Frank Brassil, president of St Vincent De Paul in Canberra and Goulburn, said volunteers in Braidwood noticed a significant increase in the number of low income earners and pensioners calling for assistance in the past year.

"People in Braidwood were coming to us with between $2000 and $3000 of rent in arrears after coming to the town hoping for cheaper rents but finding property rates had increased" he said.

"They were coming to us saying we've found ourselves in a terrible situation and can you help us as we can't pay this rent."

Catherine Ffrench, who works for St Vincent de Paul's Braidwood conference, said the charity's financial assistance to the community exceeded its yearly budget by 40 per cent due to an increasing cost of living.

Palang councillor Paul Cockram said Canberrans had an impact on the Braidwood economy by either passing through on the Kings Highway or choosing to settle in the small town and travel back to Canberra for work or retirement.

"When people come to Braidwood during the good times they tended to stop in at the shops and wander around and eventually buy something, but that's just dried up," he said.

"A number of people aren't even stopping anymore they're just going straight on through to Batemans Bay."

"Real estate demands from people living in Braidwood and commuting to Canberra are also increasing the cost of living for others in the local community," he said.

Braidwood's St Vincent de Paul conference treasurer Helen Hart said the number of people resettling in the town for a "tree-escape" or retirement was increasing the cost of living for everyone.

"People that buy property here see it as a lifestyle choice – they come here for retirement – and that just generally puts the price of housing up," she said.

"Because the houses are so well priced they think they can get higher rents when they let them out."

Mr Brassil said St Vincent De Paul spent $13,800 on direct assistance to the Braidwood community in the past financial year which was a significant amount of money given the size of the town.

"That amount of money can include anything from rent relief, support for utility bills, or food assistance."

Helen Goddard, who works with the local charity Braidwood Life Centre, said she had also noticed an increase in demand for assistance.

"In the past we've had people coming to us purely for petrol or food vouchers but now we're getting inquiries for accommodation and rent assistance," she said.

Those seeking assistance in Braidwood are predominantly low income families, both wage earners and pensioners, who are unable to pay their utility bills as the cost of living increases.

"Some families have exceptionally large bills which place them under ongoing pressure when they enter into repayment plans," said Mr Brassil.

"Often these repayment plans are the only alternative to having the utilities disconnected but sometimes the plans are unrealistic."

Salvation Army division manager Christine Gee said many people in Batemans Bay were also doing it tough with an additional $10,000 spent on assistance for those unable to pay their utility bills as the cost of living increases.

"There hasn't been a significant increase in the number of people seeking assistance from us as we work on an appointment basis but the amount of assistance we've given is quite a bit more, which indicates that their needs are greater," she said.

"In 2013 we assisted 972 people and this year that's increased to 995 people."

Ms Goddard said the gold mine near Majors Creek just south of Braidwood had hoped to create local jobs and revitalise the local economy, but operations were suspended in late 2013 citing a falling international gold price.

"The promise of what the mine would bring to the community led many real estate agents to put rents up but they haven't put them down since and that's an issue."

But Denver Schoemark, manager of the Ray White real estate agent in Braidwood, said mining activity had little impact on the local housing market.

"There was a perception that property prices would increase because of the mining activity but that hasn't really occurred with operations being suspended," he said.

Mr Cockram said the influence of the the mine on the cost of living in the town was minimal as work had been suspended for some time.

"If Braidwood needs social services more than it did I don't think it's the mine, I think it's the declining economy which is being hurt by the fact lots of people exist here on relatively low wages," he said.

Palerang Council Mayor Pete Harrison said Braidwood had never been a thriving economic town and many families reliant on agriculture had also been doing it tough.

"It's not a booming economic area so I wouldn't expect to see it up there in the top levels of economic prosperity but by the same token I'm not getting the impression people are doing it tougher in Braidwood than farmers in the area," he said.