Youth homelessness Snapshot reveals urgent crisis for young Victorians
New data highlights the urgent need to reform how we respond to youth homelessness in Victoria.
- News
2 min read
New data from the Victorian Youth Homelessness Snapshot, an annual census of children and young people in Victoria’s youth homelessness system, produced by Melbourne City Mission (MCM) in partnership with Social Ventures Australia (SVA), presents a compelling call to action for coordinated system reform.
Based on a census of 179 young people aged 15–24 accessing youth homelessness services on 8 April 2025, the Snapshot uncovers deep systemic issues:
- 83% lost their home due to family violence, with 31% experiencing this before age 16
- 67% were known to Victoria’s Child Protection system
- 54% presented to emergency departments for mental health crises
- 65% reported self-harm, suicidal ideation, or a suicide-related incident
- 66% were not engaged in study or employment
These findings highlight the sharp disconnection between young people’s complex experiences and the siloed systems designed to support them.
This Snapshot exposes how deeply intertwined young people’s experiences are — and yet how seldom our systems respond in a joined-up way. It reinforces what we hear from the sector in our work every day: that we need earlier, more coordinated and trauma-informed responses that prevent crisis in the first place, rather than simply react to it.”Susie King • Executive Director, SVA Consulting
The Snapshot also highlights the significant cost to the Victorian community of supports which could be avoided by pro-actively addressing intersecting issues experienced by young people in homelessness crisis.
- A single visit to a public hospital emergency department attendance was $736 back in 2022, the most recent year data is available, and if a young person is admitted, the cost was on average nearly $8,000.
- Police services per person in Victoria are currently $630 annually and more than $1,000 per case heard in the Magistrates Court.
- Homelessness services are currently more than $50 per day per person and over $5,000 per person per homeless episode.
The costs of young people being disengaged from study or work are significant. Accumulated over a lifetime, they include loss of wages and superannuation savings, and reduced quality of life for the young person. For government, they lead to lower overall workforce participation, reduced productivity, resulting in lower tax revenues and a higher reliance on welfare and other public services.
The 2025 Snapshot follows last year’s inaugural Snapshot and is the only annual census of unaccompanied children and young people using Victoria’s youth homelessness services. MCM and SVA hope the findings will inform smarter investment, more joined-up approaches and long-term system reform.
