Stretched to breaking point: Hunter Valley and Central Coast community services unite as fuel and cost-of-living crises bite

More than 68 per cent of low-income households across the region are in housing stress and frontline services are stretched thin. This is the backdrop and set to be a key focus of a Local Connect Forum, the NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS) is convening in Kurri Kurri on May 21, 2026.

NCOSS, in partnership with CALM Inc, Kurri Kurri Community Services and Central Coast Community Council and, will bring together NGOs, government agencies, and social service and community health providers to discuss the region’s most pressing challenges and potential solutions, including a coordinated response to the fuel and cost-of-living crisis.

The forum is for services from the Central Coast, Hunter region including Cessnock, Dungog, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Mid-Coast, Muswellbrook, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Singleton, Upper Hunter Shire and Central Coast local government areas.

Local services have reported rising demand for support, with many people seeking help for the first time. Across the area:

• 68.9 percent of low-income households on the Central Coast are in housing stress

• 56.8 percent of Hunter Valley low-income households name food as one of their top three cost pressures

• 14 percent of low-income (Central Coast) and 13 percent of low-income (Hunter Valley) are living in poverty*

NCOSS CEO Cara Varian said the scale of need is outpacing what services can deliver.

“Higher fuel costs due are punishing already stretched household budgets in regional NSW. Rent is through the roof. Grocery bills continue to climb. And the social and community services holding people up are being asked to do more with less, for longer,” Ms Varian said.

“When fuel prices spike, regional people don’t just pay more at the pump. The ripple effect is they have to reduce or lose access to health appointments. They lose connection to family and community. They lose work. And often children’s school attendance is impacted. Geography is shaping disadvantage in this state, and the response has not matched the scale of what’s happening on the ground.”

Ms Varian said the forum was an opportunity for frontline organisations and their staff to share their challenges, build new networks and learn about best-practice solutions to better support communities and their needs.

The forum will be held at Hunter Valley Hotel Academy, McLeaod Road Kurri Kurri from 9.30am until 4pm.

Cara Varian is available for interview.

Media contact: Bron Matherson (Essential Media) 0438 844 765 or Tamara Kotoyan (Essential Media 0430 291 890

*NCOSS data dashboard