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Today’s Budget investment in temporary accommodation, domestic and family violence and homelessness services will improve the lives of some of the state’s most vulnerable, yet it only touches the sides of a housing and homelessness crisis growing worse by the year, Homelessness NSW said today.
The budget commits $39 million for temporary accommodation next financial year, additional funding for people experiencing family and domestic violence and homelessness, $4.5 million for three homelessness service centres on the North Coast, as well as $112 million for measures to lift housing supply.
“We welcome the investment this budget makes in housing and homelessness,” said CEO Dominique Rowe. “But it only touches the sides of the crisis we are in.”
“Rents have risen by 48 per cent, rough sleeping has increased by 75 per cent since 2020 and the priority waitlist for social housing has doubled in five years. More people are sleeping rough than ever before and homelessness services are completely overwhelmed.”
NSW spends just $37 per person on specialist homelessness services, the lowest of any state or territory in the country. Victoria spends $75 per person. Tasmania spends $91. The gap means NSW services are routinely turning people away, leaving phones unanswered, and closing doors to people in crisis.
“For $247 million a year, the government could have increased funding to homelessness services by 50% to ensure everyone who needs help can get it,” said Ms Rowe.
Research by Impact Economics found every episode of homelessness averted saves an estimated $12,000 in downstream costs to health, justice, and emergency services.
“There are few better uses of taxpayer money than making sure everyone has a roof over their head,” said Ms Rowe.
“We have the knowledge and the ability to end rough sleeping – now we just need the political will.”
Homelessness NSW is calling on the government to deliver a 50% uplift in core funding for the homelessness sector and to commit to building 10,000 new social homes a year until social housing reaches 10% of all NSW housing stock.
June 28, 2021
Homelessness NSW has welcomed the commitment of the NSW Government to ensure hotel accommodation for all people sleeping rough in the Greater Sydney lockdown area as further evidence that ending homelessness is achievable and calls on the NSW Government to provide greater investment in social housing to end homelessness for all.
