Homelessness services fear they will be forced to cut the hours they can take in people, including women fleeing domestic violence at night, if federal pay equality funding is not renewed.

Kate Timmins, chief executive of the B Miles Women’s Foundation in Sydney, which offers crisis accommodation and other services to 300 women a year, said her organisation would lose about $80,000 a year from its next funding contract.

“What that means, we can’t even begin to fathom,” Ms Timmins said. “It will mean cuts to staffing or reduction of operating hours because that is all that is left to be cut.”

Social and community workers won a pay rise of up to 45 per cent in 2012 to recognise that the sector’s primarily female workforce had historically been poorly paid because of their gender.

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The increase was phased in annually until December 2020, accompanied by higher federal government funding to service providers to cover the cost, which the Morrison government has maintained. However, homelessness services, which are funded separately in partnership with the states, are not included from 2021-22.

Both the NSW and Victorian governments, which are directly responsible for homelessness services through organisations including B Miles, have lobbied for federal funding to continue at the higher amount.

“Withdrawing base funding will remove more than $20 million [annually] for service providers, which will cost more than 100 jobs and remove vital support for around 6700 households at risk of homelessness,” Andrews government Housing Minister Richard Wynne said.

In 2020-21, the federal government contributed an estimated $56.5 million to cover the higher wages as part of the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, which is distributed by the states. Estimates from the Australian Services Union and Homelessness Australia suggest it equates to 565 jobs.