Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Community Services, Senator Scullion. Will the minister inform the Senate of the outcome of the government’s early intervention response to the very serious policy problem of homelessness?

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. The issue of homelessness is very important to all Australians. This week is Homelessness Week. It is an opportunity to mark the situation that many Australians find themselves in and to have a look at government and community responses to homelessness.

I hosted a breakfast this morning with the community sector that focused on the changing face of homelessness. All the statistics and reports are telling us, about the traditional demographic of homelessness—and I think most of us would have the stereotype of a single man, a recovering alcoholic—that that stereotype is in fact completely untrue. More and more people on the streets are now being characterised as family groups, and there is an increasing demographic of women. It is very important to continue to focus on the data and information that flows from the sector. The demographic is changing so quickly and it is such a sophisticated challenge, and that data provides us with some objective analysis to ensure that we can change the policy parameters as the circumstances change.

I was absolutely delighted to be able to launch a report yesterday that showed that one of the programs the Australian government is running, the HOME Advice program, is responding very effectively to the needs of families who are at risk of becoming homeless. Of course, as many ministers have reflected in this place, in a general social policy outcome, it is our policy to provide effective early intervention as the fundamental for our policy. This particular program is the Household Organisation Management Expenses (HOME) Advice program and it is not a matter of just taking my or the government’s word for how wonderful and successful this program has been. An independent evaluation report by the Institute for Social Research from Swinburne University of Technology provided this report. I was delighted to see such fantastic outcomes in this report, not only because I am in government and we think it is tremendous to have good programs but because the nature of the outcome of this program is really quite astounding.

Ninety-two per cent of families who went through the program managed to stabilise their housing situation. In other words, people who were at serious risk of homelessness presented themselves to this program, and 92 per cent of them averted homelessness, which I think is an absolutely fantastic outcome. The majority of the families, 93 per cent, also had their immediate financial crisis which was causing the homelessness resolved. Possibly the most important result that the report drew was that the results were not just short term. This is a longitudinal study, so between six and 12 months after the intervention the people were still in a good financial situation and not homeless or at risk of homelessness. This is an absolutely fantastic outcome and a great program that has some really sustainable deliverables. Of course, being homeless is not just about not having a roof over your head; it is about the causal effects of being homeless. It may well be mental illness, a disability, substance abuse, violence, family breakdowns—they are all part of the tragedy of homelessness. The HOME Advice program gives families flexible support over an extended period, including family counselling, finding employment, developing budget skills, accessing training, education and advice and, of course, engaging the real estate area to ensure that this does not happen again. It is an absolutely fantastic program and this government will continue to respond to the ever-changing challenges of homelessness.

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.