Homelessness Australia has called for a dedicated First Nations Housing and Homelessness Plan to address the issues driving over-representation of Indigenous children and families among Australia's homeless population.

The organisation released a new report on Monday revealing what it called "the harsh reality of the homelessness crisis hitting Aussie families"; with more than one third of the 88,696 family members who sought support still homeless during their last contact with homelessness support services.

The new report shows more than 76,000 children under the age of 18 sought help from homelessness support services across the nation annually. Almost 16,000 of these children were alone—unaccompanied by a parent or caregiver—and many were fleeing domestic violence, abuse or neglect at home.

The report found First Nations children are over-represented among children experiencing homelessness, making up 32 per cent of homeless children nationally, despite comprising only 6.8 per cent of the population under 18.

The 2024 Child Homelessness Snapshot, released to coincide with Homelessness Week (5-11 August), also revealed that more than 25,000 children remained homeless even after seeking help from specialist support agencies in 2022-23, a nationwide 3.2 per cent increase over the previous year. A further 19,833 children were turned away from support services without being provided any assistance at all, a result of the severe lack of resources and overwhelming demand faced by the sector.

The report also found NSW had the highest number of unaccompanied children seeking help from specialist services (7,152), followed by Victoria (3,271) and South Australia (2,306).

Homelessness Australia chief executive Katie Colvin said on Monday that family and child homelessness is "a blight on Australia".

"How can a parent settle a child to sleep, keep them safe and have them ready for school if they are sleeping in their car or a tent in the middle of winter?" she said.

"These figures should ring alarm bells among politicians and policymakers that action to tackle child and family homelessness is urgently needed."

Homelessness Australia has called for a suite of measures to address the crisis as part of the forthcoming National Housing and Homelessness Plan, including a dedicated plan to address homelessness among First Nations people.

The organisation called for "ambitious" targets and timelines for action on the major drivers of homelessness; rental stress, domestic and family violence, and access to the support families need to thrive.

Homelessness Australia also said the Plan must drive investment into the frontline of the homelessness and domestic violence response, "so that when families and children seek help to avoid or escape homelessness, there is a worker and the housing and accommodation needed to get them into a stable home".

Other recommendations include a Homelessness Action Plan to end homelessness for Australian children and young people.

"Such a plan would unite child-centred services to respond to children at risk of homelessness, and address the specific needs and vulnerabilities of homeless children, ensuring they receive necessary care, support, and housing," the organisation said.

Ms Colvin said it was "a national shame that in a wealthy, developed country like Australia, we have tens of thousands of families and young people—many of whom are grappling with domestic violence—without a safe place to call home".

"We urgently need a comprehensive national strategy to ensure that no Australian child ever experiences the trauma of homelessness. Our nation has the resources to solve this crisis. What we need now is the ambition to make it happen," she said.

National Indigenous Times has contacted federal housing and homelessness minister Clare O'Neil for comment.