Multiple critical homelessness programs secured following indexation confirmation
Council to Homeless Persons has welcomed confirmation from Homes Victoria that 18 homelessness programs renewed in the State Government’s May budget will receive full indexation.
This confirmation will ensure funding for these life-changing programs will keep pace with CPI and wage increases.
Without full indexation, these programs would have suffered cuts, affecting frontline homelessness services.
“At a time when we are experiencing a homelessness emergency, we need Victoria’s programs to be going forwards, not backwards. I’d like to thank the Housing Minister, Harriet Shing, for her work in securing this indexation which is so critical for the sector,” Council to Homeless Persons CEO Deborah Di Natale said.
“Homelessness services and their staff are working tirelessly to meet growing demand, as cost-of-living and rising rents and house prices push more people into vulnerable situations. This indexation gives vital security to these providers and homelessness practitioners who are supporting Victorians in need.
“Council to Homeless Persons is committed to continuing to work with the Victorian Government to secure long-term solutions to the worsening homelessness crisis.”
Fast Facts:
-
102,000 people sought assistance from homelessness services in Victoria in 2023/24 (up 4 per cent from the previous year)
-
60,000 of them (58 per cent) were women
-
13,000 were working Victorians (up 23 per cent in five years)
-
Family violence was the the number 1 reason given for seeking assistance from homelessness services in Victoria in 2023/24
-
One third of people seeking homelessness assistance in Australia are in Victoria, but we have the lowest proportion of social housing in the country (2.9 per cent). The national average is 3.9 per cent.
-
Infrastructure Victoria’s number one recommendation in its report “Victoria’s draft 30-year infrastructure strategy” (released March 2025) is that the Victorian Government fund a program to build 4,000 new social homes per year for the next 15 years.
Media contact: Kathleen Ferguson - 0421 522 080.
