As the country's business leaders prepare for one night of sleeping rough, rising living costs and dwindling housing supplies are forcing more Australians onto the streets for the long term.
NSW Premier Chris Minns will attend Thursday's launch of the Vinnies CEO Sleepout in an attempt to drum up donations for the charity's homelessness services.
But advocates are urging state governments to dig deep and build more social and affordable housing to address the root cause of the worsening homelessness crisis.
"The pandemic exposed and exacerbated existing inequality and highlighted how precarious access to housing, food and financial support is for many," Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.
"But it also showed that with the right political will, governments can find the money, resources and urgency to address some of the biggest challenges our vulnerable communities face."
Over the past 25 years, social housing stock has failed to keep up with demand in Australia, dropping from six to four per cent of occupied dwellings.
The City of Sydney council found almost 300 people were sleeping rough in the inner city in February, a 23 per cent increase on the previous year.
Census figures and an increase in people using specialist homelessness services confirm the problem is getting worse across the country, while the availability of social housing shrinks.
Cr Moore called on the new Minns government to apply the same urgency shown during the pandemic to the homelessness crisis.
"The lack of ambition shown in the state's major housing projects is disappointing," she said.
The mayor wants a minimum of 30 per cent social housing and 20 per cent affordable housing in the state government's proposed redevelopment of Waterloo estate.
The public housing precinct is the country's largest, currently home to almost 2500 tenants, with more than 85 per cent of dwellings provided by the government.
However, fewer than three in every 10 units in the new development will be devoted to social housing, which Cr Moore calls a missed opportunity.
Incoming housing minister Rose Jackson told AAP the government would review the redevelopment, with an eye to increasing its percentage of social and affordable housing.
Homelessness NSW chief executive Trina Jones says providing more social housing supply is vital, as rising living costs, low wages and a shortage of affordable rentals exacerbate the housing crisis.
"We cannot solve homelessness without more housing, it's that simple," she said.
Ms Jones also called on the government to lock in continuing funding for the Together Home program, which supports people without a home in finding permanent accommodation.
The $25 million per year initiative was a relatively modest investment that could make a big difference to the lives of the community's most vulnerable, she said.
© AAP 2023