Budget boost to tackle growing ranks of homeless youth

Thousands of Australian young people will be offered a new payment to help access public housing as part of the federal budget.

Under the change, the federal government will provide some people with an additional payment of roughly $6000 on the Youth Allowance and Indigenous ABSTUDY payment, making them a more attractive tenant to community housing providers.

The scheme is expected to cost $60 million over the next four years and the number of people supported will rise from 2325 at the beginning of 2027 to over 4000 in the 2029/30 financial year.

Two support payments are less generous than other benefits offers such as JobSeeker or the aged pension.

Since the cost of public housing generally scales with a person’s income, providers will often prefer to rent a room to a retiree – who will pay more – rather than a younger person.

The federal government says the measure will help combat youth homelessness, with young people aged 19 to 24 currently experiencing higher rates of homelessness than other older groups.

Housing will be a big focus in the Albanian government’s fifth budget, Finance Minister Jim Chalmers said in a statement.

“The budget recognizes that housing challenges begin with supply but don’t end there, which is why we’re taking other responsible steps, including these efforts to address youth homelessness,” he said.

“This is another element of the significant housing package we will announce on Tuesday night.”

Dr Chalmers is also expected to announce changes aimed at reducing the power of investors in the housing market to support young people, including a tightening of negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions.