No New England council has received any funding from almost $54 million in NSW Government infrastructure grants aimed at supporting housing growth announced today, despite the New England and North Coast recording the state’s biggest increase in rough sleeping.
MidCoast Council was the only council north of the Hunter Valley included among the 30 successful councils in the first round of the Faster Assessments Incentive Program.
It will receive $1 million for an upgrade to Wylie Breckenridge Park, delivering a new district playground and public amenities to improve local recreation facilities.
The funding is intended to deliver roads, parks, sporting facilities and community infrastructure needed to support housing growth.
Councils earned their share by cutting development assessment timeframes while supporting new homes, meeting or beating the 115-day benchmark set out in the Minister’s Statement of Expectations in 2024-25.
The announcement comes as homelessness rises sharply in regional NSW.
The number of people sleeping rough in NSW has increased 75 per cent in six years, according to a Homelessness NSW report based on the state’s street count data.
While the count in metropolitan Sydney was virtually unchanged between 2020 and 2026, the North Coast and New England recorded the biggest increase, with an extra 617 people sleeping rough compared with 2020.
The analysis identified northern NSW as the state’s worst hotspot for homelessness.
Port Macquarie-Hastings recorded the highest increase among local government areas, with 111 more people sleeping rough. Coffs Harbour also recorded an increase of 100 people sleeping rough.
“From Bega to Byron Bay, rough sleeping is soaring as more people are left unable to afford the private rental market,” Homelessness NSW chief executive Dominique Rowe said.
“Some regions which barely had any rough sleeping now have dozens of people without a place to call home.”
The report also found homelessness services were struggling to meet rising demand. Unassisted requests for help increased by 92 per cent since 2020-21, reaching 21,530 in 2024-25.
“The good news is the solutions are very clear,” Ms Rowe said.
“The NSW Government must fund homelessness services to meet demand and also build enough social housing so people have a pathway to a suitable home.”
Planning and Public Spaces Minister Paul Scully said the grants rewarded councils that were cutting assessment times and helping deliver homes.
“We are rewarding councils that are cutting assessment times and helping deliver the homes NSW needs, because faster decisions mean people can move into new homes sooner.”
But the minister said the funding decision was “not punishing communities”.
“This funding will help councils build the community enabling infrastructure; better roads, parks, sporting facilities, and community spaces that communities need. Importantly delivering it alongside new housing, not punishing communities, and making them wait years for it.”
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