People in the City of Wanneroo (the City) who are experiencing homelessness have access to immediate support services in place, and access to local crisis and short-medium term accommodation with wrap-around support services to enable transition to a safe and secure home.

Specifically, what is required within the City is:

• A fully funded, ongoing assertive outreach service in the City of Wanneroo that meets level of demand.
• Establish, operate, and maintain crisis and short-medium term supported accommodation for people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness in the City of Wanneroo.
• Establish and maintain place-based wrap-around support services for people at risk of or experiencing homelessness in the City of Wanneroo.

Renamed the Joondalup Wanneroo Ending Homelessness Group (JWEHG) in 2018, the City helped establish the Joondalup Wanneroo Homelessness Action Group in 2011. JWEHG is comprised of government, community members with lived experience of homelessness, not-for-profit, corporate, faith-based organisations and those who work within the homelessness sector or related industry, in and around the Joondalup and Wanneroo region. The City, in partnership with the City of Joondalup, leads a Regional Homelessness Plan that focuses on building capacity, understanding and engagement; prevention and early intervention; and responding to homelessness.

The City’s and JWEHG’s ambition to end homelessness aligns with the WA Strategy to End Homelessness 2018-2028, which was developed collaboratively with hundreds of stakeholders across the WA homelessness eco-system¹.This Strategy provides a framework to inform the process of ending homelessness and signposts actions required, including community and health support systems that are well coordinated and act quickly. The WA Alliance to End Homelessness encourages stakeholders to use the Strategy to create a combined effort across Western Australia towards the goal of ending homelessness by 2028.

All states and territories are required to have housing and homelessness strategies under the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement (NHHA) which allocates Commonwealth funding towards social housing and specialist homelessness services. The WA Government’s 10-Year Strategy on Homelessness ‘All Paths Lead to a Home’, is underpinned by a ‘no wrong door’ and whole-of-community approach, and stresses place-based responses. Priority actions include supporting measures that ensure people sleeping rough have immediate access to shelter and are connected to appropriate supports. Currently this is not happening in a timely, consistent or optimal way within the City of Wanneroo due to a lack of accessible local services and homelessness accommodation located locally.

There is an identified need for secure funding for short to medium term homelessness accommodation with wrap-around support services, and an ongoing assertive outreach service. While assertive outreach is currently operating in the City, there is no guarantee of continuation beyond mid-2026.

There is currently no commitment by State Government to provide additional local crisis accommodation with sufficient wrap around support to assist people experiencing homelessness to transition to a safe and secure home. The services required would benefit residents of all ages in the region of the Cities of Wanneroo and Joondalup. There is no identified City-managed Crown land of the size and location required for the facility.

Two assertive outreach services are currently provided in the City: Wanneroo Engagement and Assessment Team (WEAT) and Homelessness Engagement Assessment Response Team (HEART). WEAT commenced services in August 2023 and is operated by The Salvation Army through philanthropic funding which ends in July 2026. The WEAT assertive outreach team is working to capacity and has supported 73 clients with 256 engagements between the commencement of its service in August 2023 until 31 January 2024².

In February 2023, HEART, coordinated by the Office of Homelessness and delivered by Uniting WA, commenced services in the City. In January 2024, the WA State Government committed $7.8 million for HEART to continue its Perth metropolitan coordinated outreach response services, including extensions of the Joondalup and Midland service areas³. Uniting WA is contracted to deliver HEART in the City until 30 September 2025. HEART services are regularly at capacity demonstrating that the current level of funded resources is not aligned to demand.

Currently, the Office of Homelessness is undertaking a HEART outreach service commissioning process; the new service is due to commence in October 2025⁴. Until service commissioning is complete, the delivering agent and length of service after September 2025 is unknown. HEART services are regularly at capacity demonstrating that the current level of funded resources is not aligned to demand. This creates further risk for vulnerable community members due to the delays in accessing support services. WEAT is addressing some of the service gap, however due to its reliance on philanthropic funding, their service is not a long-term solution.

Within the City of Wanneroo there is crisis, short-term or transitional, or medium-term homelessness accommodation services that cater for people not in these age brackets. Currently, Ebenezer Aboriginal Corporation runs two medium-term accommodations, one for single males 18 to 25 years and one for single females aged 17 to 25 years and a crisis accommodation for single females between 15 to 25 years all in the Northern suburbs area. Youth Futures is building a 6-bedroom short-term crisis accommodation service in Merriwa for young people aged 15 to 19 years who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness; and Uniting WA received approval in June 2024 to develop a 10-person community housing facility in Girrawheen designed to support people transition out of homelessness or full-time care.

There is an opportunity to transform the support offered to people experiencing homelessness in the City to better align with the housing first and place-based response priorities outlined in the WA Government’s ‘All Paths Lead to a Home’ homelessness strategy. City-based homelessness support services, accommodation and ongoing assertive outreach would enable people to remain connected to their local support network.

The City is a fast-growing local government with around 4,330 new residents annually⁵. The population for the City is expected to increase by 201,022 persons (85% growth) between 2024 and 2046, at an average annual change of 2.84%⁶. This growth places pressure on housing availability and the provision of affordable housing stock. More households in the City are paying a mortgage (54% compared to 40% across WA) and of these 14.4% are under housing stress with mortgage repayments greater than 30% of household income⁷. The City also has lower than average personal median income for individuals and families⁸, and expects to continue to attract people in lower income brackets, many of whom are choosing to trade off proximity to Perth CBD for a larger dwelling.

High levels of rental stress are also evident in the City; currently about 10% of families are low income or welfare dependent and nearly 15% of households receive rent assistance⁹. Around 33.2% of renter households in the City have rental payments greater than 30% of household income compared to 28.3% across WA¹⁰ . The City has households experiencing housing stress with rental cost increasing by 35% from 2019 to 2022¹¹. The suburbs of Butler and Girrawheen have the 5th and 7th highest rental stress in the Perth metropolitan area¹².

The City also has few unoccupied private dwellings (6%) compared to the WA average (10.9%) as well as significantly lower levels of housing diversity¹³ . Higher house prices and rising inflation will add to the existing high levels of mortgage and rental stress in the City. The demand for homelessness services in the City is highly likely to grow in the near future due to this combination of population growth and the cost-of-living and housing crises.

The number of reports the City has been receiving of people experiencing homelessness has increased by 133% over the last four quarters to 219 reports in 2023/24 (as at 4 June 2024) equating to approximately 140 unique cases. The Salvation Army WEAT assertive outreach team is working to capacity and has supported 88 people between the commencement of its service in August 2023 until January 2024.

Across a range of community services, providers are reporting challenges in finding accommodation for clients due to the lack of housing supply and unaffordable housing along with difficulties in accessing wrap-around support services for their vulnerable clients with many at maximum capacity and not taking referrals. Providers have reported that many clients are reluctant to engage with CBD-based services due to distance and accessibility issues.

There is currently limited crisis or short to medium term accommodation facilities located in the City for people experiencing homelessness and no commitment to ongoing funded assertive outreach services. The need for these, and wrap-around support services, is growing and continuation of the assertive outreach services with a secure stream of State and/or Federal Government funding is imperative to support people experiencing homelessness in the City.

Primary Advocates:

• City of Wanneroo
• Joondalup Wanneroo Ending Homelessness Group (JWEHG)

Secondary Advocates:

• City of Joondalup
• WA Department of Communities Joondalup District
• Patricia Giles Centre for Non-Violence
• Western Australian Council of Social Service (WACOSS)

City of Wanneroo’s role is to:

• Advocate for the asks in partnership with others
• Provide localised data and other relevant information
• Act as a connector to local organisations and stakeholders

The State Government’s role is to:

• Provide land
• Fund and maintain a suitable facility
• Fund operations
• Appoint provider(s) to deliver required services

Approximately $15 million to provide land and funding for construction and establishment costs to deliver a short-medium term supported accommodation along with funding for ongoing operational costs including provision of wrap-around support services¹⁴ .

Ongoing annual funding is required to operate the existing Assertive Outreach Program in the City of Wanneroo, in addition, the expansion of this service to meet current demand, which is estimated at 4 FTE plus associated operational costs.

In the 2024-25 WA State Budget, the WA Government committed new homelessness funding for critical homelessness services and additional funding for the expanded Social and Affordable Housing Investment Fund. However, no commitment has been made to build and deliver a general homelessness accommodation service in the City¹⁵ .

Under the Homes for Australian Plan, the Federal Government has directed $1 billion under the National Housing Infrastructure Facility towards crisis and transitional accommodation for women and children experiencing domestic violence, and youth. However, there is still a need for funding for homelessness accommodation¹⁶ .

In January 2024, the WA State Government has committed $7.8 million for HEART to continue its Perth metropolitan coordinated outreach response services, including extensions of the Joondalup and Midland service areas. Uniting WA is contracted to deliver HEART in the City until 30 September 2025. HEART services are regularly at capacity demonstrating that the current level of funded resources is not aligned to demand.

Currently, the Office of Homelessness is undertaking a HEART outreach service commissioning process; the new service is due to commence in October 2025¹⁷. Until service commissioning is complete, the delivering agent and length of service after September 2025 is unknown.

WEAT’s philanthropic funding stream ends in July 2026.

¹ The WA Strategy to End Homelessness 2018-2028 is lead and managed by WA Alliance to Endl Homelessness (https://www.endhomelessnesswa.com/strategy)

² The statistics provided includes WEAT’s walk-in and roving services between 01/08/2023 to 31/01/2024. 22 out of the 73 clients were referrals from the City.

³ WA Media Statement – Cook Government announces nearly $50 million in new funding support for homelessness support services – Published 23 January 2024

⁴ Shelter WA News – Registration of Interest – Homelessness Engagement Assessment Response Team (HEART) outreach services in the Perth metropolitan region – Published 27 February 2024.

⁵ Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions)

⁶ Population and household forecasts, 2021 to 2046, prepared by .id (informed decisions), March 2024

⁷ Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions) – this compares to 13% for WA as a whole

⁸ Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions) – data shows median weekly income $31 and $66 lower

⁹ WA Primary Health Alliance, Perth North PHN Needs Assessment 2022-2024

¹⁰ Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions)

¹¹ Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre – Housing Affordability in Western Australia No. 17, May 2023

¹² Shelter WA, March 2021, Heat Maps Rental Stress Report

¹³ Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions) – data shows flats or apartments make up only 0.4% of dwellings compared to 6.5% of dwellings across WA as a whole, while semi-detached dwellings make up 7.1% compared to 13% for the whole of WA

¹⁴ WA Media Statement – First design images of Mandurah Common Ground unveiled – Published 24 May 2022. The approximate cost of $15 million for a 25-apartment facility derived from this media statement

¹⁵ WA State Budget 2024-25 – Investing in housing and homelessness initiatives –Page reviewed 9 May 2024

¹⁶ Hon Julie Collins MP, Minister for Housing and Homelessness - Media statement dated 14 May 2024

¹⁷ Shelter WA News – Registration of Interest – Homelessness Engagement Assessment Response Team (HEART) outreach services in the Perth metropolitan region – Published 27 February 2024