Question details
Question on Notice
With reference to wait times on social and affordable housing in Traralgon, Morwell, Moe and Churchill:
(1) What are the current wait times for social and affordable housing for one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom dwellings in Traralgon, Morwell, Moe and Churchill.
(2) What are the current wait times for priority housing for one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom dwellings in Traralgon, Morwell, Moe and Churchill.
(3) Does the Government have a target for wait times on social and affordable housing.
I thank the member for Morwell for his question on the social housing waitlist.
The Victorian Housing Register is where Victorians can apply for social housing. Applicants who meet the eligibility criteria for social housing are placed on the Victorian Housing Register according to their housing need.
Demand for social housing is driven by a complex interplay of factors, including housing affordability, overall economic conditions, and Commonwealth Government settings including income support levels. The Victorian Housing Register and waiting times for social housing are an expression of this demand. Waiting times are impacted by a range of factors, including:
- the delivery of new social housing.
- the rate of exits from existing social housing.
- the preferences of applicants, such as location or bedroom size preferences, compared with the profile of social housing supply.
- emergency responses, such as new priority applicants being added to the waitlist in response to floods and bushfires.
The 2024-25 Department Performance Statement outlines that the average waiting time for priority allocation to public housing is expected to be 20.1 months in 2023-24, an increase of two months from 2022-23. The average waiting time for a public housing allocation due to family violence is expected to be 20.6 months in 2023-24, which represents a three-month reduction in wait time for family violence victim survivors compared to 2022-23.
As the Victorian Housing Register allocates both long-term public and community housing, the waiting time measures for public housing will be retired in 2024-25 and replaced with new measures. The new measures will more accurately reflect waiting times for priority access and urgent need due to family violence, for households allocated to both long term public and community housing. The new measures will both have a target wait time of 10.5 months. Average waiting times reflect the average length of time households who have received a Priority Access allocation, including due to family violence, have waited.
Given the long wait times, we are using all levers within our control to house as many people as quickly as possible. Allocations to social housing increased by 37 percent between 2021-22 and 2023-24 (from 5,533 to 7,626 allocations).
The $1 billion Regional Housing Fund, the $5.3 billion Big Housing Build, $496.5 million Social Housing Accelerator, and the Housing Australia Future Fund will further increase social housing supply in Victoria, facilitating more allocations.
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Hon Harriet Shing MP
Minister for Housing