CHIA is proud to be supporting the Home Time Campaign to fix housing for young people. Watch CEO Wendy Hayhurst explain why (video link here)
Analysis of Specialist Homelessness Services data, revealed that 37,872 unaccompanied children and young people approached homelessness services for assistance in 2022/23, including 9,232 children aged 15-17. Over 30% of the total number were First Nations children and young people. The breakdown by state and territory is set out in the Table below.
| State | Number of YP |
| NSW | 12,854 |
| Victoria | 11,026 |
| Queensland | 5,564 |
| SA | 3,082 |
| WA | 2.514 |
| Tasmania | 1,422 |
| NT | 1,190 |
| ACT | 669 |
Even after assistance from homelessness services, 44% of children and young people 15-24 were still homeless and sleeping rough, couch surfing or staying in short term and often unsafe accommodation.
Clearly this group of young people are not well served even by the social housing system. Dedicated youth tenancies are not specifically built into the targets for new housing investments and programs such as the Housing Australia Future Fund. Many young people do not have access to the linked support they need to establish a new home and work towards goals in areas like study and work. Young people on youth allowance can afford to pay very little in rent and often the rent they can pay is too low for them to qualify for commonwealth rental assistance (CRA). This means that to provide housing specifically for young people requires more grant / subsidy to make the project viable.
The 80-plus organisations which are already supporting Home Time have called for the following actions by the Federal Government:
- Develop and maintain a national pool of 15,000 dedicated youth tenancies for 16-24-year-olds.
- Provide linked support services to enable young people to pursue their goals and transition to independence.
- Address the rental gap to ensure viability for housing providers and landlords offering tenancies to young people who have been homeless.
We also hope that the National Housing and Homelessness Plan, which is currently being developed will include measures to end youth homelessness.
Information about how to join Home Time is here.