First Nations homelessness in Victoria is twice that of the national average, new data has revealed.

The specialist homelessness services annual report 2023–24 from the Australian Institute of Health and Wellbeing revealed nationally, around 78,300 First Nations clients received support from specialist homelessness services (SHS)— 28.8 per cent of all SHS clients.

First Nations people accessing SHS were most likely to be female (62 per cent), aged under 25 years (48 per cent) and living as a single parent with one or more children (34 per cent).

In Victoria, SHS agencies saw First Nations people at a rate of 1919.8 per 10,000 people accessing homelessness services at nearly 15 times the rate of non-Aboriginal clients.

Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Forum (AHHF) chair and chief executive of Aboriginal Housing Victoria (AHV), Darren Smith, said the data painted a "stark picture" of the systemic and overarching challenges faced but Indigenous communities in Victoria.

Arguing before colonisation homelessness was an unknown, but had now become entrenched for Aboriginal Victorians, Mr Smith said: "These are not just numbers; they represent families, children, and Elders denied the fundamental right to a home."

Earlier this year, the Yoorrook Justice Commission heard more than 1800 Aboriginal children in Victoria under the age of nine accessed specialist homeless services in the last financial year.

Mr Smith said it was growing an average of ten per cent per year and noted: "If it was in the mainstream that would be one million people accessing homelessness services in Victoria every year — it would be an absolute crisis."

The AHHF, a consortium of 38 member groups from across Victoria, has put forward the plan: Mana-na woorn-tyeen maar-takoor (Every Aboriginal Person has a Home in the Gunditjmara dialects).

It is a framework which lays the foundation for Indigenous housing and homelessness reform and calls for 5000+ additional social housing units for Aboriginal people by 2036.

In Victoria, homelessness amongst First Nations people has grown 8 per cent over the last year, and the AHHF say they support an Aboriginal Homelessness Target to be adopted by all peak bodies.

The target would aim to reduce instances of homelessness experienced by Aboriginal Victorians by 10 per cent per year, compounding for 10 years.

Former chief executive of AHV and co-chair of the Blueprint Steering Committee, Jenny Samms, said without "bold intervention," the homelessness crisis will persist.

Nationally, 40 per cent of Indigenous clients who accessed SHS have experienced family and domestic violence, whilst 25 per cent lived with a current mental health issue.

"Aboriginal children and women are disproportionately represented in these statistics — it is our collective responsibility to ensure they have a safe and secure future," Ms Samms said.

"We need a commitment from all levels of government to create real, lasting change, this begins with commitment to a homelessness reduction target, and appropriate funding to fully implement Mana-na woorn-tyeen maar-takoort."

Mr Smith said for too long, housing had been a "commodity" rather than an inherent and essential right.

He said housing was a "foundational basis that provides safety, promotes participation, and sustains connections to community".

"It is time to turn around decades of under investment for our community," he said.