May 24, 2011: Homelessness Australia and ABS sector consultation

Homelessness Australia and the Australian Bureau of Statistics convened a sector wide consultation in Sydney on 24 May to discuss proposed counting the homeless methodology changes which would reduce the number of homeless by almost 40percent in its current iteration.

At the consultation Homelessness Australia questioned whether the census was in fact the best instrument for counting homelessness, whether changes in methodology, if implemented as currently proposed would suggest that the government is trying to meet its Road Home targets by manipulating data rather than by reducing homelessness.

Stakeholders agreed that any count that is less than accurate or is based on questionable assumptions will not only have an undetermined deleterious effect on service delivery, resourcing, and client access to the homelessness system, but will call into question the integrity of the data and ABS.

While the majority agreed that excluding groups such as holiday makers, construction crews, and religious institutions was reasonable and   justified concerns were raised about under-reporting of youth homelessness, women and their children escaping domestic violence; Indigenous, refugee and migrant overcrowding;  and the taxonomy of boarding house, backpacker, caravan park residents, and grey nomads.

The group discussed gaps in youth homelessness enumeration at length.  FaHCSIA has no plans to conduct a national schools survey to determine the number of homeless enrolled students, which would allow the ABS to run the present methodology in parallel and compare results.  The ABS are  proposing to develop a quality study based on a sample of  New South Wales schools, which would then be applied to a national schools survey to capture data on homelessness amongst 12-18 year olds.

The consultation provided the homelessness sector with an opportunity to voice their serious reservations about a number of underpinning assumptions   and their impact upon services and the homeless.  The ABS invites written submissions through 30 June with the results to be released by 31 July. A final methodology will be produced by the end of 2011.