‘It just feels like we’re forgotten’: Widjabul Wiabal mother of 13 highlights First Nations housing pressure

A Widjabul Wiabal woman from New South Wales has spent months living in a tent with 11 of her children after her rental lease ended, a stark example of how the housing crisis is pushing more families into homelessness — and how First Nations households are being hit hardest.

Lisa Hosking, her partner and their children have been camping at a rest area for about three months, with mattresses packed into a camper trailer and a large tent acting as their family home. She said she had tried repeatedly to secure a new rental without success. “I think I’ve applied for over 200 private rental properties [since getting notice], and there’s just nothing” Ms Hosking said. “Because we’re such a large family, there’s nothing.”

A diesel generator is run for a few hours in the mornings to charge phones, and Ms Hosking estimated it was costing about $30 a day in fuel. Limited access to showers and the distance from services have also disrupted schooling, with the children no longer regularly attending school.

Ms Hosking said she had been offered temporary options, but declined because they would split the family between different rooms or locations. “You’ve got to stick together. Families must stick together in situations like this” she said.

The family’s situation sits inside a national picture where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are disproportionately affected by insecure and overcrowded housing. Census data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates 24,930 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were experiencing homelessness in 2021 — about one in five people experiencing homelessness that year.

The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute has found Indigenous families are facing “unmet housing needs” at double the rate of non-Indigenous households, driven by unaffordable rents, overcrowding and inadequate housing. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare notes First Nations people are overrepresented among people experiencing homelessness and among clients of specialist homelessness services.

NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson said she was aware the family was in contact with local services. “I know they are working around the clock to secure appropriate housing for this family” she said. The minister said the NSW government was investing in more crisis accommodation and Aboriginal housing, committing to 780 new homes for Indigenous people by June 2031.

A spokesperson for federal Housing Minister Clare O’Neil said: “No family should be without a safe place to call home.” The spokesperson said the Commonwealth was “investing more than $3 billion to support First Nations housing — building new homes, upgrading existing ones, and delivering the services communities need”.

For Ms Hosking, the crisis is not abstract. “Being homeless with children is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone” she said. “The days are long, the nights are cold, and there’s constant worry. But through it all, we’ve stayed strong as a family.”