On the 9th of August this year everyone in Australia will complete a form, to be counted as part of the Census which happens once every 5 years. But there is one group of Australians which are harder to reach, the homeless. Despite the best efforts of census collectors, there are still thousands of homeless people who are left uncounted.
For the past 3 censuses in 1996, 2001 and 2006, two Melbourne academics called Chamberlain and McKenzie have used their own methodology, including further research, surveys and census data to come up with, what they believe to be a more accurate number.
In 2006, this was one hundred and five thousand homeless people on census night. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has just put out a discussion paper to review the methodology of the Chamberlain and McKenzie.
The ABS’s proposed new way of calculating the homeless would, using 2006 data show a massive drop in the number of homeless people, to 65,000.
And as Emma Buckley Lennox reports, this change is particularly profound when looking at the data for young homeless Australians. 

Audio: 

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FINAl Homeless Census Palckage.mp3