But even with the improvement, nearly 4000 Canberrans sought help in the latest year on record, according to the official report.

In 2018/19, about 90 Canberrans in every 10,000 were helped by agencies because they were homeless compared with 102 in every 10,000 in the previous year.

The figures emerged in the annual report of the government's Specialist Homelessness Services unit.

Over the year, 3800 people were assisted in the ACT by a range of schemes.

Of the more than a thousand people in the ACT who were actually homeless, 540 were assisted into housing, mostly in public or community housing. Around 200 were housed in private or other housing.

And of the 1000 people and families who were housed but at risk of being made homeless, nearly all - 900 - were helped to keep their homes.

The reasons for homelessness in the ACT were a housing crisis like being evicted or kicked out by other tenants in a flat share, financial difficulties or "housing affordability stress" - simply not being able to afford the rent.

The ACT figures are better than for Australia in general where the agency supported almost 300,000.

Across the country, most homeless people were female, with 30 per cent aged under 18. One in six were children.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were over-represented, with a quarter of the homeless identifying as Indigenous (compared with 3.2 per cent of the Australian population).

Around three in ten clients of homelessness services said family and domestic violence was their main reason for seeking support.