Youth Homelessness: The Facts and Stats
Youth homelessness by the numbers
- Nearly a quarter (23.0%) of Australia’s homeless population are aged from 12 to 24 years (28,204 people)
- Young people presenting alone (unaccompanied by a parent or guardian) accounted for 14% (38,300) of all people seeking support from Specialist Homelessness Services in 2022-23
- Of the 122,494 people experiencing homelessness in 2021, 17,646 (14.4%) were aged under 12 years
- 45,850 children and young people (aged up to 24 years) were reported as experiencing homelessness in the 2021 Census
*https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people
*https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports
Young people seeking help from specialist homelessness services
- In 2021-22, 3,317 children aged 10-14 years presented alone to a Specialist Homelessness Service – i.e. without a parent or guardian (these numbers only represent those with the capacity to contact a service, there are many more who are not represented by this data)
- Currently HALF of the children and young people in desperate need of a crisis bed for the night don’t get it.
- In 2023, 8,450 children and young people seeking specialist homelessness support had to be turned away.
*AIHW, Specialist Homelessness Services annual report 2021–22
Key drivers of homelessness
- The most common reasons young people sought homelessness assistance in 2020-21 were family & domestic violence, housing crisis and family breakdowns.
- 48% of young people seeking homelessness support in 2021-22 were experiencing a mental health issue.
- Roughly half of all youth experiencing homelessness live in severely crowded dwellings.
*AIHW, Specialist Homelessness Services annual report 2021–22
Homelessness among First Nations peoples
- Of all children and young people experiencing homelessness on census night in 2021, 36% (16,538) identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
- In 2021, 24,930 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were estimated to be experiencing homelessness, representing one in five (20.4%) of all people experiencing homelessness in Australia.
Young people leaving care
- 35% of young people in state care end up homeless after they turn 18.
- Within one year, 50% of state care leavers will be unemployed, in jail, homeless or had become a new parent.
- Almost two thirds of young people who have experienced homelessness have spent time in out-of-home care.
Key facts
- The younger a person is when they first experience homelessness, the more likely their homelessness will become entrenched
- Around half of rough sleepers first became homeless when they were young (median age 13)
- Life outcomes for people who became homeless when young are far worse than for adults (education, employment, health, mental health etc.)
