The number of people living on the streets in NSW has increased as the housing crisis deepens and the state government acknowledges there's a long way to go to help the most vulnerable.
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The most recent count of rough sleepers in NSW recorded 1623 people compared to 1207 people last year, a 34 per cent increase.
More than 300 local organisations partnered with the government to complete street counts in February in more than 350 towns and suburbs in 76 local government areas.
Homelessness Minister Rose Jackson revealed the new figures on Thursday, saying the spike is "deeply concerning".
"We need to do better," she said.
"We want to minimise the frequency, severity, and cycle of rough sleepers (but) we know we have a long way to go in achieving that goal."
Ms Jackson announced from next month people in temporary accommodation would no longer need to complete a rental diary to demonstrate they were actively looking for housing.
The rental diary is used by the homeless to prove they have been rejected from private rentals to receive support.
"Vulnerable people seeking housing need support not arbitrary, bureaucratic processes," Ms Jackson said.
The freeze will be in place for a year.
The street count also revealed more people were sleeping rough in the regions.
"I want to accelerate social housing developments like Tolland Estate in Wagga Wagga, making sure people in our regions also have access to safe, stable housing," Ms Jackson said.
"The ... government has made a clear commitment to rebuilding a housing system with dignity and fairness at its core and prioritising the delivery of more homes."
The government will also establish Homes NSW, an audit of NSW government land to identify options for more housing, freeze the sale of public housing and work with commonwealth partners to deliver the Social Housing Accelerator payment.
"You can't solve homelessness without housing," Ms Jackson said.
"The two things that are central to our plan to drive homelessness numbers down are delivering more social housing and more comprehensive support services."
Assertive outreach is also delivered in 58 local government areas across NSW.
The program engages with people sleeping rough to support them into long term, stable accommodation with the support they need.
The government has also announced a two-year extension of Specialist Homelessness Services contracts from June 2024 to 2026.
"To be clear, these initiatives are just the start, there is so much more that needs to be done to support our homelessness community," Ms Jackson said.
"Our aim is that experiences of homelessness are rare, brief and not repeated."
Australian Associated Press
