Speaking ahead of a Youth Homelessness Week, Youth Network of Tasmania chief executive Tania Hunt said the system as it was had failed young people and there was a need for a strategic plan to address the problem, backed by adequate funding.

According to the last Census results in 2016, 1622 Tasmanians were catagorised as homeless and almost 4 in 10 homeless people were aged under 25 years.

Analysis from Shelter Tasmania indicated 48 per cent of these young people couch-surfed or lived in severely overcrowded accommodation and 44 per cent were in supported accommodation. 

The housing body said homelessness services assisted 7,789 Tasmanians in 2016-17 but an average of 14 requests from families with children went unmet each day, representing a rise of 25 per cent on the year before.

It noted one in two requests for help were from young people under 25 years and one of five requests involve children younger than 10 years.

Ms Hunt said young people were the fastest growing cohort of homeless people in the state, highlighting Anglicare’s research that 340 children between the ages of 10 and 17 years presented to homelessness services for help.

She said there was a misconception young people chose to leave homes and decisions were mainly linked to family violence or relationship breakdowns.

“Family reunification is not always possible,” Ms Hunt said.

"There are young people, and even children, turning up to homelessness services for accommodation unaccompanied.

"This is a significant issue as young people aged 10 to 12 are not eligible to access these services.

"For people under the age of 16, there are more limited options, like financial options and the ability to receive income support.”

Ms Hunt said greater investment was needed by the state government to combat youth homelessness issues as well as a youth-specific housing strategy needed to be implemented.

"And including the voice of young people into solutions is really important and that is lacking," she said.

Housing Minister Roger Jaensh acknowledged the complexity of youth homelessness but said the government would commit to investment in accommodation options which addressed unmet demand.

“Our Affordable Housing Strategy and Action Plan includes a range of initiatives targeted at young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in each region of the state,” he said.

“In 2018-19, our investment in affordable housing will be more than double the previous year and our long-term plan will provide an additional 1500 new affordable homes for Tasmanians, including our young people.”