The number of people sleeping rough in NSW has continued to rise with regional areas experiencing the biggest surge in homelessness in the past year, while metro Sydney has stabilised, according to figures from the latest Street Count.
The 2024 Street Count found 2,037 people sleeping rough compared to 1,623 people last year. Street sleeping increased by one percent in City of Sydney and approximately 16 percent in Byron Bay – which now accounts for the largest number of street sleepers in NSW.
Rising interest rates, cost of living pressures and a shortage of rental homes are some factors Homes NSW say are continuing to drive homelessness and street sleeping.
The NSW Government and Homes NSW say they are taking action to address rising street sleeping and homelessness by exploring quality modular housing, delivering more public housing, and examining Short Term Rental Accommodation rules.
More than 300 local organisations partnered to complete street counts in 400 towns and suburbs in 76 local government areas.
Rose Jackson is the NSW Minister for Homelessness.
“I attended this year’s Street Count along with the CEO of Homes NSW, Rebecca Pinkstone and the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre team,” Ms Jackson said.
“I think it’s important our leaders and Government are on the front line to see first-hand how we collect this data.”
“While levels of street sleeping have stabilised in Sydney, we are still seeing an unprecedented increase of homelessness in many of our regional towns. We don’t just need data to tell us this – our regional communities are feeling this every day.”
“The sobering street count figures again paint a harrowing picture of homelessness and street sleeping across our state.”
The 2024 street count was completed between 1 February and 1 March 2024 and is published annually.
For more information about how the 2024 Street Count was done and the breakdown of results across NSW, visit the official website here.
