Some Australian children are being given a tent in lieu of a home while others remain in rat and mould-infested houses, the nation's housing and homelessness minister has been told on her first week on the job.
"I love to do hard things and often I find myself inexorably drawn to the biggest challenges," Clare O'Neil told a forum of homelessness experts and advocates in Sydney on Monday.
But the problem that lies ahead is immense.
Of the 125,000 people believed to be homeless in Australia, more than 25,000 are children.
National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds said without stable housing children were set up for a life of disadvantage, crime and poor health.
"A safe and stable home is an anchor point," she said.
"The transient and marginalised life that homelessness brings robs a child, not only of a roof over their head, but the stable relationships that they need for their health, learning, development and wellbeing."
Children who end up committing crimes often had no safe home, she said.
"In some parts of Australia, kids who are leaving detention are being given a tent because there's nowhere for them to live," Ms Hollonds said.
Others - forced into couch surfing to escape violence - are looking after young babies of their own.
The dire housing landscape has been exacerbated by a lack of funding for affordable homes and frontline support services, according to a report from Homelessness Australia.
Of the 76,000 children who sought housing help between 2022 and 2023, 60,000 did so with their families, while 16,000 arrived at homelessness support centres unaccompanied.
The number of children who were still homeless at their last contact with support services had increased to more than 25,000, while nearly 20,000 were turned away without receiving help between 2022 and 2023.
Homelessness Australia chief executive Kate Colvin described family and child homelessness as a blight on Australia.
"It's 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," she said.
The peak body has urged the federal government to develop an action plan that caters to young people by uniting a variety of child-focused services such as mental health programs, schools and family support systems.
It is calling for a focus on prevention and early intervention, which would stop people from falling into homelessness.
Australia ranks "right near the bottom" among peer countries on child wellbeing, sitting at number 32 out of 38 OECD nations, Ms Hollonds said citing the latest UNICEF report.
"Instead, we wait and wait and wait ... we wait until there's a crisis or a crime has been committed before we act in some way and often the way we act is inadequate or inappropriate, it causes more harm or it's just way too late," she said.
Ms O'Neil conceded the task was huge but pointed towards an "avalanche of policy work" she promised would make an impact.
"Housing is absolutely necessary to living a fulfilling and safe life in our country (it is) the foundation," she said.
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