Visibility of homelessness at a local level

Local data about the number of people living without shelter is being gathered but in different ways

The main data about homelessness gathered at a local regional or council level is focused on people living without shelter. This data may be collected in a variety of ways by outreach services, local providers, surveys or homelessness counts. As a result, it is difficult to determine whether the numbers of those living without shelter, sharing someone else’s private dwelling, living in uninhabitable housing, or homelessness overall have increased, decreased, or remained stable since the March 2023 Census.   

MHUD reports that the available data from around the country indicates that the number of people living without shelter may have begun to stabilise, with some large and small centres beginning to see a decrease. However, council staff from most of the areas that MHUD engaged with reported increasing numbers of people living without shelter over the past six months. 

Data source: MHUD. 2026. Homelessness insights. To 31 March 2026