Australia

THE BIG ISSUE AUSTRALIA

An initiative of The Big Issue Australia, Community Street Soccer operates in 25 locations throughout the country, covering all states and territories.

Street Soccer promotes social inclusion, personal change and positive health outcomes for players.

The programme provides a safe and welcoming environment, with staff providing players with links to support services within the community.

ORGANISATION DETAILS

PARTICIPANTS

Men, women and non-binary people experiencing homelessness, marginalisation and disadvantage.

LOCATIONS

25 locations across all Australian states, including one correctional facility.

Country statistics

8 out of 189 in Human Development Index rankings (UNDP, 2019)

$53,730 Average annual salary per person (World Bank, 2021)

1.5 million Australians are living in housing stress (Habitat for Humanity, 2021)

Australia is a country and a continent located in Oceania, and is the largest country without land borders (CIA Factbook, 2018). With a population of 28.2 million, 86% of people live in urban areas (UNDP, 2019). The population is mainly located along the coasts, while the interior, or “outback” has a very sparse population (CIA Factbook, 2018).

Australia has a deficit of more than 600,000 social and affordable homes, and this shortfall is projected to be more than 1 million by 2036. Over 1.5 million Australians are living in housing stress, due to rising prices and the extreme lack of affordable housing.

According to national statistics from 2016, there are 116,427 people in Australia who are homeless. A 2019 report said the government needed to build at least 200,000 additional homes over the next 10 years to meet the needs of very low-income households (Habitat for Humanity, 2021)

The main cause of displacement is natural disaster, including earthquake, flood, storm surge, and forest fires. In 2020, 51,000 people were internally displaced due to disasters (Internal Displacement, 2021).

The Homeless World Cup took place in Melbourne in 2008.