Indigenous Homelessness Within Australia

Indigenous Homelessness Within Australia Report

• Author(s): Commonwealth Advisory Committee on Homelessness,, Australian Government Department of Families Community Services and Indigenous Affairs,
• Published: 2006
• Publisher: supported by the National Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander Homelessness Consultations,

Link to resource Report broken link

Abstract: Indigenous Australians make up 2.4 per cent of the total population but comprise 18 per cent of Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) clients. There is a commonly held view in parts of Australia that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander homelessness has cultural origins and may be a matter of choice rather than a personally devastating experience. This myth has no substance and its existence underlines the urgency of developing and disseminating a better understanding of the unique nature of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander homelessness. This paper is intended to contribute to that process and to help ensure culturally appropriate services are supported and developed to further alleviate and prevent Indigenous homelessness within Australia. This paper builds upon a number of previous studies,2 the findings of the National Indigenous Homelessness Forum held in Melbourne during March 2003 and, especially, the findings of a national consultation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander homelessness conducted by the Commonwealth Advisory Committee on Homelessness (CACH) as part of the National Homelessness Strategy (NHS) during 2005.

• Urls: http://www.nwhn.net.au/admin/file/content101/c6/Indigenous%20Homelessness%20FACSIA.pdf
• Publisher Location: Canberra