Victoria’s housing crisis has worsened on nearly every key indicator one year since the state government’s housing statement, which set to tackle affordability by building 800,000 new homes and increasing renters rights.
The Council to Homeless Persons’ new Housing Insecurity Index shows:
- Annual rents rose 13.3% across the state, with a 14.6% increase in Melbourne, and 5.3% in regional areas.
- The public housing waiting list is now at 61,587.
- The number of people who received support from specialist homelessness services in Victoria increased from 30,510 in July 2017 to 32,496 in June 2024.
- The number of people accessing specialist homelessness services because of housing stress has been above 10,000 for every month since January 2023.
- Proportion of social housing in Victoria’s total housing stock is just 2.8% – the lowest in Australia.
CHP chief executive Deborah Di Natale says the index shows the state government must show more ambition:
Things have actually gotten worse for Victorians at the brink of homelessness since the government unveiled its Housing Statement last year.
She called on the government to commit to building at least 6,000 new public and community homes each year for a decade.
