Urban Indigenous homelessness: Much more than housing

Urban Indigenous homelessness is shaped by more than a lack of housing. It is deeply connected to the ongoing impacts of colonisation, racism and dispossession. This AHURI report examines the causes, cultural meanings and service responses surrounding Indigenous homelessness in urban settings, drawing on policy and practice literature as well as interviews with Indigenous leaders, service providers and community members in four case-study sites. The research shows how trauma, violence, grief and family disruption intersect with poverty, discrimination in the private rental market and limited affordable housing to create chronic cycles of homelessness. Participants describe a revolving door of shelters, overcrowded dwellings and temporary arrangements that often fails to meet cultural needs or support long-term stability. The authors highlight significant gaps in current service delivery, including underfunded Aboriginal-controlled organisations, limited crisis and transitional options, and barriers to sustaining tenancies such as rental debts, criminal records and low literacy. In response, the report calls for Indigenous-led, culturally safe housing and support models that recognise mobility, kinship and connection to Country, alongside structural reforms to expand appropriate housing supply. For community work professionals, this resource encourages a shift from deficit framing to strengths-based, self-determined approaches, and offers an evidence base for advocating policy and practice change that reflects Indigenous experiences and solutions.