That is an increase of 20 weeks from the last quarter of 2017 compared to the first, according to the latest statistics from the Department of Health and Human Services.

While the number of open applications for public housing was steady in December at 3512, only 58 resulted in people being housed.

This was the lowest of any month last year, and was also well below the monthly average of about 81.

Labor housing spokesman Josh Willie said Tasmania’s “housing and homelessness crisis continues to grow”.

“What these figures show is that priority public housing applicants are now waiting almost 50 per cent longer for a home than they were a year ago,” Mr Willie said. 

Priority housing applicants are, according to the department, those assessed as having an “urgent housing need”.

Acknowledging “Tasmania’s housing challenges”, a spokesperson said the government is “delivering on several new and immediate actions to boost supply in several areas around the state”.

“The Hodgman Liberal government will continue to work with key stakeholders to improve the housing situation in Tasmania, because all Tasmanians deserve the right to affordable and safe housing,” they said.

Labor also took issue with the timing of the release of the statistics, being late on Thursday afternoon on the eve of the Easter long weekend.

“It’s just disgraceful that as the housing and homelessness crisis continues to grow, the government is more interested in keeping Tasmanians in the dark than getting families out of tents and into homes,” Mr Willie said.

The statistics are posted to a “Human Services Dashboard” on a department website and include data relating to child protection.

There were 1242 children in out-of-home care at the end of December.

While down by one on the previous month, this number steadily grew through the past year, beginning at 1183 at the end of January. 

Slightly down in December were the 68 children, compared to 72 in November, referred for an investigation who had not been allocated a case worker within priority timeframes.

The number of notifications received and subsequently referred for an investigation in December was well down on the previous month, at 26 versus 98.

On the measures relating to services for people living with disability, meanwhile, there was little change. 

As of the end of December, there were 96 people with disability waiting for a community access placement, two fewer than November and the same as January.