Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experiencing homelessness

Released
27/06/2023

Key statistics

  • 24,930 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were experiencing homelessness on Census night in 2021.
  • 26.2% of people experiencing homelessness were youth aged 12 to 24 years.
  • 60.0% of those experiencing homelessness were living in ‘severely’ crowded dwellings.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic

The Census was held on 10 August 2021, when states and territories in Australia were under varied COVID-19 pandemic related restrictions. Measures to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 included: restrictions to international travel and migration; border control measures for some states and territories; stay at home orders; limits on gatherings; and social distancing rules. A number of state and territory governments also worked with service providers to give temporary accommodation to people sleeping rough - or in crisis situations - to protect them, and the community, from the virus. 

The homelessness estimates presented in this publication reflect the unique accommodation circumstances of those experiencing homelessness at the time of the Census. More information on state and territory government responses to the pandemic and how Census data was collected during the pandemic is in the Estimating Homelessness: Census Methodology, 2021 and COVID-19 and the Census, 2021.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are a national priority homelessness cohort for the Australian and state and territory governments to reduce the incidence of homelessness.

The ABS definition of homelessness has been developed for application to the general population in Australia. While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are over-represented in the measures of homelessness developed with this definition, there are likely to be aspects to homelessness from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives that the definition does not adequately capture. For more information see:

There have been significant increases in the number of people identifying as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin between Censuses. Increases in the population are influenced by demographic and non-demographic factors and changes in Indigenous status between Censuses can affect the interpretation of Census data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Indigenous status is collected through self-identification and any change in how a person chooses to identify, or whether they respond to the question themselves or someone responds on their behalf, will affect the count of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Census. For more information see Understanding change in counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: Census, 2021.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have been under enumerated in the Census and estimates of homelessness based on Census data will be an underestimation. In the 2021 Census, the net undercount for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was 17.4%. Some of those who were under-enumerated may have been experiencing homelessness at the time of the Census.

National

In 2021, 24,930 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were estimated to be experiencing homelessness, up 6.4% from 23,437 in 2016. This represents one in five (20.4%) people experiencing homelessness in Australia.

While the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness increased between 2016 and 2021, the rate of homelessness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people decreased to 307 people per 10,000, down from 361 people per 10,000 in 2016.

Of those experiencing homelessness in 2021:

  • 12,298 (49.3%) were male, an increase of 5.5% from 2016
  • 12,633 (50.7%) were female, an increase of 7.3% from 2016. 

Please note that there are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals.

Source: Census of Population and Housing 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021.

Homeless operational groups

Of the 24,930 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness in 2021:

  • 60.0% were living in ‘severely’ crowded dwellings
  • 19.1% were in supported accommodation for the homeless
  • 9.3% were living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out
  • 7.3% were staying temporarily with other households.

Between 2016 and 2021, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people there were:

  • 8.8% fewer people living in 'severely' crowded dwellings
  • 63.3% more people in supported accommodation for the homeless
  • 7.0% more people living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out
  • 62.9% more people staying temporarily with other households.

Please note that there are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals.

  1. Categories are mutually exclusive; therefore, people will only appear in one category.
  2. Data for 2021 is not directly comparable with previous Censuses due to improvements in data quality through greater use of administrative data.  
  3. Usual residents in dwellings needing 4 or more extra bedrooms under the Canadian National Occupancy Standard (CNOS). See Estimating Homelessness: Census methodology, 2021 for more information.

Source: Census of Population and Housing 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021.

States and territories

The states and territories with the highest rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness were:

  • Northern Territory: 1,865 people per 10,000
  • Western Australia: 381 people per 10,000
  • South Australia: 327 people per 10,000.

Rates of homelessness per 10,000 people increased between 2016 and 2021 in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania. Rates decreased in New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory.

The Northern Territory, which has the highest per capita population of Australians who identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin, was the only state or territory to see a decrease in the number of people experiencing homelessness in 2021 (from 12,131 people in 2016 to 11,394 people in 2021).

Table 1: Counts and rates(a) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness by state/territory, 2006 to 2021
    Counts   Rates(a)
 20062011201620212006201120162021
New South Wales1,8852,2052,2782,50813612810590
Victoria6398287831,109212218164169
Queensland4,7794,8194,4504,769375309239201
South Australia1,2561,0919361,391493359274327
Western Australia3,3123,3792,6183,378564485345381
Tasmania9316713024756855582
Northern Territory13,92113,97812,13111,3942,5942,4622,0831,865
Australian Capital Territory7226195126186504146141
Australia25,95526,71823,43724,930571487361307

Please note that there are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals.

  1. Rate per 10,000 of the population are based on the Census count of people.

Source: Census of Population and Housing 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021.

Remoteness areas

In 2021, very remote Australia had the highest number (10,784 people) and rate (1,439 per 10,000 people) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness of any remoteness area.

Between 2016 and 2021, rates of people experiencing homelessness:

  • Increased most in remote Australia (up 82 people per 10,000 to 705) and the major cities of Australia (up 14 people per 10,000 to 155).
  • Decreased in very remote Australia, the only remoteness area to see a decrease (down 197 people per 10,000 to 1,439).

Please note that there are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals.

  1. Rate is per 10,000 of the population.

Source: Census of Population and Housing, 2016, 2021.

In 2021:

  • The majority of people experiencing homelessness in remote Australia and very remote Australia were living in ‘severely’ crowded dwellings (62.4% and 96.3% respectively).
  • Of the 5,200 people experiencing homelessness in major cities of Australia, 40.8% were in supported accommodation for the homeless.
  • Supported accommodation for the homeless was also the largest operational group for people experiencing homelessness in inner regional Australia (32.6%) and outer regional Australia (33.8%).

Please note that there are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals.

  1. Categories are mutually exclusive; therefore, people will only appear in one category.
  2. Data for 2021 is not directly comparable with previous Censuses due to improvements in data quality though greater use of administrative data.
  3. Usual residents in dwellings needing 4 or more extra bedrooms under the Canadian National Occupancy Standard (CNOS). See Estimating Homelessness: Census methodology, 2021 for more information.  

Source: Census of Population and Housing, 2021.

Age and sex

Of the 24,930 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness at the time of the 2021 Census:

  • 5,895 (23.6%) were aged under 12 years
  • 6,545 (26.2%) were youth aged 12 to 24 years
  • 4,099 (16.4%) were aged from 25 to 34 years.

Please note that there are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals.

  1. Data includes ages 0–75 years for presentation purposes only.

Source: Census of Population and Housing 2021.

The proportion of people living in supported accommodation for the homeless decreased as age increased. Almost one-quarter (24%) of people aged under 12 years were living in supported accommodation for the homeless, compared with 15% of people aged 75 years and over.

Living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out was more common in older age groups. People aged 45 to 54 years were the most likely to be in this homeless operational group (21.3%).

Please note that there are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals.

  1. Categories are mutually exclusive; therefore, people will only appear in one category.
  2. Data for 2021 is not directly comparable with previous Censuses due to improvements in data quality though greater use of administrative data.
  3. Usual residents in dwellings needing 4 or more extra bedrooms under the Canadian National Occupancy Standard (CNOS). See Estimating Homelessness: Census methodology, 2021 for more information. 

Source: Census of Population and Housing, 2021.

Females had a homelessness rate of 309 people per 10,000 in 2021, down from 360 in 2016. In 2021, females were more likely than males to be:

  • living in ‘severely’ crowded dwellings (62.3%, compared with 57.6% of males)
  • in supported accommodation for the homeless (20.6%, compared with 17.5% of males). 

Males had a homelessness rate of 305 people per 10,000 in 2021, down from 362 in 2016. In 2021, males were more likely than females to be:

  • living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out (10.8%, compared with 7.8% of females)
  • staying temporarily with other households (8.4%, compared with 6.3% of females)
  • living in boarding houses (3.4%, compared with 1.1% of females).

Please note that there are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals.

  1. Categories are mutually exclusive; therefore, people will only appear in one category.
  2. Data for 2021 is not directly comparable with previous Censuses due to improvements in data quality through greater use of administrative data. 
  3. Usual residents in dwellings needing 4 or more extra bedrooms under the Canadian National Occupancy Standard (CNOS). See Estimating Homelessness: Census methodology, 2021 for more information. 

Source: Census of Population and Housing 2021.

Data downloads

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experiencing homelessness

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