SA Housing Authority reveals it’s costing $7.2m a year to provide emergency hotel rooms for homeless people

There has been a multimillion-dollar blowout in the cost of emergency hotel accommodation for South Australia’s homeless — many of whom are women and children fleeing domestic violence.

• Behind Closed Doors: South Australia’s domestic violence epidemic
• Abusive men to live in shelters while victims can stay at home
• SA domestic violence shelters at capacity

The price of putting homeless South Australians, including women and children fleeing domestic violence, in emergency hotel rooms has blown out to $7.2 million a year.

The cost to taxpayers has soared from $2.4 million four years ago as authorities scramble to find safe places for the growing number of people at risk.

Data released by the SA Housing Authority shows desperate South Australians sought emergency hotel accommodation 6573 times last financial year, at a cost of $7.2 million.

That is up from 4880 times in 2017-18, at a cost of $4.8 million.

The trend has continued to worsen from when homeless South Australians sought emergency housing 3898 times in 2015-16.

Not all are experiencing domestic violence but it is the leading cause of homelessness among women, whom often flee with children in tow.

Shelter managers say they are always full and there is a desperate need for more beds.

For example, on any given night, Centacare Catholic Family Services supports about 100 women and their children across the state.

Under questioning by Opposition spokeswoman Nat Cook in Parliament yesterday, SA Housing Authority director of finance Nick Simons revealed the State Government had only budgeted to spend $4.4 million on emergency hotel accommodation in 2018-19 but growing demand added an extra $2.4 million to the bill. Ms Cook said she feared other programs to address homelessness in coming years would be put “in jeopardy” to cover the cost “blowouts”.

Human Services Minister Michelle Lensink told The Advertiser that the rising cost “has caused budget pressure which has been historically offset by lower expenditure in other programs and through accessing cash reserves”.

However, she said the State Government had pledged an extra $4 million to open emergency accommodation for 40 more people fleeing domestic violence and $5 million was being offered in interest-free loans to help existing shelters expand, upgrade or renovate.

Ms Lensink said this funding would “ease pressure on the emergency accommodation program”, although the first beds won’t be available until later this year.

For support phone 1800RESPECT or the Domestic Violence Crisis Line on 1800 800 098.