Older People and Homelessness

The majority voted in favour of a motion calling for the Government to raise funding for homelessness services and social housing, with a particular emphasis on services for older Australians.

Motions like this don't have legal force on their own, but can be influential as they represent the will of the Senate.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that, according to:

(i) census data, the proportion of renting households in housing stress, whose reference person is aged 65 years or over, has risen from 31.7 per cent in 1996 to 54.2 per cent in 2016,

(ii) the 2017 report Older People at Risk of Homelessness in New South Wales, since 2012, the number of households in housing stress in receipt of Commonwealth Rent Assistance, whose reference person is aged 65 years or over, has increased 53.7 per cent, and

(iii) the Society of St Vincent de Paul, women aged 55 or over make up the fastest growing group of people experiencing homelessness; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to:

(i) raise real levels of funding for homelessness services and social housing,

(ii) work with stakeholders to ensure the specific needs of older people are addressed in National Housing and Homelessness Agreement negotiations with states, and

(iii) review the Commonwealth Assistance with Care and Housing Sub-Programme to ensure it is meeting the needs of Australia’s ageing population.