An Adelaide community service has released its policy priorities for the 2026 South Australian election, calling for major parties and independent candidates to prioritise the transition from “homelessness to homefulness” for thousands of people living on the state’s streets. Source: The Southern Cross.
The Hutt St Centre in Adelaide has supported the homeless for more than 60 years.
Hutt St Centre chief executive Chris Burns said as homelessness reached a crisis point, there were five priorities the organisation would like to see addressed.
Mr Burns said the five priority areas centred around expanding social and affordable housing; securing tenancies and preventing evictions; providing additional emergency and short-term accommodation; fixing system failures and gaps; and ensuring sector funding would be secure and adequate.
“The homelessness sector is under unprecedented pressure,” Mr Burns said.
“A chronic shortage of housing, combined with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, is pushing more people into homelessness and trapping others there for longer.
“Demand for services is at record levels; beds are full, and waitlists continue to grow. At the same time, extreme weather events are increasing the risk of serious harm and death for people forced to sleep rough.
“This crisis is pushing people, frontline services and entire communities to breaking point. Its impacts extend far beyond those experiencing homelessness, placing increasing strain on our health, justice, and emergency systems, driving higher long-term costs for governments and taxpayers, reducing workforce participation, and undermining community safety and wellbeing.”
Mr Burns said the sector had been left to support more people with fewer resources and couldn’t continue to provide the same level of services on the same – or non-existent – funding.
“After a COVID-era boost, homelessness funding to the sector has dropped by more than 11 per cent in real terms. This funding drop – from $102.6 million in 2021-22 to $92.3 million in 2023-24 – is a 15.4 per cut per client at a time when services are under huge strain,” he said.
“The decline must be reversed – for the sake of all South Australians.”
FULL STORY
Hutt St Centre calls for policy changes (By Jenny Brinkworth, The Southern Cross)
