Premier

Victoria’s Big Housing Build

24 November 2020

This year we've been reminded just how important home really is.

It’s why we’ll make sure more Victorians have the security and stability of a home, with our state's – and Australia’s – biggest ever investment in public and community housing.

The Victorian Budget 2020/21 will deliver a historic $5.3 billion Big Housing Build to construct more than 12,000 new homes throughout metro and regional Victoria, as well as supporting around 10,000 jobs, per year over the next four years, to supercharge Victoria’s economic recovery through the pandemic and beyond.

This package will boost our state’s social housing supply by 10 per cent in just four years – providing a stable foundation for thousands of Victorians to build their lives.

The investment will deliver 9,300 new social housing homes – including replacing 1,100 old public housing units. This investment will help Aboriginal Victorians, pensioners, Victorians with disability, family violence victims and single parent families find their feet.

Of these new homes, 2,000 will be for Victorians living with mental illness, reflecting our commitment to mental health and fixing a broken system.

A further 2,900 new affordable and low-cost homes will be built to help low-to-moderate income earners live closer to where they work and provide options for private rental.

The program will deliver secure, modern, and affordable homes throughout Victoria – with 25 per cent of funding to be allocated to regional Victoria.

The new homes will meet 7-star energy efficiency standards, making them more comfortable during summer and winter, and saving tenants on their power bills.

The unprecedented investment will boost Victoria’s economic recovery, generating an estimated $6.7 billion in economic activity and supporting a peak of more than 18,000 jobs – with 10 per cent of the work on major projects to be done by apprentices, cadets and trainees.

Hundreds of new jobs will be created for women, Aboriginal Victorians, people with disability, social housing tenants and people from diverse backgrounds through social procurement targets.

On top of the unprecedented Big Housing Build, the Budget will deliver $155 million to implement coronavirus preparation and prevention measures in public housing – this includes testing, cleaning, security, food and material aid, and community services for residents.

A further $11 million will fund extra support staff at hotels for the homeless, and the Pathway to Recovery project for residents at North Melbourne and Flemington will receive $7 million.

The project will help residents with training, employment, establishing and maintaining tenancies, establishing neighbourhood associations and a range of other support. It will be designed with residents, local government and housing sector partners.

There is also $6 million to offer enhanced services to get the most out of redeveloped refuges, including 24 hour intake, ensuring women, children and young people experiencing family violence get the support they need.

Once all services are operational, the funding will boost the number of households that can be accommodated in the redeveloped refuges by more than 40 per cent.

A new government agency, Homes Victoria, has been established to work across government, industry and the social housing sector to deliver this record housing growth and to manage existing public housing.

Combined with new housing from existing investments such as the Public Housing Renewal Program and Social Housing Growth Fund, construction of more than 15,800 new homes will begin over the next four years.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Housing Richard Wynne

“This unprecedented housing blitz will deliver new homes and jobs across Melbourne and regional Victoria.”

“We’re delivering the biggest investment in social housing Victoria has ever seen – we’re not just investing in bricks and mortar, but the lives of Victorians for decades to come.”

Reviewed 24 November 2020

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