Peak body’s urgent homelessness call as govt funding drops
A 11 per cent fall in vital homelessness funding must be fixed to stave off cuts and closures to vital social services, the state’s peak body says. Its state election policy calls on parties to remember SA’s most vulnerable.
Vital new funding must be committed to services and public housing to address highly visible homelessness across the state, the South Australian Council of Social Services (SACOSS) says in its state election policy released today.
“What we know from our homelessness service members is that there’s a really persistent demand for homelessness services,” SACOSS CEO Catherine Earl told InDaily.
“There certainly is a shortfall in funding in terms of dealing with that demand — we’re hoping that all parties are going to pay close attention to the issues of housing and homelessness in the lead up to the election.”
Australian Productivity Commission data showed state funding to the homelessness sector has dropped by more than 11 per cent, from $102.6 million in 2022/23 to $92.3 million in 2024/25.
Earl said SACOSS asked for additional funding for all community services via indexation supplementation in the Mid-Year Budget Review (MYBR) in December but failed to win new dollars.
“There’s a real need for better funding across the whole of the non-government community services sector,” Earl said.
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“People are feeling it really tough in terms of delivering services with the demand from the community.”
A need for more public housing was also outlined in SACOSS’s policy proposal.
Productivity Commission data shows the first increase in the number of public dwelling this century, however, the funding to build more public housing would stall from next year.
“We’d really like to see that program of increasing the housing stock continue well beyond the next few years,” she said.
Last month it was revealed the housing sector’s peak body Shelter SA would cease operation on February 6 following a funding cut in 2020, which sparked concerns that people in need of housing and homelessness services would increase.
SACOSS’s election policy follows yesterday’s policy announcement from Hutt St Centre CEO Chris Burns’ as the demand for the homelessness service reached a record number of visitors in a day last month.
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“The homelessness sector is under unprecedented pressure,” Burns said.
“Demand for services is at record levels; beds are full, and waitlists continue to grow.”
Burns outlined areas to be “urgently addressed” by both major parties and independent candidates which include adequate funding for homelessness services, additional emergency and short-term accommodation, and an expansion of affordable and social housing.
“A chronic shortage of housing, combined with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, is pushing more people into homelessness and trapping others there for longer,” he said.
A state government spokesperson said the government “continues significant investment in homelessness services, supported by an independent review to report in 2026”.
“This review will identify service gaps and ensure funding delivers the best outcomes for people experiencing homelessness,” they said.
“South Australia is now the best performing mainland state for social housing, with 550 homes per 10,000 dwellings, well above the national average. The state also exceeds the national standard for allocating public homes to those with the greatest need.”
Liberal MLC Michelle Lensink said it was “disturbing” that funding had declined under the Malinauskas government.
“The Marshall Liberal Government made improvements to the emergency accommodation system and also succeeded in reducing public housing waiting lists.”
“Due to the current government’s mismanagement of anti-social behaviour, a number of homes are now offline awaiting repairs, leading to people on waiting lists having to sleep in their cars,” Lensink said.
“We will always ask the experts about how the system can be improved to help the people who need it most.”
