Numbers at a makeshift homeless shelter near City Square have swollen, as more people set up camp there to avoid what they say is the authorities' crackdown on rough sleepers.

About 40 people have settled in at the busy meeting place, saying they will not move on until somebody gives them a place to go.

The protest camp was set up on Thursday, the day after the Herald Sun published a front page story about aggressive beggars picking fights with pedestrians in the central business district.

The protest leaders said this story sparked a crackdown on homeless people, which has left them facing eviction.