The Australian Medical Association has described hundreds of premature homelessness deaths as a “national tragedy” and urged the government to invest in a monitoring regime and improved housing and health services.
Guardian Australia revealed earlier this month that hundreds of Australians experiencing homelessness were dying premature, preventable deaths, based on a 12-month investigation involving 627 cases.
The average age at death was 44, a shocking life expectancy gap, and systemic failures across the housing, health and justice sectors were driving fatalities.
The investigation showed the big life expectancy gap at a national level for the first time and the findings were in line with more rigorous localised studies contained to Sydney, Perth and Melbourne.
In a statement, the AMA president, Prof Steve Robson, described the premature deaths of Australians experiencing homelessness as a “national tragedy”.
He echoed calls from homelessness groups, including the Australian Alliance to End Homelessness, for the federal government to lead efforts to monitor homelessness deaths, something which no government currently attempts in any Australian jurisdiction.
“Frequent and nationally consistent data reporting is essential to spot trends and pinpoint what policies are needed to address serious health issues,” Robson said. “There is a good opportunity to make this a reality with the current development of a National Housing and Homelessness Plan.
“It is a national tragedy that so many Australians experiencing homelessness are dying premature deaths – and the AMA can see the benefit in creating a national reporting framework to provide consistent data on this issue.”
The AAEH asked the former government in 2021 to commission the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare to develop a reporting framework that would allow police, coroners, hospitals and others to report the homelessness deaths in a consistent way. The request was rebuffed.
The AIHW is now working on a project to better capture deaths among Australians experiencing homelessness by linking data on specialist homelessness services’ clients with death data.
The federal housing minister, Julie Collins, has described the premature homelessness deaths as “completely unacceptable”. She says she will continue conversations with states and territories about data collection and reporting.
Separately, the New South Wales government is also considering making it mandatory to report homelessness deaths to the coroner, which would give governments greater visibility on the problem.
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The Council to Homeless Persons has written to the Victorian government, urging it do the same.
Homelessness groups and unions, meanwhile, have warned they are facing a potential $73m funding cliff at the end of this financial year, which could jeopardise the future of 700 critical support jobs.
The groups pleaded with federal and state governments to renew the funding during a ministerial council meeting on Friday.
“The risk and uncertainty presented by this funding cliff means homelessness services are already unable to commit to continuing staff contracts beyond June,” they wrote. “If the funding cut proceeds, homelessness service capacity will be slashed by more than 700 homelessness workers nationally, supercharging pressure on an already overwhelmed homelessness system.”
Collins told AAP the government was “laser-focused on delivering more homes for more Australians”.
“I look forward to meeting with my state and territory counterparts to continue this vital work.”