This brief examines the Housing First approach for people living with serious mental health issues who are experiencing homelessness. It outlines the evidence base for Housing First, implementation research including lived experience perspectives, scalability considerations, and practical guidelines across systems, community, service, and individual levels for implementing Housing First in the Australian context.

The brief affirms Housing First's effectiveness in securing stable housing and improving wellbeing outcomes, while acknowledging structural, funding, and sustainability challenges to scaling it in the Australian context. Practical implementation guidelines are provided across systems, community, service, and individual levels, emphasising the importance of collaboration, lived experience integration, and person-centred values.