Public officials should have an active "duty to assist" those at risk of homelessness under a peak body's plan to fix the problem within a decade.
Under Homelessness Australia's blueprint, Centrelink staff and other public officials would have a duty to help make sure no one leaves public services without a roof over their heads.
Comparable countries such as Scotland and Wales already have a legislation-backed responsibility to prevent homelessness.
Chief executive Kate Colvin said Australia needed to focus on preventing homelessness in the first place rather than patching over symptoms.
"The duty to assist someone at risk of homelessness must be woven through the fabric of all government services," she said.
In a submission to the federal government's national housing and homelessness plan, which is under development and expected for release in 2024, Homelessness Australia outlined a plan to eradicate the problem completely.
Ms Colvin said homelessness was "entirely solvable" and called for a national commitment to end it.
"All we lack is the political and financial commitment,” she said.
Building more social and affordable homes would be essential, with the organisation calling for 50,000 each year to cover the worsening shortfall.
Boosting Commonwealth Rent Assistance and income support would also help reduce rental stress, which pushes more households into poverty and precarity.
“Housing stress is the fastest-growing cause of homelessness, with an astonishing 27 per cent increase from 2018 to 2022,” Ms Colvin said.
