The annual NSW street count has revealed a concerning rise in rough sleeping, prompting calls to lift funding for homelessness services and build more social housing.
The most recent count of rough sleepers in NSW recorded 2,192 people compared to 2,037 people in 2024, an increase of eight per cent.
The five areas with the largest increase in rough sleeping were the City of Sydney, Inverell, Nambucca, Sutherland Shire and Parramatta.
"The rise in rough sleeping across metro and regional areas is deeply concerning," said Homelessness NSW CEO Dominique Rowe.
"The state's worsening housing crisis is forcing more and more people to bed down on streets and park benches because they can't afford the broken rental market.
"Homelessness services across the state are overwhelmed by the increasing number of people seeking help. They cannot help everyone and must make heartbreaking decisions about who to turn away.
"This should not be happening in one of the wealthiest places on Earth.
"To fix this worsening crisis, the NSW government must urgently invest in more social housing which has plunged over the past decade to historically low levels. It must also boost funding for homelessness services so they can meet rising demand."
Almost 68,000 people sought help from homelessness services last year in NSW, and many were turned away due to overwhelming demand. Over 64,000 households are on the social housing waitlist.
Homelessness NSW is calling on the state government to:
Increase the stock of social housing from 4.7% to 10%
Deliver a 30% increase in baseline funding for specialist homelessness services
