New data has revealed 67,900 people sought help from homelessness services in the past year, as Homelessness New South Wales releases its budget submission calling for greater investment to fix the crisis.
Data released by the Australia Institute of Health and Welfare found the number of people seeking help between July 2023 and June 2024 remained almost the same as 68,400 the previous year.
“These alarming figures show that NSW’s homelessness crisis remains entrenched and unresolved - and we must do more to fix it,” said Homelessness NSW CEO Dominique Rowe.
"This is a wake-up call. Homelessness is not improving. The system’s ongoing failure to provide adequate housing is leaving too many people out in the cold."
The primary reasons people sought help were housing crises (41%), financial difficulties (39%), and family or domestic violence (36%).
Alarmingly, 53% of clients were already homeless when they reached out for support - a rise from 50% the previous year. Of these, 8% were sleeping rough, up from 7.8% last year.
"The fact that more people are turning to services after becoming homeless is deeply troubling," said Ms Rowe.
Indigenous Australians remain disproportionately affected, accounting for 33% of all clients in NSW, compared to a national average of 29%.
"The overrepresentation of Aboriginal Australians in these figures is a national shame,” said Ms Rowe. “Governments must work with Aboriginal-led organisations to address this glaring inequity."
The data also highlights huge unmet need. A total of 76% of people seeking long-term housing support were unable to access it, while 49% seeking short-term and emergency accommodation could not be assisted.
“Demand is so great that more people are turned away than helped,” said Ms Rowe. "Every day, frontline workers witness the human cost of a system stretched to its limits.
Homelessness NSW is calling on the NSW Government to act decisively in its next budget to tackle this crisis:
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Boost Funding for Homelessness Services: Increase Specialist Homelessness Service program funding by at least 30%, or approximately $96 million annually, to meet growing demand and ensure effective support across the state.
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Expand Social Housing: Invest $2 billion annually over the next decade to deliver 10,000 additional social housing properties per year, aiming to achieve 10% of all housing being social housing by 2050.
“We commend the NSW Government’s recognition of the homelessness and housing crisis in the 2024-25 Budget, which included $5.1 billion for social housing and the commitment to deliver 8,400 new social homes.
“But this cannot be the sum total of our efforts. We need sustained, ongoing investment. Homelessness Services are doing everything they can, but without the housing and funding to back them, the situation will only worsen. We need stronger action, and we need it now,” said Ms Rowe.
Contact details:
Charlie Moore 0452 606 171
