This figure is compared to 4806 in the 2006/2007 financial year, a jump of 1066 more people.

Ballarat UnitingCare housing program manager Wendy Ferguson said not all of those people were homeless, but signs were showing a lot more housing stress than before.

She said the welfare agency dealt with those who were homeless, were having trouble paying rent, having trouble finding a rental property and the cost of getting a rental. They included families and singles.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released this week, there were 105,000 homeless people in Australia on census night in 2006.

More than half of those were single, while 20 per cent were couples without children, and 26 per cent homeless families with children.

In Ballarat, Ms Ferguson said the rental vacancy rate was currently less than one per cent, and people who never previously had trouble finding a rental property found it was becoming very hard.

In particular, she said it was hard for unemployed singles to find a rental property.

Families who had been forced to sell their homes or had them repossessed also needed help.

Ms Ferguson said the increase in people needing financial help meant welfare funding had to be stretched further and limited how much the agency could help individuals.

"There's a drain on most Ballarat agencies and most would agree there isn't a lot of funding around (for emergency relief)," she said.

"We haven't had any extra houses come onboard in the past 12 months, and the supply for housing isn't meeting the demand.

"We could do with the extra support dollars - we're hoping things are going to turn around in time."

Meanwhile, Anglicare Victoria has called on the Federal Goverment to commit to immediately increase investment in housing options and crisis accommodation.