More than 1,000 homes on the NSW Mid-North Coast have been rendered uninhabitable due to devastating floods, with another 1,831 homes damaged.
Each year, around 23,000 Australians are displaced by climate-related disasters such as floods, bushfires, and cyclones.
The report warns that 5.6 million homes across Australia are at risk from bushfires as climate change accelerates.
Homeless Australia CEO Kate Colvin highlighted the growing risk of a “two-tiered society,” where housing security heavily influences survival during disasters.
Renters, often limited to affordable housing in flood-prone areas, are less resilient to climate disasters and face barriers such as reduced access to government support and a competitive rental market.
The climate crisis exacerbates homelessness by increasing demand in an already strained housing system, leading to more people losing stable housing after disasters.
Experts call for the federal government to prioritize renters and the homeless in disaster response plans and include housing resilience in long-term housing strategies.
The NSW Housing, Homelessness, and Disasters National Symposium brought together professionals to address the complex link between climate events and housing insecurity.
Vulnerable housing systems, like in the Northern Rivers region, show how disasters worsen homelessness, with many displaced people struggling to find safe, stable homes.
Stable housing is critical for psychological recovery after disasters, as displacement can cause lasting trauma and mental health challenges such as PTSD.
With millions of homes at risk and a housing system unable to meet demand, every climate disaster increasingly becomes a humanitarian crisis.
