The Greens renewed their call for urgent action on homelessness in Australia today after new figures showed a 17 per cent increase in the number of homeless people in Australia in five years.

Australian Greens housing spokesperson Senator for Western Australia Scott Ludlam said this morning's ABS Census figures reinforced the fact Australia has been in the grip of a housing crisis for years.

West Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam and Lynn MacLaren MLC have urged the State and Federal Governments to work together on urgent action to address homelessness, as figures show the public housing wait list has doubled in WA and 14,000 West Australians are now homeless.

Australian Greens housing spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam has urged the state and Federal governments to work together on urgent action to address homelessness, as figures show the public housing wait list has doubled in Western Australia and 105,000 Australians are homeless.

The Greens welcomed the long-delayed release of the Federal Government's draft legislation on homelessness this week, and urged the Government to take immediate action to tackle the crisis.

Greens housing spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam said the Bill represented a more realistic understanding of homelessness, but a more detailed analysis is needed to identify potential improvements.