services annual report 2024–25
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, December 2025. Around 150,000 service clients were homeless in at least one month of 2024–25; 1 in 7 (41,100) experienced persistent homelessness — about half with a current mental health issue. Family and domestic violence was the main reason for 27%; 29% of clients were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander; 60% were female.
The changing geography of homelessness in Australia (2001–21) and its structural drivers
Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Final Report No. 429, October 2024. More than 60% of homelessness at the 2021 Census was in capital cities (up from ~48% in 2001) — and homelessness runs highest where affordable private rentals are scarcest.
Estimating the population at-risk of homelessness in small areas
Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Final Report No. 370, November 2021. An estimated 1.5–2 million Australian renters aged 15+ are perhaps one life shock — a breakup, an illness, a job loss — away from homelessness.
“Breaking the Firestorm” — MYEFO policy briefing
Homelessness Australia, October 2026. Homelessness Australia reports, drawing on UNSW’s Australian Homelessness Monitor 2026 provider survey: 91% of providers saw demand rise over two years, 63% now turn away people they once helped, and only 3.9% of clients needing long-term housing received it in 2024–25.
Homelessness — Measuring What Matters
Australian Bureau of Statistics, September 2025. More than 122,000 people were homeless on 2021 Census night (48 per 10,000, up from 45 in 2006); around 280,000 clients were assisted by homelessness services in 2023–24 while unassisted requests rose to about 110,000.
Data on homelessness and housing exclusion 2026: Australia
OECD country note, September 2026. Independently compiled: 122,494 homeless people — 0.48% of Australia’s population — corroborating the national Census figure.
The Crisis
The crisis in the cities
How the crisis materializes across Australia’s major cities — drawn from recent official and sector sources.
Sydney & New South Wales
Sleeping rough: 296 people counted sleeping rough in the City of Sydney (February 2026); statewide, 2,308 — up 75% from 1,319 in 2020.
The wait: 67,721 households on the NSW Housing Register; Sydney rental vacancy sits at 1.8% with average asking rents of $916 per week.
Melbourne & Victoria
Surging demand: more than 105,000 Victorians sought homelessness help in 2024–25; rough-sleeping presentations surged ~10% to 10,673.
The wait: 68,971 applications on the Victorian Housing Register — 40,857 of them priority — with an average social-housing wait of around 17 months.
Brisbane & Queensland
Known by name: 604 actively homeless adults on Brisbane’s By-Name List (August 2026) — 323 sleeping rough, 281 in temporary accommodation.
The wait: 32,848 applications on the Queensland Social Housing Register — 56% homeless or at risk — with an average time on the register of 2 years and 4 months. Brisbane rental vacancy: 0.9%.
Perth & Western Australia
Young people: on one night in August 2026, 114 unaccompanied young people (25 and under) were sleeping rough across Perth and Rockingham — with zero youth beds available.
The squeeze: 9,467 homeless people presented to WA services in 2023–24; Perth’s rental vacancy is 0.6% — the second-tightest capital market in the country.
Opportunity
Campuses and properties coming available
Closed campuses, empty commercial buildings, and shuttered industrial sites across Australia — each one a candidate for conversion into a community campus.
Campuses
Former Kangan Institute TAFE, Coburg (Melbourne): long-vacant site slated for 275 apartments across four buildings plus a new public park — demolition announced September 2025.
Former Beaconsfield TAFE, Fremantle (Perth): 3.8-hectare site for up to 155 homes, beside a wider precinct of up to 700 homes combined.
International House Sydney Training Services: eight-campus group serving ~10,000 overseas students — entered voluntary administration in December 2024.
Shopping centres
Toombul Shopping Centre, Brisbane (9.9 ha): closed after the February 2022 floods, sold in November 2025 — a mixed-use town-centre masterplan with homes and residential care was lodged in October 2026.
Eastwood Shopping Centre, Sydney (1.2 ha): approved for demolition with plans refiled in October 2026 for 682 apartments including affordable units.
Industrial sites
Whyalla Steelworks, South Australia: one of Australia’s two primary steelworks — forced into administration in early 2025; its 1960s blast furnace was permanently shut in September 2026 with 500+ jobs lost.
Glencore Mount Isa copper operations, Queensland: closed in the second half of 2025 after 60 years — around 1,200 jobs.
Reliance Worldwide brass plants, Melbourne: closure of the Moorabbin and Braeside plants announced June 2026 — around 85 employees.
Land would then be available for a new community center.
Connection
Already in conversation
On October 24, 2026, Betsy O’Connor sent an executive opinion piece to Homelessness Australia — Australia’s national peak body — setting out four ready-to-operate community campus models to end homelessness, and offering video consultation.
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We are all of One globe!
Showing love to all very needy places on the globe.