A social housing advocate says the latest government homelessness investment is just one piece of the puzzle.

$54 million will go towards measures to help tackle homelessness.

It includes funding for more intensive case managers to provide support and funding for an initiative aimed at keeping at-risk people in their rentals, and will go towards supporting at-risk individuals and whanau to stay in existing tenancies.

Community Housing Aotearoa chief executive Scott Figenshow told Andrew Dickens the area wasn't properly funded in this year's budget.

"The Sustaining Tenancies wasn't properly funded in May. We read this announcement as fixing part of the May Budget announcement that weren't really complete."

He says they need to see a lot of other pieces come together.

"We'd really like to see this sitting alongside an announcement of additional income related rent subsidies, so additional direct capital investment and permanent affordable housing."

The funding also expands the Sustaining Tenancies programme which ensures people get practical support to stay in their homes.

Figenshow says it's essential there's a focus on preventing homelessness.

"We need to see sustainability continue, it needs to be permanent and ongoing and not subject to the vagaries of any one budget year. I'm not sure this announcement did that."