Social housing tipped to decline under housing targets, CHIA Vic says

New analysis by Victoria’s peak housing body shows that without a plan to fund and build social housing, the proportion of social homes is set to decline over the next decade if the Victorian Government meets its overall housing targets.

The analysis comes as Community Housing Industry Association Victoria today unveils its 10 year roadmap to fix the housing crisis, the result of 18 months of consultation with the state’s not-for-profit sector.

The roadmap outlines recommendations to grow social and affordable housing, including the federal government increasing the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) to $50 billion, and the Victorian government boosting the Social Housing Growth Fund (SHGF) with an extra $6 billion.

These funds and other measures outlined in CHIA Vic’s roadmap, are estimated to deliver 77,000 more social homes over the next decade compared with current commitments. This would lift the proportion of social housing to nearly 5 per cent of all housing in Victoria.

 

Year	Committed funds	Estimated number of social homes built in Victoria	Proportion of social housing stock at end of decade
Last decade 2014-2024	$5.3 billion Big Housing Build, Building New Homes to Fight Homelessness, Social Housing Growth Fund (pre-BHB rounds)	4,302	3.04%
Next decade Current plan 2025-2034	Remaining builds from Big Housing Build, $10 billion HAFF, Regional Housing Fund	12,057	2.71%
Next decade CHIA Vic plan 2025-2034	Remaining builds from Big Housing Build, $50 billion HAFF, $6 billion SHGF, Affordable Housing Contribution Scheme at rate of 5.5%	89,083	4.77%

CHIA Vic chief executive Sarah Toohey said the sector’s roadmap is vital to help build Victoria out of the housing crisis.

“The housing crisis is dire and the only way out of it is for governments to inject serious money and resources into building more of the homes that are guaranteed to be affordable for the people who need them most,” Ms Toohey said. 

“Victoria has the lowest proportion of social housing out of all Australia’s states and territories. If the Victorian Government reaches its housing targets of 800,000 homes over the next decade, the proportion of social housing will slip even further behind unless this includes meaningful social housing targets and investment. 

“This month marks four years since the Big Housing Build was announced. With 10,000 homes under construction or complete, that record funding boost is nearing its end. 

“Having shown it can deliver the historic Big Housing Build, the state government must now turn the funding tap back on with a $6 billion stream into the Social Housing Growth Fund, so that it can flow into more homes over the next decade. The federal government must build on its investments by lifting the HAFF investment to $50 billion to deliver homes over the next ten years. Together, these investments combined with an Affordable Housing Contribution Scheme could help deliver 89,000 social homes for Victorians in just ten years. 

“Victoria is at a crossroads. New investments by the state and federal governments have started to lift Victoria’s social housing numbers out of the abyss, but without bold action and dedicated long-term funding from governments we will slip back down. With the right funding settings in place, community housing can do much more to shift the dial on the housing crisis and build a future where every Victorian has access to decent, affordable housing.”

CHIA Vic’s 10 year roadmap recommendations include: