'Demoralising and humiliating': More older Australians falling into homelessness

Thousands of older Australians are being forced to choose between buying groceries, medication or paying their rent, experts say.

Leading academics and housing providers have warned that the homelessness crisis among the elderly is set to deepen unless more money is injected into affordable housing.  

With the country’s older population forecast to double in coming decades, the authors of a new report to be launched by Senator Doug Cameron on Monday have called on policymakers to urgently address the problem. 

At the last census, there were 18,625 homeless people aged over 55, but this is likely to be an underestimate given the complicated nature of counting those with no fixed address.    

Meanwhile, the number of renters aged over 65 who are in housing stress, defined as paying more than 30 per cent of their income on rent, has jumped by 42 per cent in the past five years. 

“This situation is only going to get worse,” warned Debbie Faulkner, the deputy director of the centre for housing, urban and regional planning at the University of Adelaide. 

In some cases, rent chews up to 70 per cent of a household’s income, she said. 

“They tend to pay their rent first and go without their health needs, their pharmaceutical needs or even food.”

Bryan Lipmann, the founder of a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to helping disadvantaged older Australians, said housing options for poor elderly people were non-existent.

It has been almost 30 years since he opened Wintringham Specialist Aged Care but Mr Lipmann said the situation was worse than ever. 

“We now have 1900 people on our waiting list,” he said. “A lot of those people have never had anything to do with homelessness before.” 

On any given night, Wintringham provides housing, care or outreach services to roughly 1800 people aged over 50 in Victoria. 

Domestic violence or the death of a partner were common triggers forcing older people out of the rental market, Mr Lipmann said. He added that they also typically had little to no superannuation savings to fall back on.

Many find themselves couchsurfing at the homes of their children or friends. “It’s demoralising and it’s humiliating,” he said.

Housing advocates have reported a growing number of older people locked out of the private rental market were now faced with long waiting lists for public housing.

About 4000 Victorians recently joined the public housing priority waiting list, after the state government created a specific priority category for people aged 55 and over. 

“There are people who are too frightened to go into crisis accommodation … or boarding houses because it’s too wild and violent,” Mr Lipmann said. 

He added that aged care homes were not affordable for many, often requiring substantial upfront deposits in addition to ongoing expenses.  

“The aged pension isn’t enough to pay private rents and the current aged care system is designed for those with property and assets,” Mr Lipmann said. 

He described many of those struggling as “ordinary Aussie battlers” who had once worked, raised families and paid taxes. 

“At the time of your life when you’re the frailest and sickest, to be faced with trying to find a feed or trying to find a place where you’re not going to be bashed or robbed or raped is terrifying.” 

Last year, more than 23,000 people aged over 55 turned to homelessness services for help, according to Council to Homeless Persons chief executive Jenny Smith. 

“Due to the chronic shortage of affordable housing, the best those people are offered is a short stay in a refuge, rooming house or caravan park,” she said.

“This type of marginal accommodation has a devastating impact on the physical and mental health of the elderly.”

Mr Lipmann called for bipartisan support for more public and community housing, including dedicated housing for older people.