Wednesday, 3 December 2025

 Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (14:05): (2050) My question is to the Minister for Consumer Affairs. My constituent Aubrey recently received a rent increase of $217 per month, making their housing unaffordable. This has forced them to cut spending, skip meals and endure significant mental health impacts while they feel unable to raise maintenance issues for fear of retaliatory rent increases. This is not an isolated issue. While recent reforms allow VCAT to consider additional factors when assessing rent increases, they do not address the broader and fundamental problem. Victoria has no legal limit on rent hikes. Melbourne remains at record low affordability levels, and four in five renters have experienced rent hikes averaging 17 per cent over just two years. By contrast, the ACT, the only jurisdiction with legally capped rent increases, has recorded the strongest improvement in rental affordability nationwide. Minister, will the government follow this example and introduce rent increase caps in Victoria to protect renters like Aubrey?