Julie Mulhauser
The essential importance of housing as the foundation for a good life was highlighted in a recent statement by the Chief Executive of the Victorian Council of Social Services, Juanita Pope. She said, ‘Strong, sustained investment in growing public housing and community housing should be the number one infrastructure priority for this state. It’s the key to solving our housing crisis and other big societal challenges’.
Victoria has the lowest share of public and community (social) housing in Australia. As a result of decades of underinvestment by governments, Victoria has just 3.1% share of households compared to a national average of 4.5%.
There are currently around 54,000 households on the waiting list for public and community housing. In 2023-24, the average wait for priority housing (households fleeing domestic violence, at risk of homelessness or homeless) was 20 months.
A recent report by SGS Planning & Economics found that the Victorian government needs to build 7,990 new pubic and community homes every year the next 10 years just to catch up with the rest of the nation. The Big Housing Build, commenced in 2020, will eventually provide only 12,000 public and community homes.
Infrastructure Victoria has recommended that Victorian governments build new public and community homes. They emphasise that the most cost-effective way to build these new public and community homes is to use existing government-owned land.
These points were taken up by several submitters to the Legislative Assembly Select Committee Inquiry into Planning Provisions Amendments in May 2025. Andrew Butt from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute saw the approach taken to activity centres and precincts as a ’missed opportunity to address housing affordability in Victoria’.
Michael Fotheringham of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute said, ‘I think it is worth noting that housing affordability is not going to be fixed by one measure or even one set of measures…. We need to be doing a whole lot of things, and inclusionary zoning could easily be in that mix.’
The Planning Institute of Australia, Victoria Division (PIA) submission stated ‘…of key concern to PIA is the absence in the reforms of any mandated requirement for the provision of Social and Affordable homes – meaning that development facilitated by these amendments is likely to remain out of reach for those who need it most’.
In its report, the Legislative Assembly Select Committee noted that, ‘Little convincing evidence was advanced to the Inquiry that the State Government’s announced planning changes will guarantee additional housing, and no substantive evidence was advanced that the Government’s plan would with certainty provide additional affordable housing’.
Recent planning scheme amendments assume that increasing supply will reduce house prices to rent or purchase. The Select Committee received considerable evidence that there was no confidence that the amendments would increase supply – let alone supply of homes affordable to very low- and low-income households.
The Select Committee report contains a number of recommendations that could contribute to solving Victoria’s housing crisis. The majority report recommended the publication of modelling of the impact of planning scheme amendments to demonstrate how the they will impact on housing supply and affordability.
The Greens minority report recommended the implementation of mandatory inclusionary zoning provisions with appropriate settings to deliver a substantial increase in affordable and public housing for developments affected by planning scheme amendments. It also recommended the establishment of a public builder to facilitate the delivery of more public and affordable housing.