Wednesday, 9 September 2026

 Nick STAIKOS (Bentleigh – Minister for Housing, Building and Precincts, Minister for Homelessness, Minister for Seniors) (14:20): Human dignity starts with having a roof over your head, and that is exactly why I was pleased today to announce the Carroll Labor government’s six-point plan to address rough sleeping and homelessness. Our government will establish by-name lists throughout the state so that we can find out who the rough sleepers are and where they are and tailor services to ensure that we are meeting each individual’s needs. We will increase the number of assertive outreach teams from eight to 18, covering the whole of Victoria. These teams will gain the trust of rough sleepers and get them housed. We will appoint a team of complex care coordinators to make sure that rough sleepers get the specialist support that they need. We will build more supported housing and create more accommodation for young people who are homeless, and we will prevent returns to homelessness with expanded social housing tenancy supports.

Every rough sleeper is a human being, and our plan is about seeing each individual rough sleeper, addressing their complex needs and case-managing them into housing. What we have announced today, combined with the more than 15,000 new social homes that we are building, will ensure that homelessness in our state becomes rare and brief. The Mornington Peninsula has the largest number of rough sleepers outside of the CBD. The Mornington Peninsula also has a large volume of properties listed on short-stay platforms. There is nothing wrong with this, but it does contribute to a lack of affordable housing. That is why Victoria has a short-stay levy, the proceeds of which are invested in more social housing, and it is from the levy proceeds that we will build supported housing on the Mornington Peninsula and house rough sleepers. This is the levy that those opposite have vowed to abolish – part of their $40 billion black hole. That is the choice in November: Labor putting roofs over the heads of Victorians and the Liberals bending to One Nation.