A homeless person begs for money in Melbourne's central business district on April 12, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)
CANBERRA – The number of Australians living on the streets or in cars has surged amid a housing crisis, a report has found.
Charity organization Mission Australia recently published its Homelessness and Stable Housing Impact Report, revealing that demand for its homelessness support services has increased by 26 percent over the last three years.
According to the report, the number of people experiencing homelessness has increased by 50 percent in the same period while there has been a 103 percent increase in people in improvised homes, tents and rough sleeping.
Low-income support payments or low wages, combined with the stark shortage of social and affordable housing, skyrocketing rental stress and the rising cost of living, have escalated Australia's housing and homelessness situation into a national emergency.
Mission Australia's Homelessness and Stable Housing Impact Report
Of those who used Mission Australia's homelessness services, 57 percent were female and 27 percent were Indigenous despite making up about three percent of the total population.
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"Low-income support payments or low wages, combined with the stark shortage of social and affordable housing, skyrocketing rental stress and the rising cost of living, have escalated Australia's housing and homelessness situation into a national emergency," the report showed.
On average, 300 requests for help are turned away every day as more people need help from homelessness services across the country, mainly because there was no accommodation available.
Sharon Callister, chief executive of Mission Australia, used the report to call for governments at all levels to act on the housing crisis.
According to data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in April, the consumer price index rose by 7 percent in the 12 months to March – down from 7.8 percent in the year to December.
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Responding to the data, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Australia had passed the peak of the inflation crisis but that cost-of-living pressures were still being felt around the kitchen tables of this country.