Estimating Homelessness: Census

Latest release

Estimates of people who were experiencing homelessness or marginally housed as calculated from the Census of Population and Housing

Reference period

2021

Released

22/03/2023

Next release Unknown

Key statistics

122,494 people were estimated to be experiencing homelessness on Census night in 2021.
Males made up 55.9% of people experiencing homelessness; females made up 44.1%.
23.0% of all people experiencing homelessness were aged from 12 to 24 years.

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 Methodology and COVID-19 and the Census.

Overview

122,494 people were estimated to be experiencing homelessness at the time of the 2021 Census, an increase of 6,067 people (5.2%) since 2016. The rate of homelessness decreased to 48 people per 10,000, from 50 in 2016.

Of those experiencing homelessness in 2021:

68,516 (55.9%) were male, an increase of 1.6% from 2016
53,974 (44.1%) were female, an increase of 10.1% from 2016.

Females accounted for 81.7% of the 6,067 increase of people experiencing homelessness in 2021.

The rate of homelessness for males decreased in 2021 to 55 males per 10,000 (from 58 in 2016), while the rate for females increased in 2021 to 42 females per 10,000 (from 41 in 2016).

Graph 1. Counts of people experiencing homelessness by sex, Australia, 2006 to 2021
	Males	Females	All people experiencing homelessness
2006	51,164	38,567	89,733
2011	57,689	44,746	102,439
2016	67,407	49,017	116,427
2021	68,516	53,974	122,494

Graph 1. Counts of people experiencing homelessness by sex, Australia, 2006 to 2021

["","Males","Females","All people experiencing homelessness"]

[["2006","2011","2016","2021"],[[51164],[57689],[67407],[68516]],[[38567],[44746],[49017],[53974]],[[89733],[102439],[116427],[122494]]]

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Cells in this table containing data have been randomly adjusted to avoid the release of confidential data. Discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and 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.

Of the 122,494 people experiencing homelessness in Australia in 2021:

Two in five (39.1%) were living in 'severely' crowded dwellings
One in five (19.8%) were in supported accommodation for the homeless
One in six (18.1%) living in boarding houses.

Between 2016 and 2021, there was a:

26.5% increase in people living in boarding houses
14.4% increase in people in supported accommodation for the homeless
6.9% decrease in people living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out
6.3% decrease to living in 'severely' crowded dwellings.

The decrease in people living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out and the increase in people in other temporary lodgings may be partly associated with measures put in place by local and state governments in response to COVID-19. The increases in people living in boarding houses and people in other temporary lodging are also partly associated with improvements in data quality through greater use of administrative data. For more information, see Methodology.

Graph 2. Counts of 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	7,252	6,810	8,200	7,636
People in supported accommodation for the homeless	17,334	21,258	21,235	24,291
People staying temporarily with other households	17,661	17,374	17,725	16,597
People living in boarding houses(b)	15,459	14,944	17,503	22,137
People in other temporary lodging(b)	501	682	678	3,934
People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(c)	31,527	41,370	51,088	47,895

Graph 2. Counts of 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 lodging(b)","People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(c)"],[[7252],[17334],[17661],[15459],[501],[31527]],[[6810],[21258],[17374],[14944],[682],[41370]],[[8200],[21235],[17725],[17503],[678],[51088]],[[7636],[24291],[16597],[22137],[3934],[47895]]]

[]

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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 the 'Methodology' section of this publication for more information.

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

Age

The age groups presented in this release support analysis and reporting of some key cohorts for service delivery and policy responses to reduce the incidence of homelessness. These include children aged under 12 years, young people aged from 12 to 18 years and aged from 19 to 24 years. Analysis for youth aged from 12 to 24 years is provided in the next section.

Of the 122,494 people experiencing homelessness in 2021:

25,504 (20.8%) were aged from 25 to 34 years
17,646 (14.4%) were aged under 12 years
17,085 (13.9%) were aged from 35 to 44 years.

Graph 3. Counts of people experiencing homelessness by age and homeless operational group(a)(b), 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(c)	People in other temporary lodgings(c)	People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(d)
0	14	428	141	32	36	717
1	14	564	162	15	29	796
2	11	551	159	17	22	794
3	12	495	146	19	31	758
4	21	470	149	19	31	807
5	15	473	149	8	32	822
6	17	492	132	5	36	868
7	21	435	111	15	29	823
8	13	405	137	13	39	819
9	24	440	139	11	40	806
10	19	412	143	10	29	810
11	26	414	118	3	33	791
12	21	414	110	22	31	870
13	12	405	117	14	39	824
14	26	351	91	24	27	847
15	18	391	146	28	42	838
16	25	457	144	30	28	865
17	37	653	139	55	49	859
18	37	689	196	142	40	1,140
19	57	663	247	277	45	1,193
20	101	637	243	510	45	1,438
21	48	544	279	560	44	1,403
22	73	493	286	608	51	1,320
23	63	452	285	626	56	1,379
24	76	442	305	704	53	1,307
25	145	414	336	849	71	1,486
26	98	340	353	795	66	1,409
27	83	327	333	723	71	1,278
28	110	358	362	682	86	1,157
29	95	349	329	598	95	1,013
30	266	394	368	664	84	1,009
31	72	381	327	555	91	864
32	131	343	319	561	76	776
33	87	349	353	437	91	669
34	109	349	262	397	86	632
35	292	340	301	443	90	684
36	120	388	264	343	100	558
37	145	334	276	310	132	555
38	136	360	254	339	91	555
39	116	390	251	320	109	523
40	380	376	258	306	78	567
41	132	313	237	307	84	473
42	169	324	204	300	87	467
43	127	320	207	295	65	414
44	131	324	224	321	82	416
45	295	301	207	342	86	491
46	126	264	223	305	65	424
47	172	301	209	292	62	415
48	144	297	237	333	87	428
49	138	316	235	371	61	438
50	330	274	237	371	69	467
51	130	251	203	342	61	396
52	176	211	219	363	57	417
53	136	207	220	298	43	362
54	127	191	218	287	38	320
55	209	170	232	261	57	347
56	132	157	206	304	36	308
57	131	143	191	315	35	301
58	128	164	218	307	44	292
59	117	159	244	316	51	257
60	210	149	270	332	31	262
61	80	145	214	327	33	236
62	121	92	232	284	34	224
63	79	127	217	264	29	198
64	81	112	225	289	33	184
65	153	105	204	229	33	185
66	67	101	189	205	27	137
67	63	60	191	213	26	159
68	65	85	173	226	16	132
69	62	61	174	170	22	107
70	100	55	164	168	17	119
71	43	61	172	171	14	94
72	48	42	120	136	10	87
73	44	41	96	140	10	94
74	33	52	110	124	6	69
75	26	33	92	111	16	58

Graph 3. Counts of people experiencing homelessness by age and homeless operational group(a)(b), 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(c)","People in other temporary lodgings(c)","People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(d)"]

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[]

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Categories are mutually exclusive; therefore, people will only appear in one category.
Data includes ages 0–75 years for presentation purposes only. Data for all ages is available in the Data downloads section of this publication.
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 the 'Methodology' section of this publication for more information.

Source: Census of Population and Housing 2021.

The highest rates of homelessness per 10,000 people in 2021 were for those in the age groups 19–24 years (91 people per 10,000) and 25–34 years (70 people per 10,000).

Between 2016 and 2021 rates of homelessness per 10,000 people decreased across most age groups except for people:

aged under 12 years, which increased to 48 people per 10,000, from 45 in 2016
aged 12 to 18 years, which increased to 53 people per 10,000, from 51 in 2016.

Table 1. Counts and rates(a) of people experiencing homelessness by age, Australia, 2006 to 2021
	Counts				Rates(a)
	2006	2011	2016	2021	Rates(a)				2006	2011	2016	2021
Under 12	15,717	17,767	15,872	17,646	51	54	45	48
12–18	9,786	10,718	9,955	11,302	51	55	51	53
19–24	12,158	14,479	17,725	16,902	75	83	95	91
25–34	15,852	18,411	24,224	25,504	59	62	72	70
35–44	13,179	14,225	15,745	17,085	45	47	50	49
45–54	10,577	12,247	14,278	14,678	38	42	46	45
55–64	6,952	8,478	10,682	10,933	32	34	39	36
65–74	3,556	4,097	5,651	6,091	26	25	27	25
75 and over	1,949	2,008	2,289	2,348	15	15	14	12
Selected age groups
Youth (12–24)	21,945	25,200	27,683	28,204	62	68	73	71
Older (55 and over)	12,461	14,581	18,625	19,378	26	26	29	26
All groups	89,733	102,439	116,427	122,494	45	48	50	48

a. 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.

Youth experiencing homelessness

Young people are a national priority homelessness cohort for the Australian and state and territory governments to reduce the incidence of homelessness. This section refers to people aged from 12 to 24 years as youth.

In 2021 nearly a quarter (23.0%) of all people experiencing homelessness were aged from 12 to 24 years (28,204 people). The rate of homelessness for this age group decreased from 73 people per 10,000 in 2016 to 71 people per 10,000 in 2021.

Young females had a homelessness rate of 70 people per 10,000 in 2021, up from 68 in 2016. Young females were more likely than males to be:

in supported accommodation for the homeless (26.6%, compared with 20.3% of males)
staying temporarily with other households (9.9%, compared with 8.5% of males).

Young males had a homelessness rate of 71 people per 10,000 in 2021, down from 77 in 2016. Young males were more likely than females to be:

living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out (2.3%, compared with 2.0% of females)
living in boarding houses (15.0%, compared with 10.4% of females)
living in 'severely' crowded dwellings (52.0%, compared with 49.1% of females).

Graph 4. Proportion of youth experiencing homelessness by homeless operational group(a) and sex, 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) (%)
Males	2.3	20.3	8.5	15.0	1.9	52.0
Females	2.0	26.6	9.9	10.4	2.1	49.1

Graph 4. Proportion of youth experiencing homelessness by homeless operational group(a) and sex, 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)"]

[["Males","Females"],[[2.2999999999999998],[2]],[[20.300000000000001],[26.600000000000001]],[[8.5],[9.9000000000000004]],[[15],[10.4]],[[1.8999999999999999],[2.1000000000000001]],[[52],[49.100000000000001]]]

[]

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

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 the 'Methodology' section of this publication for more information.

Source: Census of Population and Housing 2021.

Older Australians experiencing homelessness

Older Australians are a national priority homelessness cohort for the Australian and state and territory governments to reduce the incidence of homelessness. This section refers to people aged 55 years and over as older Australians.

In 2021 19,378 people aged 55 years and over were experiencing homelessness, representing one in seven (15.8%) people experiencing homelessness at the time of the Census.

The rate of homelessness for older Australians decreased from 29 people per 10,000 in 2016 to 26 people per 10,000 in 2021.

Older females had a homelessness rate of 19 people per 10,000 in 2021, down from 20 in 2016. Older females were more likely than males to be:

in supported accommodation for the homeless (16.9%, compared with 10.2% of males)
staying temporarily with other households (26.7%, compared with 19.6% of males)
living in 'severely' crowded dwellings (30.5%, compared with 17.7% of males).

Older males had a homelessness rate of 34 people per 10,000 in 2021, down from 39 in 2016. Older males were more likely than females to be:

living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out (12.4%, compared with 8.3% of females)
living in boarding houses (37.1%, compared with 14.6% of females).

Graph 5. Proportion of older Australians experiencing homelessness by homeless operational group(a) and sex, Australia, 2021
	People living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out (%)	People in supported accommodation for the homeless(c) (%)	People staying temporarily with other households(d) (%)	People living in boarding houses (%)	People in other temporary lodgings(e) (%)	People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(f) (%)
Males	12.4	10.2	19.6	37.1	3.2	17.7
Females	8.3	16.9	26.7	14.6	3.1	30.5

Graph 5. Proportion of older Australians experiencing homelessness by homeless operational group(a) and sex, Australia, 2021

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

[["Males","Females"],[[12.4],[8.3000000000000007]],[[10.199999999999999],[16.899999999999999]],[[19.600000000000001],[26.699999999999999]],[[37.100000000000001],[14.6]],[[3.2000000000000002],[3.1000000000000001]],[[17.699999999999999],[30.5]]]

[]

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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 the 'Methodology' section of this publication for more information.

Source: Census of Population and Housing 2021.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

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 Information Paper: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Perspectives on Homelessness, 2014.

When considering changes over time, it is important to note that 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 factors such as births, deaths and migration, and by non-demographic factors including changes in coverage and response in Censuses, whether or not a person identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander in each Census, and the identification of children or others who have had their form completed by parents or someone else on their behalf. Changes in Indigenous status between Censuses can affect the interpretation of Census data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is important to remember that Indigenous status is collected through self-identification and any change in how a person chooses to identify will affect the count of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Census.

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.

Of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness at the time of the 2021 Census:

Three in five (60.0%) were living in ‘severely’ crowded dwellings
Almost one in five (19.1%) were in supported accommodation for the homeless
Nearly one in ten (9.3%) were living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out.

Graph 6. 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 6. 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]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Homeless operational group","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}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Counts of people","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":"20000","tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

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 the 'Methodology' section of this publication for more information.

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

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.

Table 2. 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
NSW	1,885	2,205	2,278	2,508	136	128	105	90
Vic.	639	828	783	1,109	212	218	164	169
Qld	4,779	4,819	4,450	4,769	375	309	239	201
SA	1,256	1,091	936	1,391	493	359	274	327
WA	3,312	3,379	2,618	3,378	564	485	345	381
Tas.	93	167	130	247	56	85	55	82
NT	13,921	13,978	12,131	11,394	2,594	2,462	2,083	1,865
ACT	72	261	95	126	186	504	146	141
Australia	25,955	26,718	23,437	24,930	571	487	361	307

a. 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.

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
4,099 (16.4%) were aged from 25 to 34 years
3,322 (13.3%) were aged from 12 to 18 years.

Graph 7. Counts 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(c)	People in other temporary lodgings(c)	People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(d)
0	8	178	28	4	6	226
1	7	145	43	0	4	343
2	4	152	38	0	6	325
3	8	108	34	0	7	321
4	8	117	36	0	9	351
5	9	111	28	0	4	354
6	9	105	27	0	4	374
7	11	102	27	0	5	350
8	5	98	28	0	10	316
9	11	98	32	0	8	321
10	6	107	36	0	3	332
11	15	95	13	0	3	324
12	11	92	19	0	6	319
13	6	92	21	0	7	286
14	11	77	14	0	3	326
15	8	76	23	3	9	308
16	4	102	35	0	0	344
17	17	123	20	4	8	321
18	20	135	30	3	8	422
19	27	122	41	7	8	413
20	38	115	42	15	9	446
21	23	93	33	15	8	365
22	20	84	32	13	14	321
23	30	78	31	13	4	300
24	27	78	44	10	10	300
25	42	86	33	9	11	300
26	33	58	40	11	9	290
27	26	72	38	11	6	286
28	38	58	30	10	18	240
29	29	59	35	7	14	244
30	88	67	53	9	10	286
31	24	85	27	15	15	229
32	43	59	34	13	9	207
33	33	60	28	13	13	191
34	34	70	25	14	17	181
35	79	63	32	17	10	232
36	37	61	23	7	9	160
37	54	50	44	14	28	175
38	52	52	31	7	14	168
39	56	47	23	6	12	141
40	114	59	36	9	12	209
41	57	55	14	10	12	146
42	47	50	18	14	9	142
43	41	57	20	10	13	112
44	43	48	31	17	11	125
45	86	48	37	17	3	155
46	43	40	26	11	5	104
47	63	53	21	14	5	131
48	57	54	21	23	19	141
49	46	64	28	19	6	122
50	78	57	33	12	9	178
51	44	39	27	16	11	108
52	59	33	19	16	8	116
53	51	43	23	11	3	100
54	57	32	20	9	0	84
55	42	33	21	12	3	116
56	39	35	18	10	3	80
57	29	23	12	9	5	94
58	33	25	12	3	5	88
59	33	31	7	11	0	65
60	43	21	26	9	3	88
61	20	20	10	4	0	58
62	24	16	11	5	0	60
63	19	19	7	8	0	67
64	15	20	13	13	0	45
65	26	18	10	9	3	44
66	15	24	4	3	0	42
67	12	3	12	4	0	52
68	15	7	6	3	0	41
69	10	13	12	0	0	31
70	13	7	3	5	0	46
71	12	6	4	0	0	24
72	10	7	3	0	0	25
73	5	11	0	3	0	20
74	4	3	0	0	0	15
75	0	0	4	0	0	16

Graph 7. Counts 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(c)","People in other temporary lodgings(c)","People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(d)"]

[["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"],[[8],[7],[4],[8],[8],[9],[9],[11],[5],[11],[6],[15],[11],[6],[11],[8],[4],[17],[20],[27],[38],[23],[20],[30],[27],[42],[33],[26],[38],[29],[88],[24],[43],[33],[34],[79],[37],[54],[52],[56],[114],[57],[47],[41],[43],[86],[43],[63],[57],[46],[78],[44],[59],[51],[57],[42],[39],[29],[33],[33],[43],[20],[24],[19],[15],[26],[15],[12],[15],[10],[13],[12],[10],[5],[4],[0]],[[178],[145],[152],[108],[117],[111],[105],[102],[98],[98],[107],[95],[92],[92],[77],[76],[102],[123],[135],[122],[115],[93],[84],[78],[78],[86],[58],[72],[58],[59],[67],[85],[59],[60],[70],[63],[61],[50],[52],[47],[59],[55],[50],[57],[48],[48],[40],[53],[54],[64],[57],[39],[33],[43],[32],[33],[35],[23],[25],[31],[21],[20],[16],[19],[20],[18],[24],[3],[7],[13],[7],[6],[7],[11],[3],[0]],[[28],[43],[38],[34],[36],[28],[27],[27],[28],[32],[36],[13],[19],[21],[14],[23],[35],[20],[30],[41],[42],[33],[32],[31],[44],[33],[40],[38],[30],[35],[53],[27],[34],[28],[25],[32],[23],[44],[31],[23],[36],[14],[18],[20],[31],[37],[26],[21],[21],[28],[33],[27],[19],[23],[20],[21],[18],[12],[12],[7],[26],[10],[11],[7],[13],[10],[4],[12],[6],[12],[3],[4],[3],[0],[0],[4]],[[4],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0],[3],[0],[4],[3],[7],[15],[15],[13],[13],[10],[9],[11],[11],[10],[7],[9],[15],[13],[13],[14],[17],[7],[14],[7],[6],[9],[10],[14],[10],[17],[17],[11],[14],[23],[19],[12],[16],[16],[11],[9],[12],[10],[9],[3],[11],[9],[4],[5],[8],[13],[9],[3],[4],[3],[0],[5],[0],[0],[3],[0],[0]],[[6],[4],[6],[7],[9],[4],[4],[5],[10],[8],[3],[3],[6],[7],[3],[9],[0],[8],[8],[8],[9],[8],[14],[4],[10],[11],[9],[6],[18],[14],[10],[15],[9],[13],[17],[10],[9],[28],[14],[12],[12],[12],[9],[13],[11],[3],[5],[5],[19],[6],[9],[11],[8],[3],[0],[3],[3],[5],[5],[0],[3],[0],[0],[0],[0],[3],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0],[0]],[[226],[343],[325],[321],[351],[354],[374],[350],[316],[321],[332],[324],[319],[286],[326],[308],[344],[321],[422],[413],[446],[365],[321],[300],[300],[300],[290],[286],[240],[244],[286],[229],[207],[191],[181],[232],[160],[175],[168],[141],[209],[146],[142],[112],[125],[155],[104],[131],[141],[122],[178],[108],[116],[100],[84],[116],[80],[94],[88],[65],[88],[58],[60],[67],[45],[44],[42],[52],[41],[31],[46],[24],[25],[20],[15],[16]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Homeless operational group","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}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Counts of people","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":"650","tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Categories are mutually exclusive; therefore, people will only appear in one category.
Data includes ages 0–75 years for presentation purposes only. Data for all ages is available in the Data downloads section of this publication.
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 the 'Methodology' section of this publication for more information.

Source: Census of Population and Housing 2021.

State and territories

Of the states and territories:

Western Australia had the lowest rate of homelessness at 37 people per 10,000 in 2021
New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania had rates ranging from 42 to 47 people per 10,000 in 2021
Northern Territory had the highest rate of homelessness at 564 people per 10,000 in 2021.

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

Table 3. Rates(a) of people experiencing homelessness by state/territory, 2006 to 2021
	Rates(a)
	2006	2011	2016	2021
NSW	34	40	50	43
Vic.	35	42	42	47
Qld	48	44	46	44
SA	37	36	37	42
WA	42	41	36	37
Tas.	24	31	32	42
NT	792	724	600	564
ACT	30	49	40	39
Australia	45	48	50	48

a. 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.

In 2021:

Western Australia had the highest proportion of people living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out (23.8%)
The Australian Capital Territory had the highest proportion of people in supported accommodation for the homeless (48.5%)
Tasmania had the highest proportion of people staying temporarily with other households (25.0%)
Victoria had the highest proportion of people living in boarding houses (28.0%)
Northern Territory had the highest proportion of people living in 'severely' crowded dwellings (75.6%).

Graph 8. People experiencing homelessness by homeless operational groups(a), state and territory, 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 lodging(b) (%)	People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(c) (%)
NSW	3	14	12	25	4	42
Vic.	3	26	8	28	5	30
Qld	9	18	22	13	2	35
SA	4	34	18	9	3	32
WA	24	17	22	6	1	30
Tas.	10	23	25	11	1	30
NT	5	13	5	0	0	76
ACT	3	49	15	8	0	25
Australia	6	20	14	18	3	39

Graph 8. People experiencing homelessness by homeless operational groups(a), state and territory, 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 lodging(b)","People living in 'severely' crowded dwellings(c)"]

[["NSW","Vic.","Qld","SA","WA","Tas.","NT","ACT","Australia"],[[3],[3],[9],[4],[24],[10],[5],[3],[6]],[[14],[26],[18],[34],[17],[23],[13],[49],[20]],[[12],[8],[22],[18],[22],[25],[5],[15],[14]],[[25],[28],[13],[9],[6],[11],[0],[8],[18]],[[4],[5],[2],[3],[1],[1],[0],[0],[3]],[[42],[30],[35],[32],[30],[30],[76],[25],[39]]]

[]

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

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Percent (%)","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}]

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 the 'Methodology' section of this publication for more information.

Source: Census of Population and Housing 2021.

Data downloads

Census of Population and Housing: estimating homelessness

Data files

Download xlsx [178.37 KB]

List of tables

1.1	HOMELESS PERSONS, Selected characteristics, 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021
1.2	PERSONS IN OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Selected characteristics, 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021
1.3	STATE AND TERRITORY OF USUAL RESIDENCE, Number of homeless persons, by selected characteristics, 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021
1.4	STATE AND TERRITORY OF USUAL RESIDENCE, Proportion of homeless persons, by selected characteristics, 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021
1.5	STATE AND TERRITORY OF USUAL RESIDENCE, Rate of homeless persons per 10,000 of the population, by selected characteristics, 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021
1.6	STATE AND TERRITORY OF USUAL RESIDENCE, Number of homeless persons, Homeless operational groups by selected characteristics, 2021
1.7	STATE AND TERRITORY OF USUAL RESIDENCE, Rate of homeless persons per 10,000 of the population, Homeless operational groups by selected characteristics, 2021
1.8	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Number of persons, by selected characteristics, 2021
1.9	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Proportion of persons, by selected characteristics, 2021
1.1	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Number of persons aged 15 years and over, by selected characteristics, 2021
1.11	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Proportion of persons aged 15 years and over, by selected characteristics, 2021
1.12	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Sex by age of person, 2021
1.13	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Rate per 10,000 of the population, 2021
1.14	HOMELESS PERSONS STAYING TEMPORARILY WITH OTHER HOUSEHOLDS, Visited dwelling characteristics, 2021
1.15	HOMELESS PERSONS LIVING IN 'SEVERELY' CROWDED DWELLINGS, Selected dwelling characteristics, 2021

State and territory of usual residence, all persons

Data files

Download xlsx [132.39 KB]

List of tables

2.1	TOTAL POPULATION, All persons by selected characteristics, 2021
2.2	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, New South Wales, by selected characteristics, 2021
2.3	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Victoria, by selected characteristics, 2021
2.4	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Queensland, by selected characteristics, 2021
2.5	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, South Australia, by selected characteristics, 2021
2.6	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Western Australia, by selected characteristics, 2021
2.7	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Tasmania, by selected characteristics, 2021
2.8	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Northern Territory, by selected characteristics, 2021
2.9	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Australian Capital Territory, by selected characteristics, 2021

State and territory of usual residence, persons aged 15 years and over

Data files

Download xlsx [120.45 KB]

List of tables

State and territory of usual residence, sex by age of person

Data files

Download xlsx [83.6 KB]

List of tables

4.1	TOTAL POPULATION, Sex, by age of person, 2021
4.2	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, New South Wales, Sex, by age of person, 2021
4.3	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Victoria, Sex, by age of person, 2021
4.4	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Queensland, Sex, by age of person, 2021
4.5	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, South Australia, Sex, by age of person, 2021
4.6	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Western Australia, Sex, by age of person, 2021
4.7	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Tasmania, Sex, by age of person, 2021
4.8	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Northern Territory, Sex, by age of person, 2021
4.9	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Australian Capital Territory, Sex, by age of person, 2021

State and territory by place of enumeration, Statistical Area Level 2, 3 and 4

Data files

Download xlsx [320.14 KB]

List of tables

5.1	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, by place of enumeration, Statistical Area Level 3 and 4, 2021
5.2	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, by place of enumeration, Statistical Area Level 3 and 4, 2016
5.3	ALL HOMELESS PERSONS, by place of enumeration, Statistical Area Level 2, 2021
5.4	ALL HOMELESS PERSONS, by place of enumeration, Statistical Area Level 2, 2016

State and territory by place of enumeration, Local Government Area

Data files

Download xlsx [121.58 KB]

List of tables

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Data files

Download xlsx [90.67 KB]

List of tables

State and territory by place of enumeration, Remoteness Areas

Data files

Download xlsx [48.34 KB]

List of tables

Post-release changes

29/07/2024 - Corrected total label of data download ‘State and territory of usual residence, persons aged 15 years and over’ Table 3.1 TOTAL PERSONS AGED 15 YEARS AND OVER, by selected characteristics, 2021(a)

27/4/2023 - The release:

Added data by Remoteness Area in the data cube: State and territory by place of enumeration, Remoteness Areas.
Added data by Homelessness Operational Group for Statistical Area Level 3 and 4 in the data cube: State and territory by place of enumeration, Statistical Area Level 2, 3 and 4.

24/3/2023 - Data correction made to the 2021 counts of people aged 75 years and over in Table 1. Counts and rates of people experiencing homelessness by age, Australia, 2006 to 2021.

Methodology

Estimating Homelessness: Census methodology, 2021

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3.1	TOTAL PERSONS AGED 15 YEARS AND OVER, by selected characteristics, 2021
3.2	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, New South Wales–Persons aged 15 years and over by selected characteristics, 2021
3.3	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Victoria–Persons aged 15 years and over by selected characteristics, 2021
3.4	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Queensland–Persons aged 15 years and over by selected characteristics, 2021
3.5	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, South Australia–Persons aged 15 years and over by selected characteristics, 2021
3.6	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Western Australia–Persons aged 15 years and over by selected characteristics, 2021
3.7	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Tasmania–Persons aged 15 years and over by selected characteristics,2021
3.8	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Northern Territory–Persons aged 15 years and over by selected characteristics, 2021
3.9	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Australian Capital Territory–Persons aged 15 years and over by selected characteristics, 2021

6.1	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, by place of enumeration, Local Government Area, 2021
6.2	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, by place of enumeration, Local Government Area, 2016

7.1	HOMELESS PERSONS AND PERSONS IN OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Indigenous status, 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021
7.2	STATE AND TERRITORY OF USUAL RESIDENCE, Homeless persons, by Indigenous status, 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021
7.3	STATE AND TERRITORY OF USUAL RESIDENCE, Homeless persons, by Homeless operational groups, Indigenous status, 2021
7.4	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Homeless persons, by Indigenous status, 2021
7.5	HOMELESS PERSONS, Indigenous status, by selected characteristics, 2021
7.6	HOMELESS PERSONS AGED 15 YEARS AND OVER, Indigenous status, by selected characteristics, 2021
7.7	GREATER CAPITAL CITY STATISTICAL AREAS BY PLACE OF ENUMERATION, Homeless persons, by Indigenous status, 2021

8.1	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Remoteness Areas by State and Territory of place of enumeration, 2021
8.2	HOMELESS OPERATIONAL GROUPS AND OTHER MARGINAL HOUSING, Remoteness Areas by State and Territory of place of enumeration, 2016

APA

Citation

Estimating Homelessness: Census

APA

Citation

Key statistics

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic

Overview

Homeless operational groups

Age

Youth experiencing homelessness

Older Australians experiencing homelessness

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

State and territories

Data downloads

Census of Population and Housing: estimating homelessness

List of tables

State and territory of usual residence, all persons

List of tables

State and territory of usual residence, persons aged 15 years and over

List of tables

State and territory of usual residence, sex by age of person

List of tables

State and territory by place of enumeration, Statistical Area Level 2, 3 and 4

List of tables

State and territory by place of enumeration, Local Government Area

List of tables

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

List of tables

State and territory by place of enumeration, Remoteness Areas

List of tables

Post-release changes

Methodology

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APA

Estimating Homelessness: Census

APA

Key statistics

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic

Overview

Homeless operational groups

Age

Youth experiencing homelessness

Older Australians experiencing homelessness

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

State and territories

Data downloads

Census of Population and Housing: estimating homelessness

List of tables

State and territory of usual residence, all persons

List of tables

State and territory of usual residence, persons aged 15 years and over

List of tables

State and territory of usual residence, sex by age of person

List of tables

State and territory by place of enumeration, Statistical Area Level 2, 3 and 4

List of tables

State and territory by place of enumeration, Local Government Area

List of tables

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

List of tables

State and territory by place of enumeration, Remoteness Areas

List of tables

Post-release changes

Methodology

Articles

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experiencing homelessness

Media releases

Nearly 1 in 200 people homeless on Census night in 2021

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