‘Disgrace’: NSW facing homelessness crisis as numbers soar following pandemic

Homelessness in NSW has soared by 10 per cent in just two years, and the potential economic cost in lost productivity and strain on services has been revealed.

The number of homeless people in NSW has surged by 10 per cent in just two years – with an economic cost that could hit $2.5 billion in the next six years according to a landmark new report.

The analysis of homelessness in the state, commissioned by peak bodies including the NSW Council of Social Services (NCOSS), states that since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 an extra 3,700 residents are without a home.

NCOSS CEO Joanna Quilty said the findings were a “disgrace” and affirmed what she said workers in the social sector were already seeing.

“The past two years of major disruptions brought by fires, floods and the pandemic have exposed the underlying failures of housing policy in NSW and across Australia,” Ms Quilty said.

“It is a disgrace that in Australia, a place that was once considered the ‘Lucky Country’, we have soaring rates of housing stress and homelessness while cost of living pressures continue to mount.”

Homeless support services have reported an increase in the use of their services. Picture: John Grainger

The report, titled ‘Aftershock: Addressing the Economic and Social Costs of the Pandemic and Natural Disasters’, also states the number of low-income households in regional NSW in extreme housing stress – paying more than half of their income in rent – has also increased by 52 per cent since 2020.

The findings include that the cost of additional homeless residents in NSW could cost the state up to $2.5b in six years, based off lost productivity and extra strain on social services.

A homeless man on Sydney CBD streets. Picture: John Grainger

Central West NSW experienced the largest rental price increase in NSW, rising 30 per cent since March 2020, while the amount of vacant rentals falling most steeply in Coffs Harbour – with a 72 per cent dive in available homes.

It comes as a special report by The Daily Telegraph earlier this month found rising costs of living, low wages and a rental crisis were leading to “unprecedented levels” of homelessness across the state, according to peak bodies including Homelessness NSW.

Gene Phillips seeks refuge outside a Westpac branch on Park St in Town Hall. Picture: John Grainger

With soaring rents and a housing shortage striking particularly hard in the regions, homelessness has ballooned into a key issue ahead of next year’s state election, according to Labor’s housing spokeswoman Rose Jackson.

“A 10 per cent growth in homelessness in two years is shocking and desperately sad. This isn’t just a statistic, it’s thousands and thousands of people living in tents, cars, couch surfing and sleeping rough,” she said.

Among the recommendations was that NSW should build 5000 more social housing units each year. NSW is currently set to build 3,486 new social and affordable dwellings by the end of 2024.

A Department of Communities and Justice spokesman said the NSW Government was investing $1.2 billion this financial year to tackle housing and homelessness through assertive homelessness outreach, early intervention and social and affordable housing across the state.

Originally published as ‘Disgrace’: NSW facing homelessness crisis as numbers soar following pandemic