People sleeping on Auckland's streets are moving to suburbs outside the city centre because they're worried about new police powers being proposed by the government, according to Lifewise, an organisation that helps homeless people.

The government wants to give police the power to tell people to leave public areas if they're being disorderly. The bill specifically lists rough sleeping and begging as types of disorderly behaviour that police could use as a reason to issue these orders.

The bill is being looked at by Parliament's Justice Select Committee. When people made submissions about it, most said they were against the idea. Even the Police themselves said during House debate that they didn't think rough sleeping should be treated as a crime.

Pam Elgar, who runs Lifewise, says the shift to the suburbs is happening now, before the law has even been passed. She's worried about what happens when it does pass.

Auckland Council counted 706 people sleeping rough in January. That's more than a year ago (653 people) but fewer than the peak of 940 in September 2025. Elgar says these numbers don't show the full picture. Council officers can only count a small part of the city, so the real number of homeless people could be much higher. She says the people coming through Lifewise's own services are actually increasing.

Outreach workers at Lifewise are now working harder. They're seeing people arriving from other cities like Wellington, Christchurch, Rotorua and Hamilton. One worker, Kat Feo, says six outreach staff now share one car to cover all the ground they need to.

Public health experts have warned that these new police powers could catch young people who aren't homeless but are struggling and visible in public spaces. The powers apply "anywhere in public", not just specific problem areas.

The government is not just using police powers to deal with rough sleeping — it's also spending money to help. In June it announced $14.5 million more to support rough sleepers. It says 674 people who were sleeping rough have moved into stable homes since September 2025.

What's unclear is whether the money helping people into housing and the police powers to move people on will work together or against each other. So far Police and other groups submitting to Parliament have said they're not sure the enforcement side makes sense, even though the government's spending side is producing results. As people start moving out of the city before the law even takes effect, that tension is becoming harder to ignore.