How Are Australian Local Governments Responding to the Homelessness Crisis? Findings From a National Study

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21458561
AutoresAndrew Clarke (0000-0003-1324-8032, School of Social Sciences University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia, autor de correspondencia), John-Patrick Moore (0009-0001-1602-5072, School of Social Sciences University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia), Fatemeh Aminpour (0000-0003-2351-2626, City Futures Research Centre University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia), Katya Eagles (City Futures Research Centre University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia)
Año2026
Fecha de publicación2026-04-30
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAustralian Journal of Social Issues (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0157-6321 • E-ISSN: 1839-4655
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajs4.70114
OpenAlexW7160200391
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas19

Australian local governments are facing intensifying pressures to respond to worsening visible homelessness. This paper presents one of the first national studies on how local governments are responding to these pressures, and the first since the onset of the post‐pandemic housing crisis. Drawing on a nationwide survey and three qualitative case studies, we examine the scale of local homelessness pressures, the modes of engagement adopted by councils, and the institutional constraints that shape their capacity to act. The findings show that homelessness is now regarded as a significant issue by most councils, a marked increase from the pre‐pandemic period. Councils' responses cluster around three core functions: surveillance and referral, coordination of fragmented service systems, and facilitation of accommodation and service provision. These functions are part of broader efforts to reorient councils from reactive, fragmented, and enforcement‐dominated interventions toward more proactive, whole‐of‐organisation approaches grounded in collaboration and care. However, these transformations remain fragile, constrained by chronic resource limitations, unclear legislative mandates, and, most significantly, severe shortfalls in affordable housing. The paper argues that while councils play an increasingly important role in local homelessness governance, their efforts cannot be sustained without structural reform and renewed investment from other levels of government

Accommodation · Facilitation · Legislature · Local government · Project commissioning · Psychological intervention · Homelessness and Social Issues · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Social Work Education and Practice