Mental Health and Homelessness: What Complex Needs Mean for Social Care Employers

A person seeking housing assistance may also need support with mental health, trauma, family violence or alcohol and other drug use. For social care employers, this raises a practical question: are our teams equipped and supported to respond?

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), almost 289,000 people accessed specialist homelessness services in 2024–25. Around 88,800—31% of all clients—had a current mental health issue.[1][2]

AIHW also reports that the number of clients identified with a current mental health issue has grown by an average of 5.4% a year since 2011–12, compared with 1.6% for all specialist homelessness service clients.[2]

These figures highlight the overlap between housing and mental health needs among people accessing services. For employers, they also provide a reason to review workforce capability, recruitment, supervision and retention.

When support needs cross service boundaries

People accessing homelessness services may be navigating several challenges at once. A request for accommodation can sit alongside a need for safety planning, mental health support, advocacy or help accessing other services.

An effective response depends on workers recognising these needs, understanding their role and knowing when to involve a specialist.

It also depends on services being available. In 2024–25, approximately 169,000 clients needed accommodation assistance. Around one-third were neither provided with accommodation nor referred to another provider for it.[3]

Even an experienced practitioner cannot resolve a shortage of suitable housing. Employers need to recognise these limits when setting expectations, reviewing workloads and supporting their teams.

Five workforce priorities for employers

1. Recruit for the work people will actually do

Position descriptions should give candidates a realistic picture of the role, including the client group, responsibilities, working environment and support available.

Depending on the position, relevant capabilities may include trauma-informed practice, risk assessment, de-escalation, safety planning, advocacy and service coordination.

Clear boundaries are equally important. Employees need to understand what sits within their scope, when to escalate concerns and where specialist or clinical input is required.

2. Look closely at transferable experience

A candidate’s previous job title rarely tells the full story of their capability.

Professionals from mental health, homelessness, family violence, AOD and child and family services may bring relevant experience in building trust, responding to distress, assessing risk and coordinating support.

Recruitment processes can explore these skills through practical examples and scenario-based questions. Employers should also identify any training or supervision needed to support a move into a different service setting, while maintaining essential qualification and registration requirements.

3. Make supervision part of the role

Workers supporting people with intersecting needs need time and space to reflect, discuss difficult situations and seek guidance.

Supervision should match the responsibilities of the position. Depending on the service, this may include line management, professional or clinical supervision, or access to an external supervisor.

Being clear about these arrangements during recruitment helps candidates understand the support they can expect once they join.

4. Strengthen connections between services

Staff need accessible referral pathways and a working knowledge of local housing, mental health, AOD, family violence and other community services.

Organisations can support this through shared referral resources, relationships with partner services and clear escalation processes. Keeping this knowledge accessible across the team also reduces reliance on individual employees’ contacts.

5. Build retention into workforce planning

Maintaining a capable team requires ongoing attention to the experience of working in the service.

Alongside remuneration, employers should regularly review caseloads, supervision, development opportunities, flexibility and leadership support.

For teams managing frequent crises, workload reviews should consider the complexity and intensity of the work as well as the number of clients. Employee feedback can help identify where additional support or changes are needed.

Turning workforce planning into action

A useful starting point is to ask:

• Do our position descriptions reflect the work being delivered?

• Are we assessing relevant capability alongside sector experience?

• Do staff have appropriate supervision and clear escalation pathways?

• Are workloads realistic for the needs of the client group?

• What are employees telling us about the support they need to stay?

These questions can help employers identify gaps before they become recruitment or retention problems.

Supporting the people who support our communities

The overlap between mental health and homelessness has practical implications for how organisations recruit, develop and support their workforce.

A sustainable approach brings together thoughtful recruitment, clear role boundaries, appropriate supervision, manageable workloads and strong relationships between services.

At HiTalent Recruitment, we partner with mental health, social care and not-for-profit organisations to recruit permanent, temporary and contract professionals across Australia.

If you are reviewing your workforce needs or recruiting for a specialist role, connect with our team at hitalent.com.au.

Sources

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Specialist homelessness services annual report 2024–25:

1. Clients, services and outcomes

2. Clients with a current mental health issue

3. Services provided and unmet need

Figures relate to people accessing specialist homelessness services, including those experiencing homelessness and those at risk. “Current mental health issue” follows AIHW’s collection definition.