Homelessness system reform, informed by an independent review of South Australia’s homelessness system, provides a pathway towards a more connected, consistent and accountable homelessness system that is easier to access, culturally safe and focused on better long-term outcomes.
System reform will bring about purposeful structural change to ensure homelessness in South Australia is rare and brief when it occurs, or non-recurring.
The review found a committed and highly experienced homelessness sector working within system arrangements that do not always enable services, government and other partners to work together as effectively as they could. Its recommendations provide a pathway to strengthen statewide leadership, access, accountability, cultural safety, data and workforce capability.
This reform is supported by strengthening protections for people sleeping rough during periods of extreme weather. A proactive, coordinated and risk-informed approach is being rolled out across the state ensuring a critical safety response is in place for the upcoming season.
Read the review
Review of the South Australian SHS-Funded Homelessness System (PDF 5.5 MB)
Review of the South Australian SHS-Funded Homelessness System (DOCX 5.1 MB)
For alternative and accessible versions of the review please email the DHS Homelessness Systems and Partnerships team DHSHSP@sa.gov.au
What the review found
The review recognised the commitment, expertise and dedication of people and organisations across South Australia’s homelessness sector. Services continue to work hard to support people, often in challenging conditions.
However, the review found that the way the system is currently structured does not always enable services and other parts of government to work together as effectively as they could.
Key challenges include:
- people having different experiences of the system depending on where they live or seek help
- access to support being inconsistent and difficult to navigate
- fragmented connections between homelessness, housing, health, domestic and family violence, and other services
- governance and commissioning arrangements that do not provide sufficient system-wide leadership, accountability or coordination
- data and information systems that do not provide a clear and timely picture of demand, service responses and outcomes
- inequitable outcomes for some groups, particularly Aboriginal people and children and young people
- increasing workforce pressure caused by growing demand and complexity.
These are system-level challenges. They do not reflect a lack of commitment or effort by individual services or workers.
The proposed future system
The review makes 18 recommendations across four key themes:
- Governance and commissioning reform – clear system leadership, Aboriginal cultural governance, shared priorities and commissioning that reflects community need.
- Access and practice reform – easier, safer and more consistent access to support, including specific pathways for Aboriginal people and children and young people, shared practice approaches and stronger connections with housing and domestic and family violence services.
- Clinical and cultural governance, data and evaluation – stronger oversight, contemporary data and learning systems, and better evidence to support accountability and improved outcomes.
- Workforce and people with experiences of homelessness – a supported and capable workforce, Aboriginal workforce development, and meaningful involvement of people with experiences of homelessness in system design and governance.
Together, the recommendations provide a pathway towards a homelessness system that is more connected, coordinated and consistent, and better able to respond to people’s needs.
What happens next
DHS continues to work with homelessness services, Aboriginal organisations, children and young people, people with experiences of homelessness, other government agencies and community partners to inform implementation and the detailed design of future arrangements.
Current specialist homelessness service contracts will be extended for 12 months, to 30 June 2028. This will provide stability for services and the people they support, while allowing sufficient time for careful planning, engagement and implementation.
Changes will be progressed in stages, recognising the scale of the reform and the importance of maintaining service continuity.
A series of workshops, roundtables and regional visits will take place throughout late 2026 and early 2027 to help shape the future of South Australia’s homelessness system.
Aboriginal partners
Aboriginal cultural governance and self-determination will be embedded throughout the reform rather than consultations with Aboriginal people.
Future arrangements will be shaped by Aboriginal cultural authority, Aboriginal organisations, Aboriginal workers and Aboriginal people with experiences of homelessness.
Reform provides an important opportunity to strengthen and embed culturally safe, Aboriginal-led and accountable responses across the homelessness system.
Aboriginal data sovereignty, workforce leadership and culturally safe access pathways will be important elements of detailed design and implementation.
Children and Young People
Children and young people remain a priority cohort within the homelessness system due to the significant and lifelong impacts that homelessness can have on development, wellbeing and future opportunities.
Recognising their unique needs requires responses that go beyond crisis intervention and are integrated across the systems that support children, young people and families. Strengthening prevention, early intervention and coordinated pathways offers the greatest opportunity to reduce future homelessness and support positive lifelong outcomes.
People with experiences of homelessness
People with experiences of homelessness contributed to the review and will remain central to reform.
Lived experience participation will extend beyond consultation to meaningful involvement in system design, governance, evaluation and continuous improvement.
The future system will be easier for people to understand and navigate, regardless of where or how they first seek help
Our commitment
DHS recognises the expertise and commitment of South Australia’s homelessness sector and the vital role it plays in supporting people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
We are committed to working in partnership to build a system that is coordinated and consistent, culturally safe, easier to access and focused on long-term outcomes.