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Earlier this year, our members reached out for support after receiving advice from the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) that the Commonwealth wage supplement (ERO) payment would not be issued for 2024–25, due to the expiration of the Commonwealth agreement.

However, our informed members rightly pointed out the Federal Government’s commitment—made in early 2024—to continue funding the ERO supplementation. This commitment followed strong, united advocacy led by Homelessness Australia, with support from a broad coalition of homelessness advocates and unions, including Homelessness NSW.

We raised this issue with Homes NSW and pushed for services to receive this crucial funding. Following our advocacy, Homes NSW has now confirmed the funding will be released in the coming weeks.

The payment will be issued to previously eligible programs and will now also extend to services including the Service Support Fund (SSF) and the Homeless Youth Assistance Program (HYAP) Stage Two, which were integrated into the Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) Program on 1 July 2021.

Given the timing, services will be able to roll over any unspent funds into 2025–26 without requiring DCJ consent.

This is a significant win for the sector. We know how vital this funding is for delivering consistent, high-quality support to people experiencing homelessness.

We will continue to work with Homes NSW to ensure the Commonwealth wage supplement remains a part of future service funding.