Two key national organisations will each receive a share of $4.8 million in grant funding to provide more support for tackling homelessness.
The Albanese Government is pleased to announce that Homelessness Australia and National Shelter have been successful in the first round of the Homelessness Sector Development Grants and will receive a combined amount of $1.6 million each year for three years.
This funding will support both organisations to:
- scale up research and boost policy development capability
- strengthen coordination efforts
- bring forward new ideas to support the homelessness sector
Homelessness Australia and National Shelter play a critical role in bringing together the voices of frontline services, advocates and people with lived experience. Their work provides government with high‑quality, evidence‑based advice and research that helps shape more effective policy and better outcomes on the ground.
This investment recognises that tackling homelessness requires strong national leadership, coordination and a shared evidence base to guide decision‑making.
This funding rebuilds national leadership and coordination dismantled by the Coalition's cuts to homelessness peak bodies in 2014. After more than a decade of neglect, the Albanese Government is restoring the capacity of organisations that assist people experiencing homelessness.
These grants form part of the Albanese Government's $6 million investment over three years in leading homelessness peak bodies and organisations, designed to strengthen sector capability, support informed advocacy, and ensure governments are equipped with the best possible advice to address housing insecurity and homelessness.
This is on top of the Government's significant investments to support vulnerable Australians, including the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, which is the key initiative driving the delivery of 55,000 social and affordable homes by mid‑2029; the $9.3 billion National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness; and more than $1.2 billion for crisis and transitional housing supporting women and children impacted by family and domestic violence, and young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Housing, Homelessness and Cities, Clare O'Neil
"There's no more distressing consequence of Australia's decades‑in‑the‑making housing crisis than the increase in homelessness. That's why we're building 55,000 social and affordable homes for those Australians in acute housing distress, and supporting the organisations who help them through it."
