The Australian Homelessness Crisis
A shelter in Canberra. Wikimedia Commons
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, article 11 states that every person, by the virtue of their humanity, has a right to adequate living standards. What is considered ‘adequate’ depends on a range of socioeconomic factors, including accessibility, location, and cultural adequacy. [1] It is more than a right to shelter, encompassing security, services, materials, facilities, and infrastructure.
The 2021 Australian census estimated that more than 122,000 people were experiencing homelessness in Australia. [2] The severity of the homelessness crisis is downplayed heavily due to discrete living habits undertaken by those who are without homes. A number of people live in their cars, shower at work,and utilise public amenities. There is a misconception that homelessness requires a person to sleep outside or on the street. Types of homelessness, as reported in the 2021 census, included ‘people living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out (rough sleepers)’, but also included ‘people in supported accommodation for the homeless’, or ‘people staying temporarily with other households’, known as ‘couch-surfers’. [3] This naïvité perpetuates the narrative that Australians do not undergo homelessness.
Current Framework
There is currently no national framework to reduce homelessness across Australia. Few improvements have been made in the last decade, with the last major government action being the 2008 Government inquiry into homelessness legislation, and consequent release of a White Paper, The Road Home: A National Approach to Reducing Homelessness. The Australian Human Rights Commission ‘considers that any response to homelessness in Australia must adopt a human rights-based approach if it is to be effective.’ [4]
With links to domestic violence, mental illness, drug and substance abuse, and socioeconomic disadvantages contributing to the systemic nature of homelessness, a well-rounded approach is required as frameworks that address homelessness as an isolated issue fail to pay mention to its contributing factors. While programs that raise money to provide physical shelter to homeless individuals result in a positive impact, it fails to reduce incoming homelessness statistics.
Future Proposals
The Australian Human Rights Commission is supporting a private member’s bill that recognises the right to adequate housing as a human right in an effort to improve living standards in Australia. The National Housing and Homelessness Plan Bill answers calls for the right to be enshrined in legislation, and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights agrees that the right to housing should be protected under a proposed ‘Human Rights Act’. The rationale for the increased effectiveness this bill would provide is that ‘promote a human rights-based approach to housing policy by requiring the federal government to develop a long-term plan to prevent and end homelessness and improve housing supply and affordability’, [5] claims Commission President Hugh de Kretser.
[1] Australian Human Rights Commission, Housing, Homelessness and Human Rights (Web Page, Australian Human Rights Commission) https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/projects/housing-homelessness-and-human-rights.
[2] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Homelessness and Homelessness Services (Web Page, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/homelessness-and-homelessness-services.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Australian Human Rights Commission, Housing, Homelessness and Human Rights (Web Page, Australian Human Rights Commission) https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/projects/housing-homelessness-and-human-rights.
[5] Australian Human Rights Commission, Commission Supports Bill to Recognise Adequate Housing as a Human Right (Media Release, Australian Human Rights Commission) https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/media-releases/commission-supports-bill-recognise-adequate-housing-human-right.
This article was originally published under the title ‘The Homelessness Crisis: Adequate Living Conditions in Australia’ in The Brief Edition 3, 2024 — Ad Aeternitatem.