Coffs Harbour homeless crisis: Teachers, doctors and tradies sleeping in cars

Last year 1494 rough sleepers were officially counted in several NSW hot spots – a rise of 11 per cent on 2020. Here’s why

Workers with stable jobs – including doctors, teachers and tradies – are being forced into homelessness on the state’s mid-north coast as the housing shortage hits “crisis point”.

With a rental vacancy rate of just 0.5 per cent in the region, working professionals who are unable to find somewhere affordable to live end up with no choice but to sleep in tents, cars or on couches.

Last year 1494 rough sleepers were counted in the thriving tourist hot spots of Coffs Harbour, Bellingen and Nambucca, compared with 1347 in 2020 – a jump of 11 per cent.

“I’ve been concerned about this for some time but Covid has made it worse,” upper house Labor MP Rose Jackson said. “I’ve been inundated with desperate people struggling to get a rental; not just the employed but doctors, nurses and tradies earning decent wages and with good rental references who have exhausted caravan parks.”

A combination of high rental costs and low stock on the market has created a housing crisis in the mid north coast city of Coffs Harbour. Picture: Toby Zerna

Ms Jackson said housing and rental affordability had reached a crisis point.

“The NSW government needs to use its own government land to build social housing and can change rental laws in NSW so people cannot be evicted before their lease ends because the landlord wants to increase the rent,” she said.

The migration of metro dwellers to the region due to new flexible work arrangements, local homes being converted into Airbnb holiday rentals and an influx of more than 6000 temporary workers building the 14km Coffs Harbour bypass has created a perfect storm of external demand.

Realestate.com reports in the past three years the median rental price at Coffs Harbour has risen 22.7 per cent to $540 a week. The median house price is $710,000.

The area known as Tent City behind the Coffs Harbour Neighbourhood Centre. Picture: Toby Zerna

Saint Vincent de Paul Society’s Coffs Harbour drop-in centre, known as Pete’s Place, used to see 15 users a day when it opened three years ago – now it’s 70. The service provides free food, laundry and shower facilities, as well as medical, mental health and legal support.

“Covid has allowed people flexibility to live and work in Coffs, it’s a beautiful area … but it’s created problems,” Anna Scott, manager for the charity’s north coast and housing homelessness service, said. “We used to deal predominantly with rough sleepers and those at risk of homelessness but now it’s also employed people who can’t get a rental because of the housing shortages.”

Coffs Harbour Nationals MP Gurmesh Singh called for a review of development approval rates in the region saying it was below par.

“The bushfires wiped out a lot of homes, vacancy rates in the region are effectively zero and the time between planning and building can take 12 to 36 months,” he said.

A rough sleeper gets some rest on the street in Coffs. Picture: Toby Zerna

“There’s no easy, quick fix, it relies on local, state and federal governments, and the banks who lend the money to buy homes, to fix these issues”

The Department of Communities and Justice said it had ploughed more than $1 billion into homelessness services, youth refuges and social housing programs in 2021-22.

Anyone who is homeless or at risk of homelessness can contact Link2home on 1800 152 152.