Homeless people on Alinga Street in Civic earlier this year. Photo: Darrah Miller-O’Byrne.
In December 2024, more than 1800 Canberrans presented at Specialist Homelessness Services for help.
Delivered by organisations including YWCA Canberra, Vinnies, Marymead Catholic Care or Toora, among others, these services provide vital support for those experiencing or at risk of homelessness, ranging from crisis accommodation to long-term case management.
These organisations support people as they navigate homelessness systems and barriers to housing in one of Australia’s most expensive cities. But right now, these people, and the services that support them, are facing an uncertain future with the forthcoming budget.
The ACT Government’s $20 million funding boost to homelessness services in the 2023–2024 Budget was a much-needed response to a growing crisis. It included $14.3 million over four years to deliver a suite of vital services, including our Next Door initiative for older women facing homelessness and the Pathways program for migrant families otherwise locked out of public housing supports.
However, a looming Budget deficit gives little reassurance that this funding will continue.
ACT Treasurer Chris Steel has warned of “tough decisions” ahead, citing a revised Budget deficit of nearly $1 billion. With the government signalling a reprioritisation in the face of this deficit, the sector faces a critical challenge: grapple with increasing demand and complexity with potentially less funding certainty. And with “tough choices” being forecast, the support systems a growing number of Canberrans rely on, are at risk.
Over the past seven years, demand for homelessness support in the ACT has steadily increased from 1606 people in July 2017 to 1832 in December 2024.
The top reasons people seek help include housing affordability stress (16.4%), eviction or housing crisis (14.2%) and financial hardship (12.1%).
Gendered violence is also a major factor, with 39.8 per cent of all clients presenting with histories of domestic and family violence. For women and children leaving violence, demand pressures on homelessness services compounded by the shortage of safe housing exist, which can mean they face an unenviable choice: sleeping in a car or returning to violence.
Women aged 25 to 44 are the most represented group accessing homelessness services. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are also overrepresented by more than 18 per cent of the client base.
Another growing client base includes people in regular paid employment. Deprioritising support for any of these clients should not be a solution by which the ACT Government addresses a budget deficit.
Homelessness services do more than provide crisis beds. We offer connections to case workers, therapeutic support, child services and exits into long-term housing solutions.
The prospect that a looming deficit may impact these services buys into a false economy: that money saved in the short term won’t have long-term impacts on future budgetary pressures. This simply won’t be the case, as the number of people seeking help grows and their profile shifts.
Homelessness is not an inevitable outcome of city life. It is the result of policy decisions, budget priorities and political will. Inconsistent and precarious funding models mean sustainable solutions and continuity of service are a real challenge. If we truly believe in a fair Canberra where everyone has a place to call home, then homeless support services must be invested in, even when the bottom line is under pressure.
The ACT Government took a commendable step in the 2023–24 Budget by acknowledging the scale of the crisis. However, we can’t allow this to be a one-off investment. Programs that work must not only be reinstated but made permanent, reflecting a genuine, ongoing commitment to ending homelessness.
Frances Crimmins is the Chief Executive Officer of YWCA Canberra, a leading feminist not-for-profit organisation. YWCA Canberra provides integrated and specialist support in housing and homelessness services, and support services for women and their children escaping domestic violence, early childhood services, women’s leadership programs, as well as providing a range of other community services.
