Homelessness in Australia: Service reform and research in the 21st century

In 2008, the newly-elected Australian Government made home- lessness its highest policy priority. This resulted in a substantial injection of funding to support new homelessness initiatives designed to prevent homelessness, as well as end chronic homelessness. In addition, over $11m was invested in research. In this paper, we argue that despite some promising service innovations, service reform failed, by and large, due to resistance from entrenched interests committed to maintaining a systemic focus on transitional support tied to short- and medium-term accommoda- tion, and a lack of leadership. Further, we question whether the goal of ending homelessness can actually be met through systems reform only. We then examine the Government's investment in research. We examine 'Journeys Home', a longitudinal study that tracked a sample of vulnerable and homeless households, and identify what makes it so unique. We draw attention to the paradox that despite Journeys Home being recognised around the world as an exceptional dataset capable of answering funda- mental questions about the dynamics of homelessness, it has yet to have a meaningful impact on Australian homelessness policy and service direc- tions. We explain why this is so and what needs to be done to harness its potential to drive evidence-informed policy and practice change.