The APSSF is a regional forum that shelter practitioners initiated to localize the United Kingdom (UK) Shelter Forum, global annual shelter meetings, and other shelter forums. The goal of the APSSF is to improve coordination, collaboration, and sharing of learnings and best practices in the Shelter and Settlements sector among countries in the Asia Pacific Region. The first forum was held in Bangkok, Thailand in 2015 and was initially called the Asia Shelter Forum (ASF). This event was held every 2 years thereafter and was hosted by different countries in Asia. In 2022, the Bangladesh government hosted the event, during which the structure of the forum was discussed, and the members unanimously agreed to rename the event into Asia Pacific Shelter and Settlement Forum (APSSF).

The forum gives a meaningful learning experience to the governments of each nation, donors, development partners, shelter clusters, and humanitarian organizations and partners at the national level. To strengthen its network, the APSSF creates an Organizing Committee in each host country. This initiative aims to sustain shelter activities that extend to the local government level and establish strong connections between national, regional, and global shelter clusters.