Proposed St Pat’s Respite Centre

The City of Fremantle is proposing to work with St Patrick’s Community Support Centre (St Pat’s) to develop an overnight respite service at the City-owned building at 14 Parry Street, Fremantle.

This will be short-term accommodation, for people in crisis who are sleeping rough in Fremantle.

This respite centre is the critical missing piece for Freo, filling the gap between homelessness and social housing.

The centre would provide a safe place to sleep overnight for people experiencing homelessness, while connecting them with support services, healthcare and pathways to permanent housing.

No.

The proposal has received support from the Strategic and General Services Committee and Council at its meeting on 22 July 2026.

It will need to go through a Development Application approval process with detailed planning, community consultation and funding discussions.

Yes.

City and St Pat’s will undertake community engagement as part of the detailed planning process.

Residents, businesses, people with lived experience of homelessness and other stakeholders will have opportunities to provide feedback.

The community consultation process will provide opportunities for residents, businesses and interested community members to ask questions, share concerns and contribute feedback before final plans are developed.

Homelessness is consistently identified by the community as one of the top issues for people living, working or visiting Fremantle.

The proposed centre would fill a gap in existing services by providing a safe overnight place for people who are currently sleeping rough, while helping them access professional support and longer-term housing solutions.

The centre would offer:

• Safe overnight accommodation
• Access to support workers and case management
• Connections to healthcare services
• Referrals to housing and support programs
• Pathways toward longer-term accommodation and stability

The service is intended as short-term overnight respite, not permanent housing, to address homelessness as one of Fremantle’s most significant social challenges.

The service would be developed and operated by St Pat’s, subject to funding and approvals.

St Pat’s has decades of experience delivering homelessness services in Fremantle and will work closely with the City in developing the proposal alongside the community.

The proposed service is intended for people from the Fremantle area who are sleeping rough and experiencing homelessness.

Eligibility criteria and referral processes would form part of the detailed service model developed by St Pat’s.

The proposal includes up to 28 beds each night for men and women, and the option to include two family rooms.

The final configuration would be confirmed during detailed planning.

The proposed service would operate 7 nights a week offering free overnight accommodation and access to support services.

It will only be a night service, accessed via referrals, with proposed opening times between 6pm and 7am daily.

The single-storey brick building at 14 Parry Street is owned by the City of Fremantle and was identified because:

• Its layout is considered suitable for the service
• It is located close to existing support and goodwill services
• It can be adapted to provide safe and supervised overnight accommodation

It has previously been an electricity substation, a museum, and most recently a St John Ambulance station. The building is currently vacant and is well-suited for the respite centre purpose.

Yes.

The service would be operated by experienced homelessness service providers and include appropriate staffing, support, and security arrangements.

Yes.

The proposal is based on a professionally managed model, informed by services such as Vinnies Tom Fisher House in Perth, which has been running successfully since 2016.

Community safety will be a key consideration in the detailed planning process. The proposed centre is intended to provide a safe, managed environment for people who would otherwise be sleeping rough.

The service model, operational procedures, staffing arrangements and site management plans would be developed in consultation with stakeholders and the community.

The proposal aims to reduce the impacts associated with rough sleeping by providing a supervised indoor environment and direct access to support services.

Evidence from similar services suggests that connecting people with support and providing stable overnight accommodation can lead to better outcomes for both individuals and the wider community.

Housing is widely recognised as the long-term solution to homelessness. However, people experiencing homelessness also need immediate safety, dignity and support while working toward stable housing.

The proposed respite centre is intended to complement longer-term housing initiatives, not replace them.

The City of Fremantle is providing the building and will fund (through municipal money and grants) all capital works required to bring the building up to the standard needed for its intended use, beginning with $500,000 allocated in the 2026-27 budget.

The City of Fremantle will retain ownership of the building at 14 Parry Street and the building will be leased to St Pat’s on a peppercorn lease arrangement for five years subject to negotiations.

The City and St Pat’s will jointly advocate for the State Government to commit to a minimum of five years of operational funding for continuity of service.

St Pat’s has extensive experience supporting people experiencing homelessness in Fremantle and has been involved in developing the proposal from the outset.

The proposed exclusivity arrangement would allow the City and St Pat’s to jointly progress planning, consultation and funding applications.

The proposed service is an overnight respite centre that provides short-term crisis accommodation for people who are sleeping rough in Fremantle.

Unlike longer-term accommodation services, the centre is intended to provide a safe place to sleep overnight while helping people connect with housing, healthcare and support services.

The centre is designed as short-term crisis accommodation rather than permanent or long-term housing.

The focus is on providing immediate safety and support while helping people move towards more stable accommodation and longer-term housing solutions. Someone can stay for up to 10 consecutive nights at a time.

Sleeping rough can expose people to significant health, safety and wellbeing risks.

Providing safe overnight accommodation allows people to rest in a secure environment and makes it easier for support services to engage with them and help them access healthcare, housing and other assistance.

In addition to providing a safe place to sleep, the service would help connect people with services including:

• Housing services
• Healthcare providers
• Mental health support
• Alcohol and other drug services
• Income and welfare support
• Case management and outreach services

The aim is to support people towards longer-term housing and stability.

People sleeping rough and homelessness has consistently been identified by local residents as a key issue.

The centre is designed to respond to existing need by providing accommodation and support to people already experiencing homelessness, rather than creating new demand.

The proposed model will draw on learnings from Vinnies Tom Fisher House in Perth, which provides overnight accommodation and support services for people experiencing homelessness. However, The City of Fremantle is the first local government in Western Australia to use one of its assets for this purpose. This is a genuine opportunity for the City to make a meaningful and practical contribution to addressing visible homelessness and rough sleeping in Fremantle.

This proposal aligns with the State Government’s WA Homelessness Strategy 2020-2030, which identifies rapid access to safe accommodation as a key response to rough sleeping.

Potential benefits include:

• Fewer people sleeping rough in public places
• Improved access to support services for vulnerable people
• Better pathways to housing and healthcare
• Increased coordination between service providers
• A safer and more inclusive community

Potential measures of success may include:

• Reduced rough sleeping in Fremantle
• Increased connections to support services
• Improved health and wellbeing outcomes
• Greater access to housing pathways
• Positive outcomes for local community safety and amenity
• Successful transitions into longer-term accommodation

The proposal seeks to benefit both individuals experiencing homelessness and the broader community by providing a safer, more coordinated response to rough sleeping.

By helping vulnerable people access accommodation and support, the centre has the potential to improve outcomes for individuals while contributing to a safer, more inclusive and welcoming Fremantle for everyone.

The next steps will include:

• Developing detailed plans with St Pat’s
• Undertaking community consultation
• Finalising the service model and operational arrangements
• Seeking State Government operational funding
• Planning and delivering building upgrades required for the service

The centre would only proceed once the necessary approvals, funding and planning requirements have been met.