STAFF WRITERS
MORE than 2200 new applications for social housing across Victoria were made in just three months, according to new government data.
Homes Victoria’s latest figures show there was 63,803 applications waiting for public and community housing at the end of September 2024 – an increase of 2216 (3.6 per cent) in three months.
In the same period, the priority waitlist grew by 1235 to 36,039 applications, a 3.5 per cent jump.
Over six months, the number of applications has increased by 9.1 per cent, with 5344 more applications waiting for social housing or needing transfers.
Council to Homeless Persons has called for urgent investment in public and community housing in response to skyrocketing demand.
“Every day, more and more Victorians are being pushed into homelessness because the private rental market has failed and there isn’t enough social housing to provide a safety net,” Council to Homeless Persons Chief Executive, Deborah Di Natale said.
“Victoria already ranks last in the country on the proportion of social housing, and with demand increasing by over nine per cent in just six months, the situation is urgent.
“We need the Victorian government to commit to building at least 6000 public and community homes each year for a decade just to meet the current demand..
“Behind each of those applications is a real person or family who is being failed by our system, and needlessly forced to suffer. That’s especially true of the more than 36,000 priority applications, who include the most vulnerable Victorians in desperate need, such as women with children escaping family violence.
“The ever-widening gap between the need for social housing and the amount of homes available is the sharpest tip of Victoria’s housing crisis.
“We need urgent investment before it becomes a human catastrophe.”
Morwell MP and Minister for Housing, Harriet Shing said the state government’s Homes First program would help more than 500 households secure housing.
“More homes means more opportunity, but it’s also essential that vulnerable Victorians can get the support in other areas that they need to break the cycle of homelessness,” she said.
“The causes of homelessness are complex, but we know that wraparound support services make an enormous difference in achieving positive long-term outcomes in health, education and employment.”
The program is operating in Inner Gippsland, Brimbank-Melton, Hume-Merribek, Outer Eastern Melbourne, Goulburn, Ovens Murray, Loddon, and Wimmera South-West.
The state government is investing more than $197 million into frontline homelessness services in this year’s budget, building on more than $300 million invested into homelessness services every year – helping more than 100,000 Victorians.
The state government is also investing $6.3 billion through the Big Housing Build and Regional Housing Fund to deliver more than 13,300 social and affordable homes across Victoria – with 10,000 homes already complete or underway.
