Rough sleeping has surged in Australia according to a landmark report into homelessness launched today.

Australian Homelessness Monitor 2024 has revealed a 22% increase in people experiencing rough sleeping in the three years to 2023-24, nationwide. In New South Wales, rough sleeping has surged by 51% since 2020, largely driven by an increase in regional communities.

The deepening housing crisis is the major driver of worsening homelessness, with the number of people citing housing affordability stress as the main reason they need homelessness services having increased by 36% in the three years to 2023-24.

The threat of homelessness now looms for a broader swathe of the population, including more employed Australians, the report found, with the proportion of employed persons among those receiving homelessness services having increased from 10.9% to 15.3% over the five years to 2022-23.

Services offering emergency support are struggling, with most........

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