The head of one of the country’s largest child welfare agencies has called on the Federal Government to work with the states to reduce youth homelessness by providing dedicated housing stock for vulnerable young people leaving foster care.
Anglicare Victoria CEO Paul McDonald said more housing is desperately needed for vulnerable young people across the country who are finding themselves in the middle of a rental crisis after leaving the care of the state.
“State and territory governments across the country have all agreed to extend their care to the child until the age of 21. While this will deliver many benefits for young people leaving care, this reform will not deliver housing stock to this group of young people, who represent two thirds of the youth homeless population in Australia. Without further direct housing support by the Federal Government in line with the reforms to extend care to 21 years old, the gains in employment, health and wellbeing resulting from extended care may falter,” Mr McDonald said.
“We expect 3000 young people per year across the country will receive extended care support and, while half will remain with their carers, we expect half will require specific assistance to access housing between the ages of 18 and 21. For example, those young people who live in residential care arrangements cannot continue living in the same residential home for three more years until they turn 21 – they need help with finding somewhere to live independently.
“So far the Federal Government has remained largely aloof to this cohort, doing little lifting for their future. However Deloitte Access Economics report that if the Federal Government stepped in to assist this group with housing stock, they will save a further $1.8 billion over the next 10 years due to the reduction of Centrelink payments and other welfare services to this cohort. It’s about time they took interest in this high need – but with the potential for high positive impact – for this group of young people.”
Mr McDonald called upon the Federal Government to begin this commitment by:
• Increase Transition to Independent Living Allowance (TILA). The Federal Government provides a one-off TILA payment to young people leaving care. Now that state care has now been extended by three years, this payment should be offered for each of these additional years to help those who need it to live independently.
• Allocate social housing places for young people leaving care. This group represent about two thirds (63 per cent) of the youth homeless population. Many will need housing stock despite being supported by each state’s Home Stretch extended care reforms. More than half of singles seeking help for homelessness are under 25, but only a tiny proportion of social housing is allocated to people in this age group.
Mr McDonald said by acting to reduce youth homelessness among those leaving state care, the Federal Government would be not only be doing the right thing by this group, but would ultimately be saving money by making them more likely to contribute positively to their communities.
