On 21 December 2008, the Prime Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd MP and Minister for Housing, Tanya Plibersek MP, released the Government's White Paper on Homelessness: The Road Home.
The Road Home sets the strategic agenda for reducing homelessness to 2020. Homelessness can affect anyone and reducing it is everyone's responsibility. Working together, with national leadership and towards a common goal, homelessness can be prevented. Australia's efforts to reduce homelessness have to be urgent, as well as sustained.
Specifically, The Road Home goals by 2020 are to:
- Halve overall homelessness; and
- Offer supported accommodation to all rough sleepers who need it.
Future effort and investment should occur in three strategies of:
- Turning Off the Tap: Services will intervene early to prevent homelessness.
- Improving and expanding services which aim to end homelessness: Services will be more connected, integrated and responsive to achieve sustainable housing, improve social and economic participation and end homelessness for their clients.
- Breaking the Cycle: People who become homeless will move quickly through crisis system into stable housing with the support they need so that homelessness does not recur.
Please Note: To obtain a hard copy of the White Paper on Homelessness: The Road Home, please call 1800 774 055 or email homelessness(homelessness@nationalmailing.com.au)
If you made a Green Paper submission and provided your contact details, you will automatically receive a hardcopy of the White Paper as soon as it is available.
Development of the White Paper
On 22 May 2008, the Prime Minister and Minister for Housing released the Australian Government's Green Paper Which Way Home? A new approach to homelessness to promote discussion about how to reduce homelessness in Australia.
A public consultation process on the Green Paper was held during May and June 2008. Thirteen public consultation forums were held in all Australian capital cities and some regional centres and almost 600 submissions were received. More than 300 people experiencing homelessness gave their views.
Feedback clearly demonstrated that the complexity and diversity of homelessness demands a comprehensive response to make a real impact on reducing homelessness by 2020.
Overall, responses from the Green Paper consultation process suggested the White Paper develop a new, whole of government approach that would:
- Demonstrate national leadership;
- Focus strongly on prevention and early intervention to stop people becoming homeless;
- Provide support for homeless Australians that leads to increased economic and social participation;
- Encourage closer collaboration between homeless and mainstream services used by people vulnerable to homelessness;
- Increase access to safe affordable housing linked to appropriate support services; and
- Recognise the complexity of homelessness and address the needs of different groups within the homeless population including families with children, young people, Indigenous people, older adults, people with mental health and/or drug and substance abuse issues, and women and children experiencing domestic or family violence.
This information was used to assist in the development of the White Paper.
