The Productivity Commission has released its 2026 Report on Government Services (RoGS), including performance reporting for aged care services, services for people with disability, child protection services and youth justice services.
The Productivity Commission (PC) is the Australian Government’s independent research and advisory body on economic, social and environmental issues affecting the welfare of Australians.
The PC report says, ‘Nationally in 2024-25, total government funding for social housing and specialist homelessness services was around $7.7 billion. There were 432,129 social housing dwellings at 30 June 2025, an increase over the reported time series (410,216 in 2016)’.
‘The proportion of households in greatest need who waited more than two years for a new public housing allocation decreased from 25.5% in 2023-24 to 22.8% in 2024-25. The proportion who waited less than three months was 29.0% in 2024-25, similar to 2023-24.
‘The proportion of clients of specialist homelessness services with unmet need for accommodation was 32.8% in 2024-25, similar to 2023-24. Among clients experiencing homelessness over the same period, the proportion of clients who experienced persistent homelessness increased from 26.3% in 2023-24 to 27.4% in 2024-25. Persistent homelessness is measured as clients who were homeless for more than seven months over the 24-month reporting period. Government funding to provide direct assistance for people who are homelessness or at risk of homelessness has increased (nationally, $1.8 billion in 2024-25 compared to $1.6 billion in 2023-24)’.
According to page 10 of the report, net recurrent expenditure has remained fairly consistent since 2017-18, yet has slightly dipped with social and public housing metrics in NSW.
To read more, visit https://www.pc.gov.au/ongoing/report-on-government-services/#mr-afg
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