Already trying to manage a minority government, NSW Premier Chris Minns has been delivered a wake-up call by women voters inside his first year.
A poll published on Tuesday suggested Labor's primary vote has fallen to 34 per cent, while the coalition's primary support has increased to 38 per cent.
When it came to power in March 2023, Labor had a primary vote of 37 per cent, while the coalition garnered 35.4 per cent.
The Resolve Political Monitor poll published by the Sydney Morning Herald suggested women are abandoning Labor, with their primary vote dropping 11 points to 31 per cent since July.
It follows a flood of government reviews, winding back of cost-of-living support for middle-income households and the early loss of a minister over a conflict of interest.
Efforts to resolve the housing crisis - the Minns government's biggest challenge - has progressed slowly, amid slowly paced rental reforms, dwindling construction activity and councils fighting long-term reforms to increase housing density.
"The temptation is to say there's only one poll that counts (the election) and to shrug it off," Premier Chris Minns said on Tuesday.
"But I have to say we take it seriously and it's a good wake-up call for the government."
The message to MPs would be to have a renewed focus on living cost increases that were affecting families, he said.
"We have to constantly be working on their behalf and delivering to household budgets," Mr Minns said.
Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the Minns government could "lift our game".
"I'm not surprised by the fact that people expect more from this government," he told Sydney radio 2GB.
Opposition leader Mark Speakman said the results were reflective of community dissatisfaction with what the government had delivered in its first year.
"They came with a great fanfare and fresh approach," he told reporters.
"But we've seen no vision, no action in almost 12 months.
"When this government is at its busiest is when they are cutting the ribbon on infrastructure that the coalition designed, planned and funded."
In the leader stakes, which favour the incumbent, Mr Speakman has closed the gap to the premier to within 20 percentage points (16 to 35).
Nearly one in two voters, however, are undecided on their preferred state leader.
