Key Points
- Homelessness is surging in Australia.
- Advocates say the federal budget "tinkered around the edges" of the problem.
- The government is trying to push through a bill that would see 30,000 social housing dwellings built in five years.
Mark Souter is terminally ill with severe emphysema and his wife Sue is disabled.
They are homeless in south-east Queensland and surviving off her disability pension and his carer's pension.
"It's just not feasible to rent privately on a pension here because the average rent starts at around $500 a week," Mr Souter told SBS News.
"We're also spending money to store all of our stuff so it doesn't leave money to save for a deposit or two weeks' rent," he said.
The couple, who are in their 50s, are among a growing number of people made homeless by Australia's rental crisis and who advocates say the government is not doing enough to help.
Mark Souter and his wife Sue are homeless and have been unable to find a place to rent in south-east Queensland. Source: Supplied
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple had a catering business but found there were too many barriers to restarting in the industry.
They had spent some time living with family but are unsure where they will end up next.
"The real estate agents and the owners are putting rents up several times a year. The pension doesn't increase that much," Mr Souter said.
"The politicians aren't helping."
Ms Souter said: "The aged and the disabled go without housing and so you get stuck living in places where you shouldn't be living."
Homelessness is on the rise in Australia, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimating nearly 123,000 people were without a home on Census night 2021 - around 6,000 more than at the previous count in 2016.
This represents a 5.2 per cent lift in homelessness over five years.
Fifty-six per cent of those without a home were women and children; 16 per cent were aged over 55; 14 per cent were aged 19 to 24.
Source: SBS News
The report looked at 45,895 rental listings online on 17 March 2023, and found less than 1 per cent of rentals were affordable for a person on the age or disability support pensions.
The centrepiece of the government's federal budget announced last week was a $14.6 billion cost-of-living relief package.
It contained a $20-a-week boost for people on JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, Austudy and other payments from 20 September this year.
There was also a 15 per cent increase for low-income renters receiving Commonwealth Rent Assistance payments which will mean around $15 per week extra for most.
Homelessness NSW said the budget "tinkered around the edges of a growing social crisis" and "has not made the supply of social and affordable housing a priority at the scale needed to address growing homelessness."
"While the budget contained some promising initiatives which help improve cost of living and access to health services, measures to address the housing and homelessness crisis were noticeably absent," the organisation said.
Mission Australia said the budget made "small positive steps but not enough to end housing and homelessness emergency."
"The lack of a serious move to address poverty by making substantial increases to JobSeeker and other income support payments is a sharp and continuing disappointment.
“Additionally, there is no new initiative of scale to respond to the current devastating housing emergency – nothing to stop more and more people being pushed into homelessness across the country."
The government is seeking to which would see 30,000 new social housing homes built over five years.
But the bill's future is shaky as it has been blocked by the Greens who are seeking amendments as they argue it's inadequate, and it requires cross-bench support.
