“What that means is someone might be on a low income, vulnerable to discrimination, and then they have something happen like they lose income from their job, perhaps their sick for a few weeks and can’t work, or they have to leave home because of family violence,” explained Kate Colvin, CEO of Homelessness Australia. 

The shocking figures are a 63 per cent uptick from the number of people at risk in 2016. 

Homelessness services are unable to cope with the surging demand;  83 per cent are sometimes unable to answer calls, almost 40 per cent are forced to close their doors during opening hours, and families with children are being turned away on one in five days.

It comes as the government struggles to garner support to pass two key housing bills, one to help people on low incomes buy homes and the other to build more dwellings for rent. 

Rachael Natoli was formerly homeless and now works on the frontline with the Lokahi Foundation, and told The Project there is an increase in both domestic violence and homelessness. 

“For our foundation specifically, we have about a 10-12-week waiting list to access a case worker at the moment, and we are turning away referral after referral every week, and turning them to nowhere,” Natoli said.  

“There are no services that have availability and there is nowhere for them to go.”

Natoli said it was “dreadful” to have to turn away people in need.

“You don't sleep well at night knowing that there are women and children that are in need of safety, in need of a roof over their head, and you can't help them to provide that,” she said. 

“It's very hard to say that we just can't help them to find somewhere safe.”