Chronic homelessness costs governments significant amounts of money through repeated use of crisis services like hospitals and jails. Permanent supportive housing following a Housing First model has been shown to improve outcomes for the chronically homeless while reducing costs. It provides long-term affordable housing combined with support services for residents. Examples from Canada, the US and Australia demonstrate that this approach can successfully house people experiencing chronic homelessness while also decreasing their use of emergency services. For Australia to adopt this model more widely will require a shift towards prioritizing long-term housing over temporary options, as well as increasing housing stock and using funding to incentivize permanent outcomes.