National SAAP Client Satisfaction Survey
4.1 Help/assistance needed
- To help distinguish between those looking for very short-term help and those needing more extensive assistance, clients were asked whether 'a place to live for some time' or 'just a bed for a night or two' best describes their expectations/needs upon arrival at the agency.
- The vast majority of respondents (82%) needed 'a place to live for some time', rather than 'just a bed for a night of two' (7%) (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Best describes needs from agency
Q1a: Which of the following best describes what you needed from <AGENCY> when you first arrived? Base: All respondents (n = 999)
- The need for 'a place to live for some time' ranges from a high of 97% in the ACT to a low of 75% in New South Wales (see Figure 2). In NSW, clients were more likely to give a variety of 'other' responses.
[ top ]
Figure 2: Best describes needs from agency by state
Q1a: Which of the following best describes what you needed from <AGENCY> when you first arrived?
Base: All respondents (ACT = 22, NSW = 230, NT = 22, Qld = 150, SA = 99, Tas = 64, Vic = 362, WA = 51)8
- Those in medium to long-term agencies (85%) are most likely to report this long term need, however the vast majority of those in crisis/short-term agencies (82%) also described their need in this way (see Figure 3).
- This suggests that relatively few clients can be described as having purely short-term emergency needs for accommodation.
[ top ]
Figure 3: Best describes needs from agency by agency type9
Q1a: Which of the following best describes what you needed from <AGENCY> when you first arrived?
Base: All respondents (Crisis/Short-term = 297, Medium/Long-term = 399, Other = 241, Multiple (SA only) = 62)
- Clients were also asked if they needed someone to talk to or referral for professional help. Overall, more than three-quarters (78%) of clients needed someone to talk to or get advice from and almost half (42%) needed referral for professional help (see Figure 4).
- Clients in Queensland (86%) and South Australia (86%) are most likely to report that they needed someone to talk to or get advice from, while those in the Northern Territory (49%) are the least likely to report this need.
- Clients in Queensland (48%) are also the most likely to report they need referral for professional help with those in the Northern Territory (18%) are the least likely to report this need.
[ top ]
Figure 4: Additional help needed from agency
Q1b: And did you need [someone to talk to/referral for professional help] from <AGENCY> when you first arrived?
Base: All respondents with an opinion (n = 999)
- Base sizes here refer to weighted data. Data were weighted by state/territory and by service type. For weighting factors and unweighted sample size, please see Table 50: Weighting.
- 'Other' type agencies include: Day support, Outreach support, Telephone information/ referral, Agency support, and Multiple agencies (except in SA, where multiple agencies were coded separately)
[ top ]