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National Action Plan to Combat Modern Slavery 2020-2025 was launched in December 2020. The plan was developed in consultation with civil society organisations, unions, peak bodies and academic researchers.

The plan contains five national strategic priorities:

1. Prevent
2. Disrupt, investigate and prosecute
3. Support and protect
4. Partner
5. Research.

“Under this National Action Plan, we will implement a strategic program of initiatives to prevent, disrupt, investigate and prosecute modern slavery crimes. We will support and protect victims and survivors, and further our understanding of modern slavery through enhanced research and data collection. We will do this in partnership with international partners, civil society, business, unions, academia and governments both in Australia and abroad. Modern slavery crimes concern us all and everyone has a role in addressing them.”

Read the plan here.

During the pandemic, people experiencing homelessness were provided with temporary accommodation, giving them the security of a home for the first time in a long time. A new report shows that less than a third of this group have transitioned into longer-term affordable housing.

Additionally, tens of thousands of people renting across Australia are now facing mounting rental debts.

A new report COVID 19: Rental housing and homelessness impacts investigates the policy shifts and innovations prompted by COVID, how they were formulated and how they have been implemented.

 

 

The latest AIHW data on homelessness services confirms that older people are the fastest growing subgroup to not only experience homelessness but also the the fastest growing cohort using homelessness services.

According to the report:

Key findings

• In 2019–20, there were about 24,400 people aged 55 years or older seeking homelessness services.
• The majority of older clients were living alone when they presented to SHS services (60%) and the proportion was higher for males (69%) than for females (53%).
• 2 in 3 older clients presented housed but at risk of homelessness (66%).
• More than half (54%) of older clients in 2019–20 were returning clients, that is, they had previously been assisted by a SHS agency at some point since the collection began in 2011–12.
• Housing outcomes for older clients improved; of those clients with closed support, 26% of older clients were known to be homeless at the end of support compared with 34% at the beginning.
• The proportion of ‘rough sleepers’ decreased from 11% at the beginning of support to 7% at the end of support in 2019–20.
• Most older clients known to be at risk of homelessness at the start of support were assisted to maintain a housing tenancy (94%).

The majority of older clients reported no vulnerabilities, only 1 in 5 reported a current mental health issues and 1 in 7 reported a family or domestic violence issue

Main reasons for seeking assistance

The 3 main reasons why older clients sought assistance from SHS agencies in 2019–20 were (Supplementary table OLDER.5):

• housing crisis (18% or 4,300 clients)
• financial difficulties (17% or 4,200)
• family and domestic violence (17% or 4,100)

Services needed and provided

In 2019–20, over half (51% or 12,500) of older SHS clients needed accommodation, of those 36% were provided with some type of accommodation assistance. Demand was highest for long-term accommodation (39% or 9,600 needed long-term accommodation) compared with medium-term (21% or 5,100) and short-term or emergency accommodation (27% or 6,600).

Of the older clients that needed long-term housing, less than 1 in 15 (6%) were provided with assistance.

Access the full report here

The latest Rental Affordability Index from SGS Economics, Bendigo Bank, National Shelter and Brotherhood of St Lawrence shows that rents remain unaffordable and affordability has worsened for many people in our community.

The Australian Homelessness Monitor (AHM2020)was launched today, providing an independent analysis of homelessness in Australia. This year, the report highlighted rough sleeping and the impact of COVID-19 on housing markets and homelessness.

Some key findings of the AHM2020 are:

• In the mid-2010s, rising street homelessness appears to have crossed a threshold, prompting new state/territory government recognition of the issue as a high priority policy challenge, and inducing significantly stepped-up intervention to tackle it.
• While COVID-19 triggered extraordinary and impressive official action in temporarily accommodating people experiencing homelessness, at this stage it appears that only a minority will benefit from permanent housing secured through the process.
• Despite its fundamental contribution to rising homelessness, more broadly, Australian governments have continued to ignore or downplay the fundamental failings of our housing system and the need for greater official engagement and investment.

The AHM2020 is commissioned by Launch Housing and written by independent researchers from University of NSW and the University of Queensland.

The executive summary and full report can be accessed here.

The Australian government responded quickly and effectively to the impending disaster of COVID, preventing people from falling into homelessness and unemployment through a range of measures including the creation of JobKeeper and the addition of a Coronavirus supplement to Newstart, now known as JobSeeker. We were hopeful that the 2020/21 budget would deliver permanent reductions to poverty and increased access to housing, by making the new JobSeeker benefit permanent and investing in social and affordable housing. It was very disappointing and concerning that neither of these measures were adopted, rather the budget relies on incentives and subsidies to encourage business investment to drive the economy.

Many economists recommended an investment in social housing to boost the economy. The result would be job creation with the added bonus of delivering an enormous social benefit – providing safe and secure housing for families trying to get by on a low income, women and children escaping domestic violence, older women living on a low, fixed income in the expensive rental market and people at risk of homelessness.

We welcome the subsidies to encourage employers to employ young people currently out of work, however there is a great risk that this will come at the cost of older workers who already face barriers of ageism in finding employment.

The increase in funding to NHFIC will enable another 2,500 affordable homes to be constructed. However, the need is so much greater. AHURI estimates that there is a shortfall of around 431,000 social housing dwellings across Australia. There are currently 148,520 households on the public housing waiting list.

We are concerned that funding for the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement was reduced. It is likely that the demand for homelessness services will increase as a result of a weak economy that’s likely to be further hit by increasing unemployment.

As a result of the pandemic, people seeking asylum in our community have been heavily impacted by unemployment and lack of income support, with services reporting a 300% increase in demand. The budget reduced support for this group from $52.6 million to $19.6 million, which will further exacerbate the burden carried by these families and individuals, forcing many into homelessness and destitution.

What is needed now:

• A large scale investment in social and affordable housing at a rate of 30,000 dwellings per year as per the SHARP program
• A permanent increase to JobSeeker to a level above the poverty line, defined as $480 – $500 per week for a single person without children.
• Subsidies or incentives aimed at encouraging the employment of older women
• Access to the special benefit supplement for the most vulnerable people seeking asylum

What you can do – Add your voice to these campaigns

Raise the JobSeeker payment for good:  Raise the Rate

Ensure everybody has a safe and affordable home: Everybody’s Home

The AFP arrested three people over the alleged forced marriage of a 20 year old woman, who was later allegedly murdered by her husband in January this year.

The AFP recognised the assistance of the Afghan community in providing information to assist the investigation.

According to Acting Commander Crossling, ““Human trafficking, including forced marriage, does not discriminate. This issue goes beyond borders or religious affiliation. Victims of human trafficking can be male or female, adults or children and come from all walks of life, community, nationality and culture”.

Read more here. 

The Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs launched an interim report on its inquiry into homelessness, focusing on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on housing and homelessness issues.

The report found that

• the collaboration between services and government to ensure vulnerable people are kept safe provided hope for ending homelessness
• a safe, secure home is essential to ensure people can isolate and reduce the risks of transmitting or contracting COVID-19
• there are concerns about domestic and family violence as a result of the stay home directive
• COVID-19 highlights the crucial link between housing and health

The report can be access here.

Developed in partnership between Uniting and CHIA NSW, the Working with Older Tenants Toolkit is a resource for providers facing the challenges of accommodation for an ageing population. The Toolkit is a resource for any providers supporting tenants ageing in place (e.g. Community Housing Providers, Aged Care Providers, long-tern accommodation providers).

You can access the toolkit here: https://communityhousing.org.au/information/resources/working-with-older-tenants-toolkit/

This is a valuable resource for all providers facing the challenges of accommodating for an ageing population. The kit provides a number of modules including

1. Diversity and older people
2. The aged care service delivery model
3. Housing adaptations to support ageing in place
4. Understanding elder abuse
5. Social isolation and loneliness
6. Dealing with changes in behaviour.

 

 

ACRATH has developed a  webinar for workplace professionals, titled 2020 ACRATH-developed Forced Marriage Presentation. The Presentation explores the complexities of forced marriage, the impact on a victim of forced marriage, the extent of the problem in Australia and globally, and Referral Pathways for victim/survivors, usually young women in Australia under the age of 18

Click here for a running sheet that provides a break-down of the Video content for use with groups who may benefit from a ‘pause & discuss’ method of learning. It allows a group facilitator to use the video resource in a deconstructed manner, so that group participants can systematically process the content.

The information is concise and detailed. Please note is not suitable for a young audience.