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Homelessness Support Services
Last updated:
10 December 2020
There is support available for you and your family if you are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
How to get help
For assistance and to get the support you need, you can:
- contact us on 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372)
- call Open Arms – Veterans and Families Counselling on 1800 011 046. Open Arms is a confidential service and available 24 hours a day.
You can also go to one of our Veterans’ Access Network offices to talk to someone about your situation.
We can:
- refer you to support services in your local area
- connect you with our support services
- provide you with information on any support payments available to you
- provide you with information about Services Australia (Centrelink) payments and services
- refer you to Services Australia (Centrelink) for support
- connect you to a network of organisations that can assist you
If you need urgent help, please visit our Receive urgent help and support page. If life is in danger call triple zero (000).
Ex-service organisations (ESOs) provide assistance to current and former members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). They may help you to:
- lodge your claims with us
- find an advocate
- prepare for the civilian workforce
- connect with other former serving members and their families
A number of ESOs can provide you with specific support when you are at risk of homelessness or are homeless.
You can find an ESO offering homelessness support close to you:
To find information about other ex-service organisations refer to Find an ex-service organisation or you can search through the Engage website.
Crisis payment
A crisis payment may be paid to you to help you find somewhere to live or you need to change accommodation because of family violence.
To receive a crisis payment you need to be:
- receiving service pension, income support supplement or age pension through us
- have made a claim for one of these payments
- living in Australia
- be eligible to receive payment
- in severe financial hardship
More information about the crisis payment can be found on our Crisis payment page.
Crisis accommodation program
To access the crisis accommodation program you need to call Open Arms on 1800 011 046. They will assess your eligibility and suitability for the program.
If you are eligible, they will book you into an accommodation as close as possible to your current location.
Who is eligible
The program is open to:
- current members of the ADF
- former members of the ADF
- their partner
- a dependent child
State and territory support services
We can refer you to a homelessness agency in your local area. Some of the services available for people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness in Australia are:
Australian Capital Territory
- OneLink on 1800 176 468 (Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm or Saturday and Sunday 12:30pm to 5pm)
New South Wales
- Link2Home on 1800 152 152 (24 hours, 7 days)
Victoria
- Opening Doors on 1800 825 955 (24 hours, 7 days)
Queensland
- Homeless Hotline on 1800 47 47 53 (24 hours, 7 days)
Western Australia
- Entrypoint Perth on (08) 6496 0001 or 1800 124 684 (Monday to Friday 9am to 7pm or Saturday 9am to 5pm)
South Australia
- Homelessness Gateway on 1800 003 308 (24 hours, 7 days)
- Youth Gateway: 1800 807 364 (24 hours, 7 days) is a service for young people aged 15 to 25
Northern Territory
- Shelter Me provides an online directory of homeless services across the Northern Territory
Tasmania
- Housing Connect on 1800 800 588 (24 hours, 7 days)
ESO state and territory homelessness services
The following ESOs provide homelessness services to veterans and their families:
New South Wales
- Homes for Heroes
Tel: 1300 232 564
Emergency telephone: (02) 8978 4371 or 0427 545 715
Email: homesforheroes [at] rsllifecare.org.au
Queensland
- Bulimba District RSL Sub-Branch
Tel: (07) 3999 8879 or (07) 3358 3155
Email: admin [at] rslsouthqueensland.org
- Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia QLD Branch Inc
Tel: (07) 4723 0569 or 0400 032 786
Email: secretary [at] vvaaqueensland.asn.au
South Australia
-
Returned and Services League of Australia (SA Branch) Inc.
Tel: (08) 8100 7300
Email: admin [at] rslsa.org.au - RSL Care SA
Email: warvets [at] rslcaresa.com.au
Tel: (08) 8379 2600
Victoria
- Vasey RSL Care Ltd
Tel: (03) 9810 5500
Email: info [at] vaseyrslcare.org.au or office [at] vaseyrslcare.org.au
- Melbourne Legacy
Tel: (03) 8626 0500
Email: csv [at] legacymelb.com.au
- Returned & Services League of Australia (RSL), Victorian Branch
Tel: (03) 9655 5555
Email: rslvic [at] rslvic.com.au
Western Australia
- Legacy WA
Tel: (08) 9486 4900
Email: reception [at] legacywa.com.au
Tasmania
- Returned & Services League of Australia (RSL), Tasmania Branch
Tel: (03) 6242 8900
Email: admin [at] rsltas.org.au
To list your organisation’s information to this page, please contact us through our General enquiries form.
Research into homelessness in the veteran community
We are committed to better understanding homelessness and the risk factors for former members of the ADF. The most recent research into veteran homelessness includes:
- Use of Homelessness Services by Contemporary Ex-serving ADF Members 2011-17 – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) November 2019
- Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) Annual Report 2019-20 - AIHW December 2020
- Homelessness amongst Australian Veterans - Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) August 2019