Peter McVerry Trust has submitted our recommendations to the upcoming Child and Family Homelessness Action Plan, reinforcing our commitment to ensuring that every child and family experiencing homelessness is supported through a rights‑based, trauma‑informed approach.

Our submission draws on our frontline experience with families experiencing homelessness, including young parents, the Travelling and Roma communities, large families, families with additional needs and those affected by gender‑based violence.

Each recommendation is designed to ensure that State responses are consistent, child‑centred, and rooted in the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

Key recommendations focus on:

• Preventing homelessness through enhanced tenancy sustainment supports and improved financial assistance.
• Better interagency coordination, including reinstating a National Family Homelessness Liaison Officer and establishing multidisciplinary support teams across all regions.
• Standardised access to education, childcare, health and welfare supports, regardless of location.
• Increasing suitable housing options, including more “own‑door” units, disability‑accessible properties and larger homes for big families.
• Embedding children’s voices in social housing allocations, particularly around school continuity and community connections.

Our organisation looks forward to working with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on an Action Plan that delivers consistent, child‑centred responses and better outcomes for families.

Read our full submission to the Child and Family Homelessness Action Plan.