Submission to the Inquiry into Homelessness in Australia

Jesuit Social Services welcomes the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs’ Inquiry into Homelessness in Australia, in recognition that homelessness is a significant issue across our country.

Our submission focuses on four interconnected areas of policy and practice relating to housing and homelessness:

  • Structural disadvantage and the need to increase Australia’s social housing stock, incorporating both public housing and community-managed housing;
  • Supporting people involved with or exiting from the justice system and the need for more transitional and supported housing programs;
  • Supporting people with complex and multiple needs and the need to expand the diversity and availability of housing options and support; and
  • The need to address climate change and its impacts in ways that do not exacerbate pre-existing inequities in housing for Australia’s most vulnerable people.

We make four key recommendations, one in relation to each area of focus.