Non-public information shows an alarming rise in rough sleeping across Adelaide’s suburbs as CBD numbers fall

Call for more transparency as confidential government documents obtained by The Advertiser reveal a tragic suburban housing trend.

Chris Cook, 53, has been sleeping in a tent with his 8 month old dog outside the abandoned markets shelter on Port Adelaide’s wharf for the past two months. Picture: Emma Brasier

Secret state government data has shown an alarming rise in rough sleeping across Adelaide’s suburbs – even as official figures suggest the homelessness crisis in the metropolitan area is slightly easing.

The confidential Department of Human Services data, obtained by The Advertiser, shows that while the number of rough sleepers receiving support fell in the CBD – from 509 in 2021-22 to 429 in 2023-24 – many suburban councils recorded rising numbers.

In total, 1251 people were supported for rough sleeping in the 2023-24 financial year across 10 key Adelaide councils – a slight decrease from 1274 in 2021-22 and 1278 in 2022-23.

In Port Adelaide Enfield, the number of rough sleepers helped jumped from 161 to 234.

In Marion, the number of new clients receiving support grew from 45 to 67.

And in Playford, where rent for houses rose 41 per cent and units 35 per cent between 2021 and 2024, rough sleeping clients increased from 173 to 185.

“This [data] is only the number of people who managed to reach out and receive help,” said David Pearson, CEO of the South Australian Alliance to End Homelessness.

“It doesn’t include those who gave up, or who got knocked back because there simply weren’t enough resources.”

The confidential data highlights the state’s lack of transparent, consistent reporting on rough sleeping – despite the scale of the crisis. he said.

“We don’t need to FOI the government to get unemployment data, so why should rough sleeping be any different?” Mr Pearson said.

“This kind of information should be public. We have good data and co-ordination in the CBD, and the numbers there are improving. But we’re not doing that in the rest of the state.”

Rose Darling runs a volunteer organisation that helps people who are sleeping rough in Port Adelaide. Picture: Emma Brasier

Chris Cook, 53, has been sleeping in a tent with his 8 month old dog outside the abandoned markets shelter on Port Adelaide’s wharf for the past two months.

“I had a place in a Renmark, but my landlord did not renew my lease” he said.

Mr Cook, who hasn’t worked since he injured himself in a car accident last year, said “I didn’t even bother applying for a new place I knew I wouldn’t get it” because he had a young puppy and is only receiving Jobseeker.

He went first to the Adelaide’s CBD but he said he didn’t feel safe.

He then moved to Port Adelaide where he had heard the services and the community were better.

“I do actually feel well looked after here,” he said,

Rose Darling, a former Port Adelaide resident, runs Community Help and Togetherness (CHATS) – a free food stall and cooks meals for people sleeping rough around the waterfront and abandoned buildings.

“There are new faces here all the time,” Ms Darling said.

“A lot of them have just been priced out of the rental market.”

Ms Darling said that she believed many people were going into the suburbs to sleep rough because it was too dangerous for them to do so in the city.

“It’s amazing how well they manage to hide themselves at night,” she said.

A spokeswoman for the state government said it was committed to “addressing homelessness through a co-ordinated approach that balances immediate support services with long-term housing solutions”.

But she did not respond to questions about why rough sleeping figures are not made public.

“Importantly, this data reflects the capacity and activity of the service system, rather than the full extent of unmet demand,” the spokeswoman said.

Originally published as Non-public information shows an alarming rise in rough sleeping across Adelaide’s suburbs as CBD numbers fall