07/05/2026
The ‘Better futures: Supported accommodation for unaccompanied children and young people experiencing homelessness’ report is a significant research paper that will be an invaluable asset to all levels of government and the SHS sector when they are shaping policy and service delivery.
We are thrilled to see this piece of work delivered as our own Youth Homelessness Representative Council were involved in providing guidance and critical review.
Unaccompanied children and young people aged 12-24 easily fall through the cracks of the system. Experiencing homelessness increases the risk of significant lifelong negative outcomes. A strengthened system of care is required to better align services to unaccompanied young people’s needs.
This research identified four policy and practice principles to guide system improvements, each with proposed actions.
1. Include unaccompanied homeless children and young people in policy, system and service design
2. Design and deliver age-appropriate supported accommodation services
3. Unconditionally match service design and resourcing to the complexity of homeless children and young people’s care needs
4. Strengthen responses to unaccompanied homeless children and young people nationally
Congratulations to Catherine Robinson, Carmel Hobbs (PhD), Deb Batterham, Joel McGregor and Professor Wendy Stone on this significant piece of work that will support and improve the sector.
View the report at https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/459
