Older Women and Homelessness in Australia

The short answer

Two official sources measure homelessness among older women in Australia, and they answer different questions. The 2021 Census counted 7,325 women aged 55 and over as homeless on Census night. Between 2016 and 2021, the homelessness rate for older women dipped from 20 to 19 per 10,000.

Over a longer period, the number of older women asking for help has climbed. Specialist homelessness services supported 16,996 women aged 55 and over in 2024–25, more than double the 7,464 they supported in 2011–12. Most older clients were still housed when they first came in, but at risk of losing their home.

Both sources define older people as those aged 55 and over. The AIHW cautions that its client numbers reflect how many people services reach, which differs from how many people are homeless.

What the Census counts

The ABS estimates homelessness from the Census using six groups: people sleeping out or in improvised dwellings, people in supported accommodation, people staying temporarily with other households, boarding house residents, people in other temporary lodgings and people in severely crowded dwellings.

On Census night in 2021, 4,146 women aged 55 to 64 were homeless, along with 2,168 aged 65 to 74 and 1,011 aged 75 and over. Older men were homeless at a higher rate: 34 per 10,000, down from 39 in 2016.

The forms of homelessness older women most often experience are the hardest to see. A woman sleeping on a friend’s couch, or in a crowded house with relatives, doesn’t show up in a street count of people sleeping rough.

Older women seeking help

Governments fund specialist homelessness services to give accommodation and support to people who are homeless or at risk. The AIHW collects data on every client they support.

The number rose in 11 of the 13 years since the collection began, by 6.5% a year on average. Across female clients of all ages, the average rise was 1.7% a year. Measured against the population, services supported 41.7 women per 10,000 aged 55 and over in 2024–25, up from 25.2 in 2011–12.

Of the 16,996 older women supported in 2024–25, 10,402 were aged 55–64, 4,809 were 65–74 and 1,785 were 75 and over.

Across all 31,729 older clients, about 18,100 were at risk of homelessness when they first asked for help and 12,200 were already homeless. The most common main reason was a housing crisis, such as an eviction (22%), followed by inadequate or inappropriate housing (15%). 57% of older women clients lived alone, compared with 73% of older men, and 92% of older clients had no paid work.

Why the risk builds over a working life

The AIHW links homelessness later in life to financial strain and disruptive events, such as eviction, divorce, job loss, the death of a loved one or a health crisis, especially for people with little savings or support to fall back on.

Women tend to reach those years with less money behind them. In 2023–24, women aged 60 to 64 had a median super balance of $174,655, against $236,126 for men, a gap of 26.0%. The difference builds over decades of lower pay, part-time work and time out to care for children and family: 43.0% of employed women work part-time, compared with 20.5% of men.

See Women’s Superannuation in Australia, Why the Gender Pay Gap Persists and The Unpaid Care Divide for how each part of that gap forms.

Where the help falls short

Services can often keep an older client in the home they have. Of the 10,846 older clients who needed help to hold on to a tenancy or avoid an eviction in 2024–25, 83.5% received it.

Finding a new long-term home is much harder. 13,524 older clients (42.6%) needed long-term housing. Services provided it to 1,029 of them, or 7.6%. Others were referred elsewhere or left without it.

Getting help

• Ask for help before you lose your home. Specialist homelessness services can help you keep a tenancy or avoid an eviction. Most of their older clients are still housed when they first ask.
• Check you get Rent Assistance. If you rent and receive the Age Pension, Services Australia adds Rent Assistance to your payment. From 20 September 2026, a single person gets up to $223.80 a fortnight, reached once rent is $456.20 a fortnight.
• If you are leaving violence, 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 gives free support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Our guide to Women and Housing in Australia covers Rent Assistance rates for every household type.