Better Futures for Unaccompanied Children and Young People Experiencing Homelessness

Just over 42,500 people aged 12-24 were supported by homelessness services in 2023-24 while unaccompanied by a parent or guardian. Yet, due to design and resourcing constraints, these services don’t always meet the age-related and developmental needs of young people.

Published by AHURI in April 2026, this research project examines the effectiveness of supported accommodation services in meeting their needs and proposes a range of principles to guide policy and practice towards a stronger system. In addition to reviewing the available data, researchers undertook interviews in Tasmania and Victoria with 51 unaccompanied people aged 14+ and with 29 social housing service and youth outreach practitioners. A National Practitioner Advisory Group and the Yfoundations https://www.yfoundations.org.au Youth Homelessness Representative Council also provided guidance and critical review.

Researchers found, that in addition to the system not being designed for unaccompanied children and young adults, their homelessness is primarily linked to lack of guardianship and care, rather than lack of affordable housing as with adults. This means that solutions should focus on support to help young people transition to adulthood so they can build positive family and community connections.

Despite their lack of guardianship, parents retain legal responsibility for any children who are not under child protection orders. This can result in situations where children receive neither guardianship at home nor any response from child protection services.

Another aspect which creates difficulty is that care for children and young people can be restricted, temporary and dependent on meeting certain conditions, rather than provided according to need. If they are perceived as higher risk, they may be excluded from services because their vulnerability exceeds service risk thresholds, capabilities and capacities.

Recommended policy actions



1. Include unaccompanied homeless children and young people in policy, system and service design. Government commitments to engage youth advisory councils on key policy areas could be expanded to include unaccompanied children who have experienced homelessness, in particular under-14s, whose voices are rarely heard in research.
2. Design and deliver age-appropriate supported accommodation services. A care continuum and child and youth-focused model that improves their entry and assessment and prioritises their rights, safety, wellbeing and development is recommended. 
3. Unconditionally match service design and resourcing to the complexity of homeless children and young people’s care needs. Young people benefit most from extended stays in stable, homely environments that enable them to rest, recover and build trust. They also need access to appropriate services in health, welfare, education and employment.
4. Strengthen responses to unaccompanied homeless children and young people at a national level. A National Child and Youth Housing and Homelessness Plan is recommended to provide strategic direction for policy reform and drive service innovation, care standards and good practice across states and territories.