The Hunter and Central Coast region had the largest increase of people sleeping rough in the state over the past year, according to a new Homelessness NSW report.
Through an analysis of government data, the advocacy group found the district added 116 people sleeping rough, bringing the total from 215 in 2025 to 331 in 2026.
Over six years, the number of people sleeping rough in the region increased by 86 per cent or 153 people, the third-highest increase for any NSW area in the same period.
Homes NSW's street counts were conducted by the state government, councils and local housing providers from February 23 to March 19, 2026, in more than 461 towns and suburbs in 77 local government areas.
Homelessness NSW CEO Dominique Rowe said the results in the Hunter were "shocking" and likely worse than the data showed.
"The street count, without a doubt, undercounts the number of people sleeping rough," Ms Rowe said.
"We now have a community of people that are sleeping in tents or in cars or even out in the open, and it's a really difficult position for those people to be in," she said.
While soaring rates of homelessness were an issue across the state, Ms Rowe had spoken to services in the Hunter that were struggling to have staffing at an appropriate level to meet demand.
"The private rental market is really hot in the Central Coast and Newcastle region, and we know that causes people to be experiencing homelessness at a higher rate," she said.
"Homelessness services want to help everyone that comes to their doors but unfortunately are being forced to turn people away."
The Hunter and Central Coast region totals include the local government areas of Singleton, Port Stephens, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, Muswellbrook, Maitland, Upper Hunter, Cessnock, Dungog and the Central Coast.
Singleton and Port Stephens had the highest increases in the region in the past six years, with both councils having gone from barely anyone sleeping rough to more than 30 people counted.
Lake Macquarie had an increase of 27 people sleeping rough since 2020 while Newcastle rose by 14.
Across the state, rough sleepers rose by 75 per cent from 1319 in 2020 to 2308 in 2026.
The Mid-North Coast, New England and Northern NSW region had the biggest increase over six years, with 617 people added, totalling 1024 in 2026, followed by 186 added in Illawarra Shoalhaven and Southern NSW, bringing its total to 213 this year.
Based on Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data, the report also found that unassisted requests for support from a specialist homelessness service in NSW grew 139 per cent from 2020 to 2025.
In 2024-2025, 10,170 clients in the state were experiencing persistent homelessness, up from 7897 in 2019-2020.
Persistent homelessness refers to experiencing homelessness for more than seven months over a 24-month period.
Ms Rowe said more and more people were being left behind by a system that was just not working.
She said the solution involved increasing social housing to one in 10 homes.
"People need to have a safe and suitable home to go to," she said.
The report also called on the government to increase funding to homelessness services by 50 per cent.
