Homelessness problem more than doubles in Wagga in five years

At census time, 257 people did not have secure and stable housing, and a further 174 were living in other forms of marginal housing in caravans, overcrowded or improvised dwellings.

With the population climbing to 67,609, this means almost one in every 150 people in Wagga (0.64 per cent) were experiencing some form of homelessness or acute housing stress on census night. This is higher than the national average of 1 in 200.

The figure is more than double the number from the 2016 census, which counted 107 homeless in the local government area. It also tops the 154 counted in the 2011 census, when many were still suffering from the fallout of the global financial crisis.

In 2022, the number of people experiencing homelessness taking up residence in Wilks Park skyrocketed, as cost of living pressures forced people onto the street.

Localised crime, unprecedented flood events, and a council order to vacate may have made it a less attractive location for temporary accommodation, but some residents remain, while others have dispersed around the city.

Smaller temporary camps have been established near Oura Beach, and on the river side of the levee, risking lives and possessions if there was another major flooding event this year.

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But for some, there are no alternatives. Numbers provided by VERTO, which administers South Western NSW Tenants' Advice and Advocacy programs, show the end of fixed-term and 90 day no-grounds eviction notices have increased 170 per cent in Wagga since 2020, and vacancy rates are sitting under 1 per cent.

This reflects a country-wide trend of increasing homelessness.

According to the ABS, more than 122,000 people in Australia experienced homelessness on census night - an increase of 5.2 per cent from 2016.

St Vincent de Paul Society NSW acting CEO Yolanda Saiz said the figures were troubling, and it was not overstating things to call them a "national crisis".

"It is unacceptable that the number of people experiencing homelessness remains so high, especially given the efforts made during the height of the pandemic, when the census was taken, to ensure our most vulnerable were housed," Ms Saiz said.

"The government set precedent, providing people sleeping rough with emergency accommodation during the worst of the COVID lockdowns.

"We know it is possible, when there is political will, to provide greater assistance to people experiencing homelessness."

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