In Australia, over 68,000 men experienced homelessness on Census night 2021, making up nearly 56% of the total homeless population (over 122,000 people). While the rate of male homelessness decreased slightly from 2016, the actual number increased, with higher rates among older men and rough sleepers, though youth homelessness is also significant.
Men make up the majority of homeless people (60%) and are also much more likely to be unsheltered. Rates of homelessness have risen over the past decade, leading to an increase in the number of homeless men from 339,000 in 2015 to 460,000 in 2024. Homeless men are also more likely to be alone, rather than in a family.
Yes, homeless people can get Centrelink payments, including income support, advance payments, and crisis payments for extreme situations like fire or flood, with support available for finding housing and linking with social workers to navigate entitlements and services. While having a fixed address can be tricky, you can often use a homelessness service, shelter, or social worker's address as a contact point to receive mail and get assistance with applications, with Centrelink having workarounds for those without a permanent home.
Did you know that homelessness in New South Wales has risen by 18% over the past decade, with an estimated 37,000 people experiencing homelessness in 2025? Nationally, the picture is even more alarming – 135,000 Australians are now without a home, marking a 21% increase since 2015 (ABS & AIHW, 2025).
While specific data varies by report, Sydney generally has the highest total number of people experiencing homelessness, particularly in its inner-city and surrounding suburbs like Canterbury, Strathfield, and Fairfield, though Brisbane and the Northern Territory (like East Arnhem) also show very high rates relative to their populations. Homelessness is concentrated in major cities but also prevalent in outer suburbs, driven by housing affordability issues.
As many as 14.2% of the population – or 3.7 million Australians – were living below the poverty line in 2022–23, according to the Poverty in Australia 2025: Overview, opens in a new window report released today.
Australia is ten or fifteen years behind the US on homelessness.
Include small soaps and shampoos from your hotel stays. Consider lip balm, toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, razor, shaving cream, and deodorant. variety of services available to homeless men, women and families that they might not know about.
A $1000 Centrelink payment likely refers to the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP), a one-off lump sum of $1,000 for eligible adults (and $400 per child) who are adversely affected by a declared major disaster, like severe weather events in NSW during 2025, providing short-term support for essential needs like damaged homes or assets, claimable through myGov or Services Australia.
The unhoused population's average life expectancy is 15 to 20 years lower than their housed counterparts. The average age of life expectancy when homeless is 48 years, according to Health Care for the Homeless. Unhoused individuals are also twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke.
Homelessness in America is largely a gendered phenomenon. Men are the overwhelming majority individuals counted in the HUD-required annual Point-in-Time Count. They are also more likely than women to be unsheltered.
The higher rate of homelessness among men may be attributed to a number of reasons: unemployment, limited social support networks, and issues regarding mental health and substance abuse, for example.
Only 6.2 per cent of people without a home are sleeping rough. The majority of homelessness is hidden - people in crisis accommodation, rooming houses, insecure housing, overcrowded dwellings or couch surfing.
Some sources, such as Regeneration Outreach in Brampton, Ontario use “homeless” to refer to someone with no fixed address and “houseless” to refer to someone who does not have a traditional home, but does have a place to stay, such as an RV or other non-permanent structure.
Causes of homelessness
Domestic violence is the single biggest cause of homelessness in Australia. What this means is that homelessness is a product of many other human rights abuses.
What do people experiencing homelessness need?
The Importance of Deodorant for the Homeless
When we think of essential hygiene products, deodorant often doesn't come to mind. However, for people experiencing homelessness, deodorant can be more than just a hygiene product; it's a vital part of maintaining personal dignity, health, and even social acceptance.
The simplest and most impactful way to help a homeless person is to make them feel seen, loved and worthwhile. It can be as easy as smiling, making eye contact, shaking someone's hand or calling them by name. We are all unique humans with complex stories. We are all sometimes in need of grace and a helping hand.
Queensland's the homelessness capital of Australia. On 14 August 2024, I spoke about the eye-watering statistic that Queensland has become the homelessness capital of Australia. Queensland has recently been characterised as the homelessness capital of Australia.
A low income in Australia varies, but generally involves earning below the median (around $1,425/week in Aug 2025) or below specific government thresholds, like the $948/week ($24,95/hr) National Minimum Wage (as of July 2025) for full-time work, with lower thresholds applying for benefits like the Low Income Health Care Card (around $800/week for singles). For tax purposes, incomes under $37,500-$45,000 might qualify for offsets, while affordable housing eligibility depends heavily on household size, with singles needing under $52,100 annually for low-cost options.
Guardian Australia has spent a year investigating 627 homelessness deaths, revealing that Australians experiencing homelessness have an average life expectancy of just 44 years (45.2 for men and 40.1 for women) – more than 30 years lower than the median age at death for the general population.
The top 10 issues Australians say are the most concerning
South Sudan is widely considered the poorest country in the world in 2025-2026, consistently ranking first due to extremely low GDP per capita and a high percentage (over 80%) of its population living in extreme poverty, driven by prolonged civil conflict, displacement, and disruption of its agricultural economy. Other nations frequently cited as among the poorest include Burundi, the Central African Republic, and Yemen, also suffering from conflict and instability.
Perth has surpassed Sydney as the least affordable capital city in Australia, relative to household incomes. Albo''s legacy -poverty & antisemetic violence.