New report finds homelessness rate rising four times faster for Aboriginal Victorians

New Specialist Homelessness Services report finds homelessness rate rising four times faster for Aboriginal Victorians

4 December 2025 – New national homelessness data reveals that homelessness rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians are rising almost four times faster than the rest of the Victorian population.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) Annual Report shows that in 2024-25, 14,031 Aboriginal Victorians accessed SHS, an increase of close to 10 per cent in 12 months¹. Almost 1000 Aboriginal children under the age of 10 who presented to SHS were already experiencing homelessness, with 80 per cent of this cohort ending their support period still homeless².

Key statistics include:

A 9.4 per cent increase in Aboriginal Victorians accessing SHS compared to a 2.5 per cent increase for non-Aboriginal Victorians³.
13.8 per cent of all Victorian clients accessing SHS were Aboriginal⁴.
Aboriginal Victorians represent 1 per cent of the population⁵.
A nearly 25 per cent increase in Aboriginal children aged 10-14 years old accessing SHS⁶.
31.8 per cent of Victorian Aboriginal people accessing SHS experience persistent homelessness*.⁷

Darren Smith, CEO of Aboriginal Housing Victoria (AHV) and the Chair of the Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Forum (AHHF) in Victoria, said the figures show a crisis that is not only escalating, but a generational reality.

“To see homelessness rates rise almost four times faster for Aboriginal people, is a statistic that should concern every Victorian.”

Mr Smith said the surge in children experiencing homelessness is a warning sign for Victoria’s future. “When almost one in five Aboriginal Victorians interacts with the homelessness system each year, and thousands of children grow up knowing homelessness as part of their earliest memories, we are no longer talking about a temporary housing crisis. We are talking about continued cycles of poverty and instability that will persist without urgent and scaled investment and intervention.”

“The next generation deserves more than a life shaped by instability. Breaking this trajectory requires long term housing investment, and a culturally safe homelessness system led by Aboriginal organisations that understand how to prevent homelessness before it begins.”

Presently, there are only two Aboriginal-specific Homelessness Entry Points operating in the state, at Ngwala Willumbong in Melbourne and Wathaurong Aboriginal Cooperative in Geelong. Here, presenting Aboriginal clients experiencing and/or at risk of homelessness can receive culturally safe and specific support.

“This is not the result of individual behaviour. It is the result of decades of chronic underinvestment in Aboriginal-specific homelessness responses and systems that were never designed by or for our communities.”

Together, AHV and the AHHF continue to advocate for the implementation of an Aboriginal Homelessness Target, alongside the delivery of 3,000 new Aboriginal social housing dwellings over the next 10 years, and an adequately funded, ACCO-led homelessness system as outlined in Mana-na woorn-tyeen maar-takoort and the Blueprint for an Aboriginal-specific homelessness system in Victoria.

Strengthening housing pathways and investing in an Aboriginal led homelessness system is central to delivering a more equitable and sustainable future for Aboriginal Victorians. As Victoria moves into a new era of Treaty and truth telling, AHV and the AHHF call upon the Victorian Government to reflect these priorities in the 2026-27 Victorian State Budget, and their 2026 State Election Commitments.

—ENDS—

For media enquiries, contact communications@ahvic.org.au | 0456 622 885

References:

^{1, 3-5 & 7}: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2025) Specialist homelessness services annual report 2024–25, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/homelessness-services/specialist-homelessness-services-annual-report (INDIGENOUS.2)

^{2 & 6}: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2025) Data cubes: Specialist Homelessness Services Collection 2011-12 to 2024-25, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/homelessness-services/specialist-homelessness-services-annual-report.

⁵Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: Census. ABS. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people-census/2021.

⁸: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2025) Specialist homelessness services client pathways (Clients experiencing repeat homelessness: Indicator, persistent homelessness) https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/homelessness-services/shs-insights/contents/overview-of-shs-client-groups