Thursday, 4 June 2026

 Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (04:39): (2570) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Housing and Building, and the action I seek is for the minister to clearly demonstrate the measures the government will take to expand crisis accommodation, increase access to long-term social and affordable housing and strengthen homelessness prevention services across the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region. Our communities and services are doing everything they can, but the scale and urgency of the need requires a coordinated and strengthened government response.

Homelessness across the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region has reached a level that local services describe as unprecedented. Frontline organisations, councils and outreach workers are reporting sustained increases in demand for crisis accommodation, case management and long-term housing support. This week, just two doors down from my office, next to the Dandenong KFC, a handmade shantytown has just sprung up, with a man initiating it by building his shelter out of rubbish, shade cloth and tin panels – shame. These are the sort of makeshift homes we find in Third World slums, and I myself have visited many countries where I have seen these makeshift homes. Specialist homelessness services from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show that more than 110,000 Victorians sought assistance for homeless issues in recent years, which is the highest number of any state. Victoria also has the highest rate of service use in Australia, with around 17 clients per 1000 people accessing support. Family violence remains the leading driver, accounting for around 40 per cent of all presentations.

In the south-east the pressures are particularly acute. Wayss, the major provider for homeless people in my region, reports a 20 to 25 per cent increase in demand over the past two years, driven by rental stress, family violence and the rising cost of living. Frankston has recorded consistent rough-sleeping clusters around the CBD and foreshore, with local council identifying 80 to 120 people sleeping rough at various points over the past year. In Greater Dandenong outreach teams continue to support people sleeping around the station and shopping precincts, activity centres and industrial areas and of course now up the road from my office in the emerging shantytown. The Victorian housing register lists around 68,000 households waiting for social housing, including more than 30,000 priority applicants, with strong demand across growth areas such as Melbourne’s south-east corridor. Local providers are also reporting a sharp rise in older women, young people and people sleeping in cars – groups who were previously less visible in homelessness statistics. Schools in the area are seeing more students experiencing housing instability, and health services are dealing with the consequences of chronic stress, unsafe living conditions and disrupted access to care.