Better futures: supported accommodation for unaccompanied children and young people experiencing homelessness
Our summary
This report examines whether Australia’s supported accommodation services adequately support children and young people aged 12–24 who are homeless or unaccompanied. The research highlights that this group is significant but often overlooked in policy and service design.
The report finds that unaccompanied young people experience homelessness for different reasons than many adults, with challenges often linked to the absence of safe guardianship, family support, and developmental care rather than housing affordability alone. Existing supported accommodation models are frequently designed around crisis responses rather than the longer-term support young people need to transition safely into adulthood.
Key issues identified include short support periods, inconsistent access across jurisdictions, and “care conditionality”, where young people with complex needs may struggle to access services because their needs exceed service capacity.
The report recommends a stronger national approach centred on four principles: including unaccompanied and homeless children and young people in policy design, creating age-appropriate supported accommodation, matching resources to care complexity, and strengthening national coordination. Proposed solutions include youth hubs, relationship-based care, flexible family reunification approaches, longer-term transitional accommodation, improved workforce support, and a National Child and Youth Housing and Homelessness Plan.
Overall, the report argues that Australia needs to shift from short-term homelessness responses towards a child and youth-focused care system that prioritises safety, stability, wellbeing, education, and successful transitions into adulthood.