Sydney Zero

Sydney Zero was initiated in 2023. It is an innovative local systemic change project. It is a collaboration of government and non-government organisations providing homelessness, housing and health services that has as its objective to make rough sleeping rare, brief and non-recurring in Sydney.

The scope of the project is the Sydney local government area, and it is focussed on all people aged 18 years and older who are sleeping on the streets or in crisis accommodation, as well as people in temporary accommodation who have a history of sleeping rough or are at risk of doing so.

Participants in Sydney Zero are the City of Sydney, the Department of Communities and Justice, Homes NSW, the three Local Health Districts in Sydney and more than 15 homelessness and housing services that are active in our city. 

Measures for the goals of Sydney Zero

Rare: The number of people who are sleeping rough, or in crisis or temporary accommodation, on a single night, expressed as an absolute figure and as a rate per 100,000 population.

Brief: The length of time between the first time a person is identified as rough sleeping and moving into tenured housing.

Non-recurring: The number of people returning to rough sleeping (or crisis or temporary accommodation) after a period of tenured housing, expressed as both an absolute figure, and as a proportion of all people who have moved into tenured housing.

Collaboration Practices

Key to the success of Sydney Zero are the adoption of collaborative practices, which include embedding use of the By-Name-List.

The BNL provides a mechanism for the sharing of information about people experiencing rough sleeping amongst multiple service providers. This facilitates a coordinated response to the needs of individuals; it also reduces trauma and disengagement for people experiencing homelessness by reducing the number of times they need to tell their story and by facilitating a speedier and more effective response to the person’s needs. Each organisation involved in Sydney Zero will ensure that the BNL is used for all people within scope for the project.

The value of the BNL, though, is not achieved without there being an effective collaboration of homelessness, housing and health services.

The collaboration practices within Sydney Zero include the following:

• Governance to provide oversight of Sydney Zero through a Local Leadership Group and to provide backbone support through the End Street Sleeping Collaboration.

• Case Co-ordination, with the BNL being used for assertive outreach and case coordination meetings.

• Escalation, to identify solutions for people for whom the system is not working and to collect information about common barriers to facilitate systemic improvements.

Members of the Local Leadership Group are drawn from the participating agencies and organisations.

The responsibilities of the Local Leadership Group are as follows:

• Oversight of the implementation and ongoing performance of Sydney Zero to ensure it meets its purpose;

• To be an escalation point to identify solutions for people for which normal systems responses are not working; and

• To collect information about common barriers and make recommendations for systemic improvements.

Case Study

The following is a real-life example of how local collaborations supported by a By-Name List can assist in achieving improved housing circumstances for individuals:

Sarah (not a real name) first came to the attention of agencies and community organisations while staying in government-funded temporary housing in Wollongong. Sarah displayed signs of paranoia and refused to provide the sort of information needed for the temporary housing to be extended. Sarah returned to rough sleeping.

For the next nine months, Sarah was trying alone to navigate the complexities of the system whilst experiencing complex mental health and trauma. During this period, Sarah spent more than a year sleeping on the streets or in crisis accommodation and had no connection to health or other supports.

Sarah began engaging with services again in Wollongong and, for the first time, provided consent to having personal information added to the By-Name List. Sarah was then referred to five different housing, homelessness and health services. This identified the health supports that Sarah required.

Two months later, and whilst still sleeping rough, Sarah moved from Wollongong to Sydney and presented at a homelessness service in Newtown. Sarah’s information and history of homelessness could be identified quickly from the By-Name List. A collaboration of services combined to provide Sarah with temporary accommodation and case management support. Because this need was so clear from the By-Name List, Sarah was admitted to hospital for mental health treatment and was then supported by a mental health outreach program.

Once Sarah’s mental health was stabilised, the case management team supporting Sarah found that Sarah had family and her own home on the NSW north coast. She was assisted to return home and was reconnected with her family after six months. In all, ten services across two districts supported Sarah over a period of eight months.

By having personal information on the BNL – and despite moving locations -- Sarah’s support needs were provided, creating conditions for the best outcome to be identified and fulfilled for her in a timely way.