Collaboration the key to opening regional housing doors
27 November 2025 Read the report
Population growth in regional Victoria is outpacing housing supply, and a parliamentary committee is calling for a collaborative approach to boost residential construction.
On 19 November 2025, the Legislative Assembly Environment and Planning Committee tabled its report on the supply of homes in regional Victoria.
‘Regional Victoria is growing, vibrant and full of opportunity, and we must ensure that housing supply keeps pace with this momentum,’ Committee Chair Juliana Addison said.
‘Throughout our inquiry we heard how our regional communities are changing. The number of older Victorians is increasing and there are more single-person and couple households,’ she said.
‘Greater competition and not enough supply, particularly for smaller homes close to amenities, is driving up rents and property prices in some communities.’
The Real Estate Institute of Victoria said regional communities are dominated by larger family homes and emphasised the need for more one- and two-bedroom dwellings to boost affordable housing supply.
‘While there is broad support for detached housing … townhouses and low-rise apartments are also considered cost-effective, desirable options, especially in well-serviced locations,’ it said.
Wedderburn Lions Club Aged Care Subcommittee member Ric Raftis said the lack of housing diversity is having a major impact on older residents in regional communities.
A lack of smaller homes means many residents must move away from their community to downsize to smaller, easier to maintain homes.
‘When people have to leave the town because they can no longer look after themselves … they lose their community, they lose their friends, they lose all connection,’ he said.
The Committee made 12 findings and 34 recommendations in its report aimed at increasing the volume and diversity of homes built in regional communities.
Recommendations include allowing more compact housing around activity and transport hubs in regional cities and making affordable housing mandatory in residential developments.
The Committee also called for sustained and targeted funding for social housing, greater investment in rural and regional infrastructure, and regional planning taskforces to drive housing solutions.
‘The Victorian Government should partner with local governments, developers and the community housing sector to deliver on our recommendations,’ Deputy Chair Martin Cameron said.
East Gippsland Shire Council Senior Planning Adviser Chris Wightman said collaboration must extend to agency partners and the development industry.
‘This ensures that we can get the right types of houses in the right locations in a timely manner and with an appropriate level of development infrastructure,’ he said.
The Committee heard that those most vulnerable in regional communities were disproportionately feeling the impacts of insufficient housing supply.
The first recommendation of the report asked the Victorian Government to set new targets for social housing that are aimed at youth, victim survivors of family violence, older residents and Victorians living with mental illness or disability.
‘Without significant and structural change to the housing market to support access to safe and affordable housing … victim survivors of family violence will continue to experience entrenched disadvantage,’ Safe and Equal told the inquiry.
‘The role of public and community housing cannot be overlooked, as for many victim survivors and their families this type of housing will be the only type of housing that is financially viable in the long term.’
The Committee also found that Aboriginal Victorians face additional barriers to accessing secure housing. It recommended aligning social housing investment with the implementation of Mana-na woorn-tyeen maar-takoort, a First Nations led housing and homelessness framework.
‘At the heart of our recommendations is our support for all Victorians to access affordable housing that is secure and meets their needs, no matter their circumstances,’ Ms Addison said.
The report is available on the Committee’s website.