Together Home

The Together Home Program is a $177.5 million investment by the NSW Government. It aims to support over 1,072 people street-sleeping across NSW into stable accommodation, linked to wraparound support.

The program is a key initiative to support the Premier’s Priority to halve street homelessness by 2025.

Together Home aims to transition people onto a trajectory away from homelessness and into long-term stable housing, while improving overall personal wellbeing. It is underpinned by Housing First principles and is being delivered across NSW by 18 Community Housing Providers that sub-contract the support component to Specialist Homelessness Services or other partners. Support providers work to coordinate and strengthen relationships between the various services involved in a person’s support plan, including disability supports.

High Needs packages

Homelessness NSW is funded separately to manage and deliver Together Home High Needs packages. If a participant has a high degree of complexity, Community Housing Providers can make a referral to the High Needs Assessment Panel for a High Needs package. To-date a total of 105 High Needs packages have been funded.

Aboriginal-led model

On the Central Coast, DCJ has partnered with the local community to design and deliver an Aboriginal-led Together Home model. The Aboriginal-led model commenced delivery in 2021 with 17 packages initially. It has since expanded to deliver an additional 18 leasing and wraparound support packages over two years (totalling 35 packages) in the Hunter Central Coast, following a further investment of $1.4 million through the NSW Homelessness Strategy PDF, 502.01 KB.

Transition Program

The Together Home Transition Program will deliver 250 new social homes, helping prevent rough sleepers from having to return to the streets. This includes 130 homes funded previously, and 120 homes funded by the 2022 Housing Package.

This program will be delivered by community housing providers, with co-contributions and in partnership with DCJ through the Community Housing Innovation Fund approach.

STEP C merger with Together Home

On 1 September 2022 STEP C of the Supported Transition and Engagement Program (STEP) was fully integrated into the Together Home Program. STEP C provided housing and wraparound support for people sleeping rough or experiencing secondary homelessness in Mid North Coat and Western NSW. The merger was undertaken because DCJ and the providers found that STEP C and the THP targeted the same client group, and they served the same functions, across mostly the same areas and providers.

After the merger (31 August 2022) STEP C ceased to exist and STEP C clients and funds have been absorbed into Together Home. All DCJ obligations to these clients will continue to be honoured.

STEP A and STEP B will continue business as usual.

More information can be found in the STEP C merger with Together Home Q&A PDF, 100.6 KB.

More information on the Together Home program can be found in the following documents:

• Together Home Program Guidelines PDF, 3204.09 KB
• Fact Sheet for Service Providers PDF, 147.68 KB
• Fact Sheet for Participants PDF, 198.16 KB
• Together Home FAQ PDF, 362.29 KB
• STEP C merger with Together Home Q&A PDF, 100.6 KB

Together Home evaluation early findings and progress update

DCJ contracted the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) and its partners the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) at the University of New South Wales to undertake an implementation, economic and outcomes evaluation of Together Home.

This summary presents early findings from the implementation evaluation component of the overall evaluation. The findings presented relate primarily to the implementation of the first tranche of the Together Home Program and early implementation of the second tranche.

These preliminary early findings are based on key stakeholder consultations and program data analysis up to December 2021.

A separate interim evaluation report is also being drafted by AHURI and will be reviewed in early 2023. This will extend this analysis to include analysis of administrative data routinely collected by DCJ, place based case studies of program implementation and delivery in selected locations, and additional stakeholder consultations

Together Home evaluation early findings will be used to understand and contextualise program effectiveness; support continuous improvement of the program, as well as inform future commissioning, policy and practice decisions.

More detailed information can be found in slide pack PDF, 611.85 KB.