'Grave concern' as Wagga Wagga's homeless threatened with $1,100 fines

Wagga Wagga council threatens to fine rough sleepers in Wilks Park Thu 23 Jul 2026 at 5:16am In short: Wagga Wagga City Council has warned homeless people at a campground near the CBD they could be fined $1,100 if they do not move on. Advocates for the homeless community say this approach might move the problem, but it will not fix it. The council says people engaging with support services are unlikely to be the subject of compliance action. Homeless advocates are slamming the approach of a New South Wales council that has threatened to fine people sleeping rough. Wagga Wagga City Council has warned homeless people living at a campground near the CBD they could face penalties of $1,100 or more if they do not leave the site by July 28. Wagga Women's Health Centre president Vickie Burkinshaw said there should be a more humane approach to solving the crisis. "Rather than treat it as a welfare issue, we're treating it as a compliance issue," she said. The council's move comes two weeks after it issued compliance action notices for people at Wilks Park to move on. That tactic was part of a NSW government-led response to the crisis following the death of an infant at a nearby camp. But Ms Burkinshaw said the strategy failed "to understand the individual needs of the people they're claiming to support". "Being moved on to another city without the wraparound supports, without the outreach, is setting people up for failure," she said. Rachael Vorhauer, who has lived at the campground for more than three years, said the notices prompted her to leave Wagga Wagga and travel to Sydney in the hope of securing stable housing. "I'm not in Wilks Park because I want to be," she said. "It was a leap of faith to come to Sydney." The ABC understands Ms Vorhauer was offered accommodation in Wagga Wagga and Sydney. She is now living in temporary accommodation in Sydney but her pathway to permanent housing is unclear. Ms Vorhauer said she hoped there would be more support options in the city than in Wagga Wagga. Homes NSW said there was no limit for how long someone could stay in temporary accommodation, as long as they were still engaging with their support plan. NSW Housing and Homelessness Minister Rose Jackson previously told the ABC every homeless person camped in Wilks Park and Wagga Beach had been offered accommodation. Fines could be an incentive, council says Council general manager Peter Thompson said further enforcement action could be taken if people refused the support being offered. "The knowledge that we will eventually exercise some form of regulatory power might incentivise them to take up the opportunities being provided to them," he said. The council said in a statement that it sought extensive legal advice before issuing the notices, but could not provide any detail because the advice was subject to professional privilege. Homeless Persons' Legal Service principal solicitor Kira Levin said there were better ways to address homelessness. "We have grave concerns about forcibly removing people," she said. "We don't think fining people is going to result in anything positive. If anything, it will further marginalise people and move the problem." Ms Levin said councils were under pressure, but argued individual support was more effective than "punitive measures". She said temporary accommodation also failed to provide long-term certainty. "If they do agree to leave and go into temporary accommodation, where do they go once their time is up?" Ms Levin said. Ms Vorhauer hopes the move to Sydney will eventually lead to a stable home. "I came down with a suitcase and, as it turns out, I'm still here," she said.