Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experiencing homelessness

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.

Graph 1. Counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness by sex, Australia, 2006 to 2021
	Males	Females	Total experiencing homelessness
2006	12,676	13,276	25,995
2011	13,148	13,572	26,718
2016	11,661	11,770	23,437
2021	12,298	12,633	24,930

Graph 1. Counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness by sex, Australia, 2006 to 2021

["","Males","Females","Total experiencing homelessness"]

[["2006","2011","2016","2021"],[[12676],[13148],[11661],[12298]],[[13276],[13572],[11770],[12633]],[[25995],[26718],[23437],[24930]]]

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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

The ABS uses six operational groups for presenting estimates of people experiencing homelessness on Census night. These groups are:

people living in improvised dwellings, tents or sleeping out
people living in supported accommodation for the homeless
people staying temporarily with other households
people living in boarding houses
people in other temporary lodgings
people living in ‘severely’ crowded dwellings.

The ABS also compiles estimates from Census data for the following three groups of people who may be marginally housed but are not classified as homeless:

people living in other crowded dwellings
people in other improvised dwellings
people marginally housed in caravan parks.

Estimates for these groups are not included in the analysis below but can be found in the Data downloads section of Estimating Homelessness: Census, 2021.

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.

Graph 2. Counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness by homeless operational group(a), Australia, 2006 to 2021
	2006	2011	2016	2021
People living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out	2,098	1,678	2,169	2,320
People in supported accommodation for the homeless	2,693	3,282	2,911	4,753
People staying temporarily with other households	875	1,009	1,122	1,828
People living in boarding houses(b)	785	650	787	560
People in other temporary lodgings(b)	22	41	43	512
People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(c)	19,488	20,053	16,399	14,956

Graph 2. Counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness by homeless operational group(a), Australia, 2006 to 2021

["","2006","2011","2016","2021"]

[["People living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out","People in supported accommodation for the homeless","People staying temporarily with other households","People living in boarding houses(b)","People in other temporary lodgings(b)","People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(c)"],[[2098],[2693],[875],[785],[22],[19488]],[[1678],[3282],[1009],[650],[41],[20053]],[[2169],[2911],[1122],[787],[43],[16399]],[[2320],[4753],[1828],[560],[512],[14956]]]

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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.

Categories are mutually exclusive; therefore, people will only appear in one category.
Data for 2021 is not directly comparable with previous Censuses due to improvements in data quality through greater use of administrative data.
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)
		2006	2011	2016					2021	2006	2011	2016	2021
	New South Wales	1,885	2,205	2,278					2,508	136	128	105	90
Victoria	639	828	783	1,109					212	218	164	169
Queensland	4,779	4,819	4,450	4,769					375	309	239	201
South Australia	1,256	1,091	936	1,391					493	359	274	327
Western Australia	3,312	3,379	2,618	3,378					564	485	345	381
Tasmania	93	167	130	247					56	85	55	82
Northern Territory	13,921	13,978	12,131	11,394					2,594	2,462	2,083	1,865
Australian Capital Territory	72	261	95	126	186	504	146	141
Australia	25,955	26,718	23,437	24,930	571	487	361	307

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.

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).

Graph 3. Rates(a) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people experiencing homelessness by remoteness, 2016 and 2021
	2016 (Rates)	2021 (Rates)
Major Cities	141	155
Inner Regional	101	111
Outer Regional	221	229
Remote	623	705
Very Remote	1,636	1,439

Graph 3. Rates(a) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people experiencing homelessness by remoteness, 2016 and 2021

["","2016","2021"]

[["Major Cities","Inner Regional","Outer Regional","Remote","Very Remote"],[[141],[101],[221],[623],[1636]],[[155],[111],[229],[705],[1439]]]

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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.

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%).

Graph 4. Counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness by homeless operational group(a), remoteness,2021
	People living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out	People in supported accommodation for the homeless	People staying temporarily with other households	People living in boarding houses(b)	People in other temporary lodgings(b)	People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(c)
Major Cities	807	2,121	675	407	332	862
Inner Regional	223	742	424	78	135	679
Outer Regional	675	1,179	465	59	42	1,065
Remote	447	567	178	4	8	1,979
Very Remote	174	143	80	9	0	10,382

Graph 4. Counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness by homeless operational group(a), remoteness,2021

["","People living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out","People in supported accommodation for the homeless","People staying temporarily with other households","People living in boarding houses(b)","People in other temporary lodgings(b)","People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(c)"]

[["Major Cities","Inner Regional","Outer Regional","Remote","Very Remote"],[[807],[223],[675],[447],[174]],[[2121],[742],[1179],[567],[143]],[[675],[424],[465],[178],[80]],[[407],[78],[59],[4],[9]],[[332],[135],[42],[8],[0]],[[862],[679],[1065],[1979],[10382]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Counts of people","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":"10500","tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false},{"value":"1","axis_id":"1","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

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.

Categories are mutually exclusive; therefore, people will only appear in one category.
Data for 2021 is not directly comparable with previous Censuses due to improvements in data quality though greater use of administrative data.
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.

Graph 5. Counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness by age(a) and sex, Australia, 2021
	Male	Female
0	231	220
1	282	260
2	297	226
3	257	223
4	263	257
5	267	240
6	277	233
7	245	241
8	230	226
9	229	237
10	253	231
11	222	230
12	225	223
13	222	192
14	197	232
15	212	214
16	258	237
17	236	258
18	277	344
19	305	312
20	331	328
21	258	279
22	223	272
23	223	235
24	212	262
25	231	258
26	206	241
27	214	222
28	191	204
29	177	210
30	235	274
31	176	215
32	158	210
33	171	163
34	147	194
35	195	234
36	125	183
37	186	177
38	139	178
39	145	139
40	224	220
41	129	167
42	148	132
43	129	129
44	152	125
45	198	152
46	128	101
47	140	152
48	142	163
49	161	119
50	193	165
51	130	111
52	128	118
53	116	110
54	102	99
55	115	113
56	100	83
57	87	83
58	86	78
59	61	85
60	109	91
61	51	69
62	50	70
63	54	65
64	46	58
65	57	56
66	39	38
67	40	45
68	39	41
69	32	33
70	32	37
71	21	29
72	17	27
73	18	27
74	17	9
75	14	10

Graph 5. Counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness by age(a) and sex, Australia, 2021

["","Male","Female"]

[["0","1","2","3","4","5","6","7","8","9","10","11","12","13","14","15","16","17","18","19","20","21","22","23","24","25","26","27","28","29","30","31","32","33","34","35","36","37","38","39","40","41","42","43","44","45","46","47","48","49","50","51","52","53","54","55","56","57","58","59","60","61","62","63","64","65","66","67","68","69","70","71","72","73","74","75"],[[231],[282],[297],[257],[263],[267],[277],[245],[230],[229],[253],[222],[225],[222],[197],[212],[258],[236],[277],[305],[331],[258],[223],[223],[212],[231],[206],[214],[191],[177],[235],[176],[158],[171],[147],[195],[125],[186],[139],[145],[224],[129],[148],[129],[152],[198],[128],[140],[142],[161],[193],[130],[128],[116],[102],[115],[100],[87],[86],[61],[109],[51],[50],[54],[46],[57],[39],[40],[39],[32],[32],[21],[17],[18],[17],[14]],[[220],[260],[226],[223],[257],[240],[233],[241],[226],[237],[231],[230],[223],[192],[232],[214],[237],[258],[344],[312],[328],[279],[272],[235],[262],[258],[241],[222],[204],[210],[274],[215],[210],[163],[194],[234],[183],[177],[178],[139],[220],[167],[132],[129],[125],[152],[101],[152],[163],[119],[165],[111],[118],[110],[99],[113],[83],[83],[78],[85],[91],[69],[70],[65],[58],[56],[38],[45],[41],[33],[37],[29],[27],[27],[9],[10]]]

[]

{"0":{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Age (years)(a)","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":null},"reverse_axis":false}

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Counts of people","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

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.

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%).

Graph 6. Proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness by homeless operational group(a) and age, Australia, 2021
	People living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out (%)	People in supported accommodation for the homeless (%)	People staying temporarily with other households (%)	People living in boarding houses(b) (%)	People in other temporary lodgings(b) (%)	People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(c) (%)
Under 12	1.5	24	6.1	0.2	1.3	66.8
12 to 18	2.5	21.2	4.8	0.4	1.2	70
19 to 24	5.1	17.5	7	2.2	1.5	66.9
25 to 34	9.3	16.4	8.4	3	3.1	60
35 to 44	17.9	17	8.6	3.4	3.8	49.9
45 to 54	21.3	17	9	4.9	2.7	44.9
55 to 64	19	16.4	8.6	5.3	1.5	48.9
65 to 74	18.5	15.7	8.6	3.9	0.8	53.8
75 and over	12.1	15	9.2	1.4	0	61.4

Graph 6. Proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness by homeless operational group(a) and age, Australia, 2021

["","People living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out","People in supported accommodation for the homeless","People staying temporarily with other households","People living in boarding houses(b)","People in other temporary lodgings(b)","People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(c)"]

[["Under 12","12 to 18","19 to 24","25 to 34","35 to 44","45 to 54","55 to 64","65 to 74","75 and over"],[[1.5],[2.5],[5.0999999999999996],[9.3000000000000007],[17.899999999999999],[21.300000000000001],[19],[18.5],[12.1]],[[24],[21.199999999999999],[17.5],[16.399999999999999],[17],[17],[16.399999999999999],[15.699999999999999],[15]],[[6.0999999999999996],[4.7999999999999998],[7],[8.4000000000000004],[8.5999999999999996],[9],[8.5999999999999996],[8.5999999999999996],[9.1999999999999993]],[[0.20000000000000001],[0.40000000000000002],[2.2000000000000002],[3],[3.3999999999999999],[4.9000000000000004],[5.2999999999999998],[3.8999999999999999],[1.3999999999999999]],[[1.3],[1.2],[1.5],[3.1000000000000001],[3.7999999999999998],[2.7000000000000002],[1.5],[0.80000000000000004],[0]],[[66.799999999999997],[70],[66.900000000000006],[60],[49.899999999999999],[44.899999999999999],[48.899999999999999],[53.799999999999997],[61.399999999999999]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Percentage (%)","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

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.

Categories are mutually exclusive; therefore, people will only appear in one category.
Data for 2021 is not directly comparable with previous Censuses due to improvements in data quality though greater use of administrative data.
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).

Graph 7. Proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness by homeless operational group(a) and sex, Australia, 2021
	Male (%)	Female (%)
People living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out	10.8	7.8
People in supported accommodation for the homeless	17.5	20.6
People staying temporarily with other households	8.4	6.3
People living in boarding houses(b)	3.4	1.1
People in other temporary lodgings(b)	2.2	1.9
People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(c)	57.6	62.3

Graph 7. Proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness by homeless operational group(a) and sex, Australia, 2021

["","Male","Female"]

[["People living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out","People in supported accommodation for the homeless","People staying temporarily with other households","People living in boarding houses(b)","People in other temporary lodgings(b)","People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(c)"],[[10.800000000000001],[17.5],[8.4000000000000004],[3.3999999999999999],[2.2000000000000002],[57.600000000000001]],[[7.7999999999999998],[20.600000000000001],[6.2999999999999998],[1.1000000000000001],[1.8999999999999999],[62.299999999999997]]]

[]

{"0":{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Sex","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":null},"reverse_axis":false}

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Percentage (%)","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

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.

Categories are mutually exclusive; therefore, people will only appear in one category.
Data for 2021 is not directly comparable with previous Censuses due to improvements in data quality through greater use of administrative data.
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