This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

More women than men are seeking homeless support for the first time, with the rise in those escaping domestic or family violence driving a 21% increase in women at risk of homelessness since 2012.

New figures released on Thursday by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reveal that the archetypal homeless person is no longer a man sleeping rough but a young woman aged 25-34, often with a child, and, increasingly, escaping violence.

About 60% of those who asked for support from service providers in 2016-17 were women, the majority of them “at risk” of homelessness when they sought help.

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Of the people seeking support, 40% of them – the vast majority women – cited experiencing domestic or family violence.

The chief executive of Domestic Violence New South Wales, Moo Baulch, called for more emphasis on extra housing services.

“Increasing numbers of women and children who have experienced domestic and family violence are seeking assistance from homelessness services,” she said. “But services are not being funded to keep up with this demand. Ensuring a resourced and funded homelessness sector is vital to ensuring the safety of those escaping domestic and family violence.”

Victoria and NSW were the two states where the most people needed support – 109,901 and 74,216 respectively. In NSW homelessness service providers are contracted to deliver services to 57,000 clients each year.

The chief executive of Homeless NSW, Katherine McKernan, said accommodation services were severely lacking. She said there had been a 43% increase in those seeking services since the NSW government’s Going Home Staying Home reforms.

“This is the second year of data since the homelessness reforms undertaken 2015 and it confirms the untenable demand for homelessness services in NSW,” she said. “The figures also highlight the impact of the housing affordability crisis in NSW on the most vulnerable.

“Homelessness will continue to rise unless governments urgently invest in the social housing system, take action to make private rentals affordable and appropriately resource homelessness services to meet the current demand.”

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The AIHW report found that overall in 2016-17 more than 288,000 Australians were assisted by homelessness services agencies, a 3% rise in the past year that equates to about 119 clients per 10,000 people in the population.

The report also found that most people at risk of homelessness – 56% – were already in housing, but at risk of losing their accommodation.

“Of those clients at risk of becoming homeless, about six in 10 were living in a private dwelling at the time they sought assistance,” AIHW spokesman Matthew James said. “Overall, around nine in 10 clients at risk of homelessness successfully maintained their housing with assistance from a specialist homelessness agency.

“This illustrates the role that homelessness agencies play in preventing people from becoming homeless.”