Soaring living costs and housing shortages are pushing more people into homelessness, and even secure employment is no longer a safety net for some.
One in four people that are homeless in NSW have a job as an ongoing shortage of available properties leaves little to no alternative, Homelessness NSW chief executive Dominique Rowe says.
The warning came as the peak agency for homeless services released its pre-budget submission on Thursday ahead of the NSW state budget, due to be handed down in June.
"Previously, if you had a job then you were immune to homelessness but that's changed now in NSW," Ms Rowe said.
"Employment is no longer a protective factor - that's how deep the crisis is."
About 35,000 people were experiencing homelessness in NSW in 2021, census data shows, but the number has likely increased in subsequent years.
NSW specialist homelessness services reported 68,400 people sought help in 2023.
Housing Minister Rose Jackson said the data was "heartbreaking but not surprising" and the face of homelessness was changing.
"We have people with jobs, long rental histories, and no history of homelessness unable to get access to housing - increasingly needing support," she said.
More than 38 per cent of people who are homeless in the state say they are in their position because of financial difficulties, while 40 per cent cite the housing crisis, according to Homelessness NSW research.
The not-for-profit is recommending the state government invests $1 billion each year for a decade to double the amount of available social housing in NSW by 2050.
More than 57,000 households were on the social housing waitlist in January, with some waiting years for a place to call home.
“NSW has failed to invest in social housing for decades," Ms Rowe said.
“Our ability to give NSW's most vulnerable communities a roof over their heads is falling while housing stress and homelessness soar."
The NSW government announced $35 million for critical maintenance in social housing and a further $11 million towards temporary accommodation in the 2023/24 budget to address rising homelessness.
Ms Jackson said the government was exploring all options to deliver more homes in the state, and she was pushing for increased funding in the upcoming budget to provide homelessness support.
Ms Rowe said the state must build 5000 houses annually to double the share of social houses from its current proportion of one in 20 homes.
"We know we can afford this, because for every dollar we spend on social housing the state actually saves two dollars," she said.
