HUD2024-005266
Victoria Lukiyanyuk
[FYI request #28139 email] Tēnā koe Victoria
Thank you for your email of 22 August 2024 requesting the following information under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act):
•
What kind of policies and legislation from overseas have you been looking to implement
to lower the rates of homeless people in Aotearoa New Zealand?
•
How do you collect statistics regarding people who are homeless?
•
Are you still committed to The Homelessness Action Plan or some other policy similar to
this?
To answer your first question, there are two key approaches taken in multiple locations throughout
Aotearoa to reduce homelessness, based on an internationally recognised approaches – Housing
First and Rapid Rehousing.
Housing First is for people that have been experiencing homelessness for 12 months or more with
high social service needs. Housing First providers support people into stable housing and connect
people to health and social services where needed, such as mental health counselling, budgeting
advice and drug and alcohol addiction treatment. Housing First provided housing to 4,186
households between June 2023 and June 2024. It is an internationally recognised approach to
house long-term and chronically homeless people, who have multiple or complex needs. Housing
First’s benefits are well evidenced. You can find out more about the Housing First approach and
outcomes, including reviews of Housing First, at:
www.hud.govt.nz/our-work/housing-first. Rapid Rehousing is based on the Housing First approach, but is for people experiencing
homelessness for less than 12 months with low to medium social service needs. Rapid Rehousing
supports people into housing and assists them to maintain their tenancies. Further information
about Rapid Rehousing can be found at the above link and here:
www.hud.govt.nz/our-work/rapid-
rehousing. In response to your second question, Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban
Development (the Ministry) uses robust Census data estimates of the number of people
experiencing homelessness. These estimates are available every five years and the latest update
can be found at:
www.stats.govt.nz/infographics/the-state-of-housing-in-aotearoa-new-
zealand/#:~:text=At%20the%20time%20of%20the%202018%20Census%3A,eg%20night%20shelt
er%2C%20motel)%20and.
In addition, the Ministry collects a range of data about people and households who access support
through programmes such as Housing First, Rapid Rehousing, Contracted Emergency Housing,
and Transitional Housing. You can find this information on the Housing Dashboard, on the
transitional housing and housing support tabs, at:
https://www.hud.govt.nz/stats-and-insights/the-
government-housing-dashboard/public-homes
The Ministry also refers to information collected by the Ministry of Social Development about
people and households receiving Emergency Housing Special Needs Grants and those on the
Housing Register. This information can be found at:
www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-
work/publications-resources/statistics/housing/monthly-housing-reporting.html.
In response to your third question, the Aotearoa Homelessness Action Plan 2020-2023 (HAP)
concluded in 2023. However, the Ministry continues to deliver some initiatives that were initiated
under the HAP. Rapid Rehousing is one of these initiatives.
A key focus of the Government is on ending the large-scale use of emergency housing. This target
is about reducing the number of families and children in emergency housing with the specific
objective of a 75% decrease in households in emergency housing over the next six years, meaning
800 households or less in emergency housing by 2030. More information about this target can be
found here:
www.hud.govt.nz/news/government-target-8-fewer-people-in-emergency-housing. Related to this target, a Priority One category has been established to fast-track families using
emergency housing into permanent homes. The Priority One category applies to families with
children who have been in emergency housing for twelve weeks or more. In the three months
following 1 April 2024, when the Priority One fast-track category was introduced, there was a
reduction of 669 households in emergency housing, down from 2,574. More information on this
programme can be found here:
www.hud.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Documents/Cabinet-
papers/HUD2023-003317-Establishing-Priority-One-Category_Redacted.pdf.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review of my response by the Ombudsman, in
accordance with section 28(3) of the Act. The relevant details can be found on the Ombudsman’s
website at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. As part of our ongoing commitment to openness and transparency, the Ministry proactively
releases information and documents that may be of interest to the public. As such, this response,
with your personal details removed, may be published on our website.
Nāku noa, nā
Laura Miller
Manager, Responding to Severe Housing Needs, Policy Group
Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development
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