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Homelessness Data

The City of Sydney's Homeless Person's Information Centre (HPIC) has collected a large amount of useful data on homelessness.

Statistical Comparison

Financial Year	Calls	Client Calls	Needed Accommodation Tonight	% Needs met
1995/06	9,102	8,223	5,356	96.4
1996/07	11,614	10,423	6,167	90
1997/08	17,441	14,958	8,894	96.8
1998/09	20,627	18,024	10,231	97.6
1999/00	25,019	21,721	11,603	93.2
2000/01	41,396	34,611	19,109	89.4
2001/02	48,892	43,151	26,203	90
2002/03	48,124	43,962	27,019	88.5
2003/04	45,250	41,693	25,422	90.5
2004/05	46,840	41,371	25,284	90.8
2005/06	51,700	45,993	27,133	75.12

Summary of Homeless Persons Information Centre Data

A brief Overview of HPIC Client Demand and Outcomes in 2005/2006

HPIC received a total of 51,700 calls during the financial year 2005/2006, 88.96% (or 45,993) of which were from clients. Of these, 25,284 or 59% of callers needed accommodation on the night of the call.

These figures represent ‘calls’ and not individuals or client groups. In general, the majority of callers phone HPIC only once, however there is a smaller group of people, experiencing ‘chronic homelessness’ who phone HPIC more frequently.

The majority of calls to HPIC (38,084) are made by individuals, with 7,909 of calls made by couples or families. More males than females contact HPIC.

Please note that the criteria for ‘needs met’ was changed during 2005/06 to more accurately reflect referrals successfully made to services in the sector. The figure of 75% is possibly a more accurate figure than previous years and does not necessarily reflect a reduction in HPIC capacity or sector capacity to assist people.

Some callers rang twice in one day in order to secure accommodation for the night. Calls resulted in 1,428 referrals to the City’s Brokerage Program, 3,851 referrals to the Department of Housing local office, 1,381 referrals to the Department of Housing After Hours Line and 10,017 referrals to SAAP and other emergency accommodation services.

There were 17,290 callers who self reported as having a mental health problem as a contributing characteristic (2,014 indicated it was a primary characteristic and 2,878 as a contributing characteristic) for reasons of homelessness, 4,168 callers self reported Drug and Alcohol problem as a contributing characteristic, 6,182 callers had family breakdown as a primary reason.

The primary source of income for 86.10% of callers was a Centrelink payment, and 2.7% of callers reported having no income. Only 4.1% of callers reported having an income from employment.

HPIC met the information or referral requirements of 90.8% of callers.

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Last Updated: Tuesday 8 August, 2006