Australian Bureau of Statistics issues a report on their definition of homelessness

On September 4, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released a report on their statistical definition of homelessness. This report states that a person is considered homeless if they do not have suitable accommodation alternatives, and their current living arrangement:

• is in a dwelling that is inadequate; or
• has no tenure, or if their initial tenure is short and not extendable; or
• does not allow them to have control of, and access to space for social relations.

The new definition has been developed following a review of the ‘cultural definition of homelessness’ which was formulated by Chris Chamberlain and David MacKenzie, and applied in their Counting the homeless reports based on Census of Population and Housing data from 2001 and 2006. Read the ABS report on the statistical definition of homelessness.