The Indigenous housing crisis By Jarrod McAleese Many of us recently acknowledged NAIDOC Week – a nationwide celebration held during the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday). The week provides us an opportunity to recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Most importantly, in line with this year’s theme of “Get Up, Stand Up, Show Up”, it is a platform for us to advocate for true progress – whether it’s environmental, cultural and heritage protections, Constitutional reform, a comprehensive process of truth-telling, working towards treaties, or calling out racism. The housing dilemma It’s widely known that Australia is going through a housing crisis. More than 116,000 Australians are homeless on any given night across the country, while another 1.5 million live in serious housing stress. And unfortunately, Indigenous Australians are historically overrepresented among people who are homeless and those seeking assistance with housing.
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The ABS 2016 Census showed that Indigenous Australians accounted for more than one-fifth (23%) of the homeless population nationally, despite representing less than 5% of the population. And according to the 2014–15 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS), 29% of Indigenous Australians aged 15 and over had been homeless at some time in their life. Further, 2019–20 Specialist Homelessness Services data showed that: • Around 71,600 Indigenous Australians received SHS support. • Indigenous Australians made up 27% of all SHS clients (AIHW 2020). • More than half (53%, or almost 38,000) of Indigenous SHS clients were aged under 25 compared with 41% (79,800) of nonIndigenous clients (AIHW 2020).
