Australia’s disappearing people: Leading advocate shines grim light on truth about homelessnessBlake AntrobusNewsWireThu, 25 December 2025 5:11PM
A leading homelessness advocate has shed light on the grim reality Australia’s vulnerable class of “disappearing people” are facing, as rough-sleeping camps are cleared and affordable housing estates across the country are knocked down.
With more than 122,000 people experiencing homelessness a year, support groups are pleading for the federal government to bridge the multimillion-dollar gap for frontline services and rehousing projects in a bid to curb rates, which have catapulted to “the worst in living memory”.
The scenario for Australians exhibiting homelessness is worsened with a rise in the number of rough sleepers and “hidden” forms of homelessness – such as sleeping in cars and couch surfing – and a Productivity Commission report 25 per cent jump in “persistent” homelessness.
“Persistent” homelessness is defined by people who have experienced homelessness for more than seven months over a 24-month period.
But with local councils increasing their crackdowns on so-called tent cities and a spate of public housing towers being flagged for demolition, a major question on everyone’s lips is where do they go?
Alarming figures as rough sleepers pushed to the brink
Homelessness Australia chief executive Kate Colvin is beginning to see the consequences of the public crackdowns as frontline services provide grim updates on the ground.
“Frontline services are telling us that people move onto situations that are less safe for them – that might be returning to a violent home, a room in a rooming house, where there is often a lot of violence, or in another place rough sleeping where they are more hidden,” Ms Colvin told NewsWire.
“(They) can be more vulnerable to being attacked than if they are sleeping somewhere well lit with CCTV cameras and other people around.”
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data reveals almost 280,100 people were assisted by specialist homeless agencies over 2023-24 alone.
This marks a massive jump from the 236,000 reported in 2011-12 or an average annual increase of 1.4 per cent per year.
More (37,800) were experiencing persistent homelessness compared with 29,500 people in 2018-19 – particularly among those aged under 25 (18,100) and women and children affected by family and domestic violence (15,700).
Ms Colvin said the number of women and girls who were already homeless when they approached homelessness services had increased 20 per cent per month (from 24,517 to 29,449) between May 2022 and March 2025.
“Given that 45 per cent of women and girls seeking homelessness support have experienced domestic and family violence, this is particularly alarming,” she said.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard stories of single-parent families sleeping in a car or couch surfing with family until it becomes untenable.
“Can you imagine trying to keep a job down, keep your kids engaged in school, visit countless open homes for inspections, and take care of your own health and wellbeing all while you are moving around?”
The grim figures follow ugly scenes earlier in the year as governments and local councils began their own crackdowns on rough sleepers.
In Queensland, the City of Moreton Bay council made it illegal to camp on public land – citing public safety concerns about drug and alcohol use and anti-social behaviour concerns, in addition to “increasing aggression towards public space users and council staff”.
Some rough-sleeping encampments in the region were removed in the wake of the announcement.
“The City of Moreton Bay is aware of how complex an issue homelessness is, and we acknowledge that this change will not be welcomed by everyone,” its chief executive Scott Waters said in February.
“The health and safety of people experiencing homelessness is core to this change and repealing the framework will enable these individuals to get the critical support they need.”
The council has released its own Housing and Homelessness Action Plan outlining its referral services, a $50,000 pledge for a Redcliffe Sleep Bus for safe sleeping facilities and another $3.36m for the construction of the Redcliffe Homelessness Hub and subsequent peppercorn leasing for not-for-profit tenants.
But on its own website, under the banner of “Responding to homelessness”, the council specifically states: “City of Moreton Bay does not provide housing for people experiencing homelessness.”
Similar scenes erupted in Brisbane in March after the city council gave rough sleepers 24 hours to move on as part of a crackdown on similar alleged anti-social behaviour.
In Victoria, 44 public housing towers across Melbourne have been earmarked for demolition by 2051 under Homes Victoria’s high-rise redevelopment.
A parliamentary inquiry into the redevelopment was told one in five households already displaced under the plan had been placed into the private market.
Ms Colvin said she feared more low income households could be pushed further into financial and housing stress if the situation was not brought “under control”.
“This Christmas there will be thousands and thousands of families without a home,” she said.
“While other families are preparing for a summer holiday, our frontline services will be turning tens of thousands of people away. Women and children are sleeping rough in cars and on couches and people are being pushed out of their communities because they can’t afford to live there.
“The reality so many working families in this country are facing is downright frightening.”
‘Urgent action’ as funding needs go unmet
The federal government has announced steps to combat homelessness with a raft of reforms under its National Housing and Homelessness Plan.
According to the Treasury release, part of this includes a 10 per cent increase to the maximum rates of rent assistance, another $10bn to the Housing Australia Future Fund for 30,000 new affordable homes and a $350m contribution over five years for another 10,000 affordable homes.
National housing agency Housing Australia will also receive an increase to its liability cap of an extra $2bn for more loans to providers and to support another 7000 dwellings.
Ms Colvin said these were all positive steps but still called the federal government’s overall response as “absolutely” not adequate.
She said the government needed to bridge an unmet $671m for frontline services and rehousing to ensure vulnerable people were not being turned away.
“We ultimately need more housing and support to prevent people from becoming homeless but right now more and more people are already in a precarious position, so we must fund the safety net for those people,” Ms Colvin said.
Each night, 122,000 Australians don’t have a safe place to call home, but a majority of homelessness goes unseen. The A Home For All Foundation sees the real estate industry rally behind finding a home for every Australian.
“The reality is more people are being left behind, and growing homelessness is ultimately causing economic self-harm to this country as well as perpetuating misery for the most vulnerable among us.
“We need governments to do a lot more, and we need urgent action.”
Originally published as Australia’s disappearing people: Leading advocate shines grim light on truth about homelessness
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