Family violence pushing people to streets

Two in five Australians accessing homelessness services have experienced domestic or family violence, with the proportion soaring by nine per cent in a year.

Nearly 115,000 people have reached out for help because of violence at home in the past 12 months, according to figures released on Thursday by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

The proportion of clients with mental health conditions has also risen by seven per cent to 27 per cent, or about 77,600 people.

And for the first time since the data collection began in 2011-12, return clients outnumbered new entrants to homelessness services.

One in two people seeking homelessness services in 2016-17 had already received help in the past five years.

Mental health conditions, problem drug and alcohol use, and stints in custody were among the most common reasons cited by return clients.

"This suggests that many clients have long term issues, requiring long-term assistance," AIHW spokesman Matthew James said.

More than 288,000 people - or one in 84 Australians - were assisted by specialist homelessness agencies in the past year, reflecting a rise of 3 per cent.

Unmet demand fell over the period, but 261 requests still go unassisted each day.

More than half of those assisted were in accommodation but at risk of becoming homeless. Most often, they were living in private rather than social housing.

The overwhelming majority received assistance so they could continue to live in private accommodation, while six per cent of people in private dwellings were moved into social housing.

Roughly nine in 10 clients at risk of homelessness maintained their housing with assistance from agencies.