Rough sleepers camping outside RBA building as Clover’s council sits on $788m in the bank

An encampment of rough sleepers has sprung up outside the Reserve Bank’s Martin Place offices — currently undergoing a billion-dollar renovation — as hundreds of people sleep on the streets of Sydney every night.

Exclusive: An encampment of rough sleepers has sprung up outside the Reserve Bank’s Martin Place offices as hundreds of people sleep on the street in the City of Sydney every night.

The situation has renewed calls from business leaders for action to prevent Sydney becoming another version of San Francisco, where homeless people and their tents line city streets.

While people are forced to sleep on the Sydney street outside the building where the RBA’s board sets the official cash rate, the City of Sydney council is sitting with almost $800 million in the bank.

One of the rough sleepers camping outside the RBA’s headquarters – which is currently undergoing a $1 billion renovation – said he has been on the public housing waitlist for seven years.

The homelessness crisis in the CBD has sparked calls for a new “commissioner” tasked with helping rough sleepers find emergency accommodation to prevent Sydney from following in the footsteps of San Francisco’s homelessness crisis.

About seven people are sleeping directly in front of the glass doors of the Reserve Bank building, with a row of sleeping bags, mattresses, milk crates and umbrellas erected directly outside Martin Place station.

The homeless crisis at Martin Place around the RBA building. Picture: Thomas Lisson

The group, which includes at least two women, has been sleeping in front of the RBA in the freezing cold every night.

One of them, Tim, said he had been staying around the RBA building for “roughly two months” after making his way to Sydney from Queensland.

Another man, James, said he had been in front of the RBA for “about three weeks” after being removed from a boarding house in Campsie. 

Homeless man Tim seeks refuge at the RBA building after living on the streets for two months. Picture: Thomas Lisson

“I’ve been on the public housing waitlist for seven years. Someone from Mission Australia often comes past and promises they are trying to find a place to live,” he said.

Business NSW executive director Paul Nicolaou said the encampment was a stark reminder of the housing crisis.

“It is very sad,” he said.

Mr Nicolaou called for the NSW government to appoint a “homelessness commissioner” tasked with finding accommodation for those sleeping rough.

About seven people are sleeping rough outside the RBA headquarters. Picture: Thomas Lisson

“If we’re not wanting to look like San Francisco, then we need to do something urgently now. Not in two years time or three years time,” he said.

Housing Minister Rose Jackson said the group was a “clear and visual reminder” of Sydney’s housing crisis.

“Most of these people need government housing as their solution, and there’s not enough of that, and they’re waiting too long,” she conceded.

Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness, Rose Jackson, in Martin Place on Wednesday. Picture: NewsWire

Ms Jackson the first step to finding the rough sleepers homes is to move them into Crisis Accommodation, but admitted there is a “pipeline block” in the system.

She said the rough sleepers outside the RBA have complained to her about “how hard it is to interact with government services,” but some are still “not ready to engage” with finding accommodation.

The group among 280 people on the streets each night in the City of Sydney, according to the latest homelessness data. The number of rough sleepers recorded in the latest “street count” grew one per cent compared with 2023 figures.

One of the men sleeping rough outside the RBA said he had been on the social housing waiting list for seven years. Picture: Thomas Lisson

City of Sydney councillors last month passed a resolution calling for the CEO to conduct a fresh “audit” to identify vacant City of Sydney properties that could be used for affordable housing.

Ms Moore said in a statement that housing and homelessness “is the responsibility of the NSW government.”

“The State Government must ensure anyone sleeping rough has access to emergency accommodation, and a pathway to permanent housing with wraparound services that support complex needs,” she said.

Ms Moore is also facing calls to use some of the council’s cash savings to help tackle the cost of living crisis that is forcing people onto the street.

As of April 30, the City of Sydney had $787.7 million in the bank in the form of cash, term deposits, and bonds.

“Lord Mayor Clover Moore has squirrelled away more than three quarters of a billion in public money in the bank, she should use this forthcoming council budget to fund affordable housing for our communities sleeping rough in the CBD,” Labor Councillor Linda Scott said.

A NSW government outreach patrol covered the inner city as recently as Tuesday morning.

Homes NSW has housed more than 1,240 rough sleepers in the City of Sydney since 2017.

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