The number of homeless people accounted for in the ACT has risen at more than five times the national rate, climbing by 88per cent from 2006 to 2011.

The increase to 1785 homeless outlined in the Community Services Directorate Annual Report 2012-13 coincides with a steady rise in the public housing waiting list, which now is at about 2200 households.

A broader definition of homelessness may account for part of the increase ACT Council of Social Service director Susan Heylar said.

Ms Heylar said unlike previous years, the 2011 census considered people who were ‘‘couch surfing’’ or living in overcrowded housing, as homeless.

‘‘The ACT has a relatively higher provision of supported accommodation and anyone in these settings on census night is counted as homeless, because they do not have a permanent place to call their own,’’ she said. ‘‘Both these factors have increased the underlying count of people who are homeless.’’

Ms Heylar said social welfare agencies were expecting the number of homeless people to continue rising because of the lack of affordable, stable housing options for at risk groups such as students, low wage earners and young people leaving violent relationships.

‘‘The private rental market in Canberra completely fails low income households, and while the average rental price in Canberra remains at $430 a week, there is no chance for low income households to get a look in,’’ she said.

‘‘The solution to this is for the private rental market to build safe, suitable housing at a price that low income households can afford, including small homes, congregate housing and rent-to-own.’’

Problems driven by a lack of affordable housing were also being compounded by cuts to the Newstart allowance, Anglicare’s Jenny Kitchen said.

Leigh Watson from ACT Shelter said the expansion of public housing was essential to help the struggling sectors of the community.

While the overall rate of homelessness increased in the capital, the number of people sleeping rough bucked the trend from 2006 to 2011, falling by 43 per cent over the five year period. The figure now stands at 29 people.

A Community Services Directorate spokesman said the drop had been driven by an increase in supported accommodation in the ACT.

He said the government had also invested in a number of strategies to address homelessness.

These included supporting more affordable housing and the development of Common Ground Canberra, a model to provide accommodation for long-term homeless people combined with support services.

The strategies may also help address the pressure on the public housing system, which the spokesman said was partly due to longer-term issues associated with private rental affordability.

‘‘Demand for public housing continues to exceed supply,’’ he said.

‘‘At June 30, 2013, 2231 households were waiting for public housing. While at June 30, 2012, approximately 1811 households were waiting for public housing.’’