HOME Advice Evaluation

The HOME Advice Program is built on the success of the 2001-02 Budget measure – Family Homelessness Prevention Pilot (FHPP). The FHPP was established under the 2001 Australian Federal budget as an early intervention initiative to develop approaches to reduce family homelessness. The program was piloted in eight sites (one in each state and territory) over a two-year period from July 2002 to June 2004. The sites operated on a service partnership model, with Centrelink and community service providers funded to work collaboratively.

As a result of the success of the FHPP refelected in the interim evaluation report, the Australian Government announced continued funding of the program in the May 2004 Budget.  The FHPP delivered very strong results for families:

• 98% of clients stayed in their homes or were re-housed;
• 82% improved in one or more of the following: finances, health, family relationships, employment/education, and community involvement;
• 60% had their debts reduced or wiped out; and
• Improvements in debt reduction and employment for Indigenous families were consistent with those among the non-Indigenous families.

The final evaluation of the FHPP (2004) found that the program was successful in delivering significant improvement to the lives of families at risk of homelessness. The profile of families assisted by FHPP indicated that the pilot successfully reached family groups that had been previously identified as vulnerable to homelessness, most notably Indigenous families, families under financial stress and families experiencing violence. The program, now named the Household Organisational Management Expenses (HOME) Advice Program, has continued to fund the eight pilot sites.