Election pledges will make a difference for people experiencing homelessness
08.10.26
Victoria’s peak homelessness body has welcomed election commitments from both sides of politics, with the Liberal-National Opposition pledging a Victorian Homelessness Strategy and Premier Ben Carroll promising four-year funding agreements for community services organisations. Shadow Minister for Housing and Building David Southwick made the strategy commitment in a video alongside Council to Homeless Persons (CHP) CEO Deborah Di Natale. At the VCOSS Community Services Summit, Mr Southwick also committed a Coalition Government to audit public housing homes currently offline with a view to prioritising repairs wherever viable. In July 2025, Homes Victoria confirmed 1,793 public housing properties were offline awaiting repair. CHP’s Election Priorities Guide calls for a Public Housing Repair Blitz to make them available again. Ms Di Natale said a dedicated strategy would give Victoria a long-overdue plan to bring homelessness down. “We welcome the commitment to a Victorian Homelessness Strategy. Our homelessness system is dealing with a level of crisis it was not designed for. The fragmented, short-term fixes our frontline workers have been relying on are not sufficient to provide Victorians with the support they need. Victoria needs a modern, all-of-government plan to end this modern problem,” she said. “With more than 40,000 households on the priority waitlist, every public home sitting empty for want of repairs is a home someone desperately needs. An audit is a welcome first step, and getting those properties fixed and people living in them must happen as soon as possible.” At the same summit, Premier Ben Carroll committed a re-elected Labor Government would move community services organisations from one-year to four-year funding agreements. “Four-year funding is something the whole community sector has been calling for, and we welcome the Premier’s commitment,” Ms Di Natale said. “It gives organisations vital certainty, lets them plan properly and helps them hold on to experienced staff, which protects the knowledge and relationships our services are built on. “All of that means better outcomes for the Victorians accessing homelessness services.” Homelessness Minister Nick Staikos, with CHP’s assistance, will host two consultation sessions with people with lived experience of homelessness and workers from the sector to inform the government’s priorities. “The Minister should be commended for listening to people with first-hand experience and using that to inform what we hope are further commitments,” Ms Di Natale said. Mr Southwick also announced a Coalition Government would pause the public towers redevelopment to review how many of the towers could be repaired rather than demolished. CHP’s election platform calls for a significant increase in the social housing uplift from the redevelopment, with the finished towers to offer equal amounts of public and community housing to affordable and market housing. CHP also welcomed the Coalition’s “mental health reset” announcement, which will review progress towards implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System “This is an excellent opportunity to ensure the Royal Commission’s recommendation for 500 medium-term housing places for young people experiencing mental illness and homelessness becomes a major priority after five years of no action,” Ms Di Natale said. Contact: Matt Coughlan 0400 561 480 / matt@hortonadvisory.com.au |