Win for children and young people in pre-budget announcement

Late on Friday night we received a call from the Federal Minister for Homelessness and Housing's office to let us know that a major policy announcement was imminent. You can read the Government's media release, Home Time media release, AAP story or ABC story for the full rundown and reaction.

The headline news for us was the decision to allocate $1 billion from the National Housing Infrastructure Facility (NHIF) to young people with no home and women and their children escaping violence. 

Targeting the NHIF to young people has been a major campaign ask for us over the past six months and we welcome the decision to make this a reality. It was first raised with the Federal Minister for Housing in November last year and many times since then.

There is a lot more we need to know about this announcement. For example, what will the housing targets look like and how will support needs and the rental gap for youth payments be addressed?

The new National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness (NASHH) needs to prioritise children and young people with no home and ensure that dedicated tenancies for young people are linked to support services and payments to cover the rental gap for providers.

That is our next job and we will start having conversations at federal, state and territory levels immediately. We will also continue raising these issues in the media and with local MPs.

For now, let's celebrate the win and use it to power even stronger advocacy for children and young people without a home. This shows we are already having a major impact and reminds us what is possible when we all work and advocate together!

Thank you for the support you've given and for your commitment to change the lives of thousands of children and young people locked out of Australia's housing system.