Abstract
Persons with a disability are at a far higher risk of homelessness than those without. The economic, social and health challenges faced by disabled people are addressed, in Australia, by the recently implemented National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Using nationally representative, longitudinal household panel data, we construct the Index of Relative Homelessness Risk (IRHR) to track how the risk of homelessness for disabled persons has changed since the introduction of the NDIS. We find that, overall, fewer persons with a disability face moderate risk of homelessness but that many more face high risk. We conclude that the NDIS has not effectively protected disabled people from the risk of homelessness. We reflect on the implications of these findings for policy interventions.
Highlights
In 2018, 4.4 million Australians, almost 18 per cent of the total population, were living with a disability [1]
We are cautious in concluding that the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has resulted in a higher level of homelessness risk for this vulnerable group within society, as other changes within Australia’s demography, economy and society may have played a part
The structural ageing of the population has reduced the number of persons with a disability remaining in the family home and the further contraction of public housing services has reduced opportunities for this group to reside in this tenure
Summary
In 2018, 4.4 million Australians, almost 18 per cent of the total population, were living with a disability [1]. Persons living with a disability were overrepresented among clients accessing specialist homelessness services [2] and more likely to be unemployed [3]. These challenging financial and social circumstances leave disabled persons more likely to experience housing stress, or risk of homelessness, than those in the population without a disability.
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