Homelessness in the Byron Shire

Byron Shire is the first area in NSW, outside Sydney, to pilot an internationally-renowned project aimed at drastically reducing and hopefully ending rough sleeping. It is called the Ending Rough Sleeping Byron Shire Project.

It is a community-initiated collaboration that is supported by the state-wide organisation, the End Street Sleeping Collaboration.

This initiative is also part of the NSW Premier’s Priority Commitment to reduce rough sleeping by 50% by 2025 and end rough sleeping by 2030 – a target now shared by the Byron Shire.

Learn more about the Ending Rough Sleeping Byron Shire Project.  

Public spaces can be accessed and enjoyed by everyone including people who experience homelessness.

We encourage responsible behaviour by everyone in our public spaces. We want to make sure that people experiencing disadvantage are not discriminated against and are treated with compassion and respect.

Our Public Space Liaison Officers work with community, local businesses, service providers and people sleeping rough to manage the impacts of homelessness in public spaces. The team also work directly with people sleeping rough to ensure they have access to the support they need.

Council’s Fletcher Street Cottage, in the middle of Byron Bay, is set to be reopened as a service hub. The hub will help the increasing numbers of local people at risk of becoming homeless, as well as people already sleeping rough.

The hub is a collaboration between Council, the Byron Community Centre and Creative Capital, who are helping to fund the venture.

The Cottage will provide homelessness and related services with the option of a limited, well-managed drop-in centre. It will help people sleeping rough to easily access services, while ensuring that everybody feels safe.

The Cottage will help the services in our community that are working hard to respond to the increasing volume and complexities of issues for people sleeping rough.

Safe and affordable housing is a basic human right.

Affordable is defined in relation to income. A common benchmark is rent costing no more than 30% of a low or moderate household’s gross income.

In partnership with community groups and other levels of government, Council is working on a variety of initiatives to address the chronic shortage of affordable housing in the Byron Shire. 

Visit the Housing affordability initiatives  and Short-term rental accommodation web pages to learn more.

Wallet Card

We have published a Wallet Card that contains useful information for people seeking housing support.

Printed copies of the card are distributed among people sleeping rough and shared with local service providers.

COVID-19 Community Supports Brochure

We have published a brochure that contains useful information for people experiencing homelessness. Printed copies of the brochure are distributed to people sleeping rough and shared with local community services.

The brochure is updated regularly and contains information about where to find help and who to contact for assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

If you would like a copy of the COVID-19 Community Support Brochure or our Wallet Card please email roughsleeping@byron.nsw.gov.au or call us on 02 6626 7000. 

Street Counts are conducted annually by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice to determine the number of people experiencing homelessness in towns and local government areas throughout NSW.

Gathering accurate data about the number of people experiencing homelessness is essential to deciding where to target resources and support.

In 2021, 198 people were counted - up from 174 in 2020.  

Visit the Communities & Justice website to download the technical paper.