“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.

And a challenge the portfolio will be – the problem that lies ahead is immense.

Of the 125,000 people believed to be homeless in Australia, more than one-fifth 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.”

Hollonds explained that children who end up committing crimes often had no safe home.

“In some parts of Australia, kids who are leaving detention are being given a tent because there’s nowhere for them to live,” she 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.

A new survey conducted by Mission Australia has revealed that nearly one in ten young people aged 15-19 have experienced homelessness in the past year.

The research deemed participants homeless if they had no fixed address for a period of time, had lived in a refuge or transitional accommodation, or had spent time away from home because they felt they could not return.

The study found young people who have experienced homelessness were significantly more likely to have changed schools in the last three years compared to those with stable housing.

Based on the startling statistics, Mission Australia has called on all governments to implement a national screening tool in schools to identify those children at imminent risk. 

Executive committee member Marion Bennett told EducationHQ earlier this week that at present it’s a ‘mixed picture’ in terms of how effectively schools are picking up these children and ushering them on to local support services.

“All too often, some students just fly under the radar,” she said.

“Teachers are busy, they may not pick up that a student actually has got nowhere stable to live, or they might realise that that’s happening, but not know how to refer them on.

“Or sometimes, unfortunately, there’s not enough support services to help those young people.”

Homelessness Australia chief executive Kate Colvin described family and child homelessness as a blight on 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.

“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, 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.

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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(with AAP)