Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Homelessness. What does today's census data reveal about homelessness in Australia? What is the Albanese Labor government doing to improve the situation? And why is the Housing Australia Future Fund an important part of the government's approach?

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Cunningham for that important question. I'm sure that she, like many people in this place today, has seen the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing that the number of people in Australia experiencing homelessness has sadly climbed again by 6,000 people. That statistic is from 2016 to 2021.

It is of great concern, I'm sure to everybody in this place, that almost 123,000 Australians were reported as experiencing homelessness on census night. I'm sure that many of you in this place, like me, receive contact from community members every single day about the challenges of finding and keeping a safe place to call home. I know that these challenges are reaching new people who've never been homeless or at risk of homelessness before. And in a country like Australia today, this is unacceptable. There is a lot to do to turn this around.

We're not acting alone, but we do have a commitment to deliver our ambitious housing reform agenda with immediate action alongside medium- and long-term goals. Today I announced that the government continues to invest into youth homelessness through the $91.7 million commitment to the Reconnect Program over the next three years. We know that family breakdown is the leading cause of youth homelessness in this country. In fact, on the 2021 census night 23 per cent of all people experiencing homelessness were aged between 12 and 24 years of age. I'm sure that we all think that is unacceptable.

Our $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund will be the largest boost to social and affordable housing in more than a decade. And I remind members that 4,000 of the 30,000 homes are for women and children fleeing family violence and for older women at risk of homelessness, which is the fastest-growing group of people when it comes to homelessness. We've acted immediately by broadening the National Housing Infrastructure Facility with up to $575 million, with announcements and construction underway on projects already. We're working with the states and territories on the National Housing Accord and the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, and we've started work on the National Housing and Homelessness Plan, which is a 10-year plan—five plus five, working together. What we need to do is line up the Housing and Homelessness Plan with the accord and the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, and have all tiers of government working together on this to turn it around.

I say seriously to members in this place that I know our housing reform agenda is ambitious. It's ambitious because it needs to be. We all need to do more. All of us in this place have a responsibility to make sure that more Australians have a safe, affordable place to call home. That's why I again reiterate my call for those in the Senate, particularly, to get the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill through the parliament and get more homes on the ground quickly.