A litany of legal, policy and service shortfalls have been uncovered within the system that's meant to protect homeless children in NSW.
In a report tabled in parliament on Thursday, NSW Ombudsman Michael Barnes was critical of the way the Department of Family and Community Services had been dealing with the issue.
The report found 5000 children presented on their own to a homeless service to seek support in NSW in 2016/17, with more than a third aged under 16.
It noted neither FACS nor the homelessness sector were able to provide answers to several critical questions because basic data was unreliable or simply didn't exist.
Mr Barnes said there were no regulatory standards in place that govern the quality of care provided to these "extremely vulnerable" children.
"Our inquiry has put a spotlight on the need for FACS to finally settle effective operational arrangements with homelessness services that clearly spell out the roles and responsibilities of FACS and services in supporting homeless children," the report said.
Minister for Family and Community Services and Social Housing Pru Goward acknowledged more needed to be done by the government to address the issues outlined in the report.
Mr Barnes made nine recommendations in the report, including FACS providing a framework to the NSW government to address the "lack of decision-making authority" within the sector.
Other recommendations included the need for FACS to revise key policies and begin a review into the reasons why children in out-of-home care used homeless services.
Mr Barnes said the department must consult with major care providers within NSW before establishing proper regulatory standards to govern the quality of care they provide.
Ms Goward has directed her department to begin implementing the ombudsman's recommendations.
She said the government was investing $4.3 million over three years to introduce nine non-government case workers to help children who present unaccompanied to homelessness services.
"We need to do more to work with children, their families, communities, non-government agencies and across government departments to address this," Ms Goward said in a statement.
Labor's family and community services spokeswoman Tania Mihailuk slammed the government for not addressing youth homelessness in its most recent budget.
"The NSW Government has failed to come up with a plan to tackle the rise in youth homelessness despite raking in billions in stamp duty revenue," Ms Mihailuk said in a statement.
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