Thursday, 15 August 2019

In reply to  Dr RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (19 December 2018)

Mr WYNNE (Richmond—Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs):

Since March 2016, the Victorian Government has committed over $1 billion in additional housing and homelessness support to prevent homelessness, increase the supply of housing, and support people to maintain housing. This builds on the $2.1 billion in financial backing provided in the government’s housing strategy, Homes for Victorians, to deliver thousands of new social housing properties.

In January 2018, the government announced over $45 million in initiatives as part of Victoria’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Plan, to reduce the incidence of rough sleeping across Victoria. The initiatives are informed by extensive research and involves the government working closely with frontline agencies who are supporting people at risk of or experiencing homelessness.

The 2019-20 Victorian Budget includes $209 million to build 1,000 new public housing properties across Victoria over the next three years. The budget also includes an additional $50.4 million for homelessness services and $103.5 million in matched funding under the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement to provide funding certainty for homelessness agencies across the state

The Victorian Government is redeveloping old public housing estates in Melbourne and regional Victoria to better meet the needs of today’s tenants. In respect to redevelopments in the Northern Metropolitan Region, my department has recently contracted with MAB Corporation to assist with the delivery of new homes at sites in Northcote, Preston and North Melbourne. HousingFirst, a Registered Housing Association, has also been selected under a performance-based Management Services Agreement to provide property and tenancy management services on the sites.