The claim

"Tonight... there are 30,000 women — that's more women than all of the soldiers in the regular Australian Army — who are sleeping rough on the streets of Australia. There are another 100,000 men who are sleeping rough," Australian of the Year David Morrison said on the ABC TV's Q&A on February 1.

How many men and women sleep rough and do women sleeping rough outnumber the soldiers in the Regular Army? ABC Fact Check investigates.

The verdict

Mr Morrison's claim is wrong.

According to the 2011 census, the total number of homeless Australians was 105,237.

Of those, 45,813 were women and 59,424 were men.

However, these figures include six categories of homelessness of which sleeping rough is only one.

In the sleeping rough category, women numbered 2,180 and men 4,633.

Experts contacted by Fact Check said these were the best figures available and far fewer men and women were sleeping rough on the streets of Australia than Mr Morrison said.

There were 29,193 soldiers in the Regular Australian Army on June 30, 2015.

Whilst there are more homeless women in total than there are soldiers in the Regular Army, there are fewer women sleeping rough than the number of soldiers.

Homeless men in all categories do not number 100,000, let alone men sleeping rough.

The source of the claim

Sorry, this video has expired Watch David Morrison make the claim on Q&A.

A spokesman for Mr Morrison told Fact Check his figures came from The Big Issue, an independent, not-for-profit organisation supporting and creating jobs for the homeless.

A spokeswoman from The Big Issue said the organisation quotes a figure of 46,000 homeless women, as indicated on a fact sheet from the national peak body advocating for the homelessness sector, Homelessness Australia.

"It should be noted that the definition of homelessness is quite broad, so not all of these women would be sleeping on the streets," she said.

Defining homelessness

Fact Check contacted Tony Keenan, the chief executive officer at Launch Housing, an independent community organisation based in Melbourne working to end homelessness, and Chris Chamberlain, an Emeritus Professor at the Centre for Applied Social Research at RMIT University whose work includes developing methods for counting the homeless.

They referred Fact Check to a November 2012 Australian Bureau of Statistics publication, Estimating Homelessness.

It uses the most recent census data from 2011.

Mr Keenan told Fact Check it is the most relevant source for data to assess Mr Morrison's claim about women who are sleeping rough "tonight."

"It's a point in time that tells us how many are homeless on one given night," he said.

Emeritus Professor Chamberlain said the census "is the best data we have for a given night".

The 2012 publication uses the ABS definition of homelessness, which is outlined in an information paper.

The ABS defines homelessness as a lack of a sense of security, stability, privacy, safety or the ability to control living space.

This definition considers people homeless "if their current living arrangement is in a dwelling that is inadequate, has no tenure or if their tenure is short and not extendable, or does not allow them to have control of and access to space for social relations".

Defining 'sleeping rough'

The explanatory notes for the 2012 ABS publication outline six "homeless operational groups", including people in supported accommodation for the homeless, staying temporarily with others and living in severely crowded dwellings.

People living in "improvised dwellings, tents or sleeping out" make up one group.

Sorry, this video has expired Watch John Barron present the facts on homelessness.

The ABS census dictionary said this group includes people living in sheds, tents, humpies and other improvised dwellings.

"It also includes people sleeping on park benches or in other 'rough' accommodation."

Mr Keenan told Fact Check: "That's the sleeping rough group."

Emeritus Professor Chamberlain agreed.

How many people are sleeping rough?

The 2012 ABS publication said 105,237 Australians were homeless on census night in 2011 - 59,424 men and 45,813 women.

Under the "operational group" of people in improvised dwellings, tents or sleeping out, there were 4,633 men and 2,180 women.

Undercounting rough sleepers

The explanatory notes for the ABS publication said the number of homeless Australians is likely to be greater than recorded on census night.

The notes said "so called rough sleepers" are among those likely to have been undercounted in the census.

Emeritus Professor Chamberlain said the census number for rough sleepers is "almost certainly an undercount because this is the group that's really hard to find."

He said census collectors may have not noticed rough sleepers hiding in cars, bushes or empty buildings for shelter and safety.

"Much of the census [counting] strategy focusing on the rough sleepers is organised in the capital cities, particularly in the inner suburbs... inner Melbourne, inner Sydney," he said.

"If someone is sleeping rough in a country town... they go down to the local football ground and sleep behind the grandstand or they may be sleeping out in the bush a few kilometres out of town - finding them is really, really difficult."

He said there may have been fewer rough sleepers on a winter census night in August than on a night in another season.

"You couldn't sleep rough in Melbourne in August; you would freeze to death."

Mr Keenan had a similar view, adding that women, in particular, who are sleeping rough would "go out of their way to make sure they're not noticed for safety reasons".

However, he said the undercount would not be large enough to justify Mr Morrison's numbers.

Emeritus Professor Chamberlain agreed, adding "the idea that there are 30,000 women sleeping rough on the streets is simply silly."

How many soldiers are in the Regular Army?

Mr Morrison referred to "the soldiers in the Regular Australian Army."

Garth Pratten, from the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University, told Fact Check the Regular Army consists of soldiers who serve in the "permanent force" and not in a Reserve capacity, as defined in the Defence Act.

"The Regular Army are those that are serving full time, that's their job," Dr Pratten said.

A report from the Department of Defence said there were 29,193 soldiers in the Army's permanent force on June 30, 2015.

Sources



