Specialist homelessness services clients experiencing family and domestic violence: Interactions with out-of-home care and income support

Abstract

Family and domestic violence (FDV) causes considerable disruption to the lives of Australian families. It is the main reason that women and children leave their homes in Australia, and that people seek assistance from specialist homelessness services (SHS). FDV is also one of the main drivers for children being placed in out-of-home care.

Key findings:

• 2 in 5 specialist homelessness services (SHS) clients who experienced family and domestic violence (FDV) had received the Parenting Payment Single during 2011–2021, more than double that for other (non-FDV) clients.
• As the majority of SHS clients who experienced FDV were female, this suggests the clients receiving the Parenting Payment Single were more commonly single mothers with young children.
• A higher proportion of SHS clients who experienced FDV had received income support for 7–10 years during 2011–2021, compared with other (non-FDV) clients.
• This article provides initial exploratory analysis of available linked data. In order to improve FDV research insights, it will be important to expand the coverage of FDV identification in linked national data.