To date, local governments in Australia have not played a major part in addressing homelessness. However, the recent decisions of the Council of Australian Government (COAG) have committed all tiers of government, including local councils, to reducing homelessness. It is important, therefore, to understand what actions local governments currently undertake in addressing homelessness, how other...

This toolkit is one of the outputs from a study undertaken by the Centre for Housing, Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Adelaide, for the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, into the role of frontline services in addressing homelessness. For the purposes of this project, frontline services are considered...

Local government is recognised as the tier of government closest to the people of Australia (Megarrity 2011). It provides a range of services that underpin the management of our cities, contributes to the wellbeing of our communities through the provision of infrastructure and services and undertakes important regulatory roles. To date, councils have assumed a...

The project involved 98 face-to-face interviews with persons with a disability in NSW, SA and Vic; focus groups with service providers; and interviews with social housing providers. The research found that housing assistance has a very substantial impact on the social inclusion of persons with a disability in Australia. Housing assistance:

Local government is commonly considered to be the tier of government closest to the people of Australia. It provides a range of frontline services that underpin the management of our cities, contributes to the wellbeing of our communities through the provision of infrastructure and services and undertakes important regulatory roles. To date, local governments in...