A makeshift campsite hidden in the shrubs in suburban Perth is where Matthew Palframan and his 15-year-old dog call home.
A makeshift campsite hidden in the shrubs in suburban Perth is where Matthew Palframan and his 15-year-old dog call home.
By Jamie Freestone
August 4, 2025 — 8.23pm
Matthew Palframan knows all too well the cruel reality of Western Australia’s housing crisis.
A makeshift campsite hidden in the shrubs in suburban Perth is where he and his 15-year-old dog call home.
“It’s just wearing me out. It’s exhausting. It’s really exhausting,” Palframan told 9News Perth.
After days of heavy rain, the 45-year-old is thankful when there’s a chance to dry out his clothes.
“The cold’s been bad, but it’s the rain – the water is the main issue,” he said.
“I need housing straight up. I need some sort of housing. Somewhere I can go back to have a shower and to go to sleep tonight.”
Palframan used to be a public housing tenant, but lost his home during COVID. Since then, he’s mostly been living rough.
“I’ve slept in building sites at times to get out of the weather,” he said.
A baker by trade, he has also worked as a cook and is keen to get his life back on track.
“I’d just love to do a little bit of work while I still can and have a place to keep to myself. I think I deserve it.”
He’s also desperate for his 15-year-old dog to have a better life.
“I don’t want my dog to die on the streets. He deserves so much better because without this dog, I don’t think I would have got through.”
As of the end of May, there are almost 37,574 public housing properties around WA, 26,670 of which are in the metropolitan area. Almost 11,000 in the regions.
But latest figures show 22,315 applications on the wait list.
Each night, almost 10,000 Western Australians experience homelessness and close to 2500 sleep rough, according to 2021 ABS Census data.
The Salvation Army’s Beacon House in Northbridge helps about 200 people over six months.
However, “it is at pandemic proportions,” according to centre manager Karen Coetzee.
“We are finding as a service that clients are staying in residence for much longer periods,” she said.
Residents receive meals, case management and allied medical services on site.
“We’re in the business because we believe in transforming lives, one person at a time. Their story matters. We see them and they’re not invisible,” Coetzee said.
Homelessness Week runs across the nation from August 4-10, and comes as dozens of homes and properties have remained vacant or under refurbishment for years around WA, a blight that will be the focus of the second of a two-part 9News Perth investigation.
9News Perth
Jamie Freestone is a senior reporter at 9 News Perth.
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