The number of people sleeping rough in the Coffs Harbour local government area has increased over the past year, according to the 2026 NSW Statewide Street Count.
Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh said the latest figures showed the Coffs Harbour LGA recorded the largest increase in the number of people sleeping rough of any local government area in NSW compared with the previous year.
“Shockingly, in the past 12 months there’s been a 50 per cent jump in the number of rough sleepers in our local community. This is appalling and unacceptable,” Singh said.
“There are real faces and real people behind these statistics – real people living on our streets due to the lack of affordable housing, out-of-reach rents and the cost of living crisis.
“This unrelenting human tragedy is taking a toll on people’s physical and mental health and well-being.”
Singh said the NSW Government had failed to adequately address the housing crisis and was not doing enough to support regional communities, including the Coffs Coast.
“The housing and homelessness crisis is only deepening under Minister Rose Jackson, who notoriously pulled the pin for no good reason on Coffs Harbour’s Argyll Estate redevelopment in 2023,” Singh said.
“We need more housing on the Coffs Coast, not less, while new housing developments are being hindered by a State Government which is taking far too long to act.
“The surge in rough sleeping comes as social housing waitlists rise even further, which shows the system is failing people even before they reach crisis point.
“Our homelessness services are overstretched, trapping people in a system that can’t cope.”
The 2026 NSW Statewide Street Count Technical Paper is available online.
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