Western Australian Alliance to End Homelessness Dashboard

Addressing underlying drivers of homelessness in WA

Target 4

The underlying causes that result in people becoming homeless have been met head-on, resulting in a reduction by more than half in the inflow of people and families into homelessness in any one year

The causes of homelessness are complex, encompassing a broad range of individual and structural determinants, including housing availability and affordability, economic and employment opportunities (or lack thereof), physical and mental health outcomes, domestic and family violence, and social and community connections.

Poverty and unemployment

Table 4.3. Poverty statistics and trends

Indicators	Most current values	Trend over time
Western Australian poverty rates (2017 - 2018)¹	50% median income – 12.9%	Stable
Western Australian poverty rates (2017 - 2018)¹	60% median income – 18.5%	Stable
Unemployment rate (2022)²	Youth – 6.3%	Increasing
Unemployment rate (2022)²	General population – 3.0%	Increasing
¹Australian Council of Social Services and UNSW Rate of poverty by state/territory of residence. ²ABS 6020.0 – Labour Force, Australia.

Trends in youth unemployment rate and the general population show unemployment on the decline in Western Australia (Figure 4.11).