Calls for social housing at ditched Commonwealth athletes’ village

Geelong homelessness services are calling for more social housing to be built at the ditched Commonwealth Games athletes’ village site. HAVE YOUR SAY

BSW Homelessness Network outside the ditched Commonwealth Games athletes' village in Waurn Ponds.

A coalition of homelessness services is calling for an increase in social housing at the site that was set to host the Commonwealth Games athletes’ village.

Barwon and South West Homelessness Network co-ordinator Rebecca Callahan said had the 2026 Commonwealth Games gone ahead, 30 per cent of the Waurn Ponds athletes’ village was earmarked to be eventually used for much-needed social housing.

Before the games were canned, the site was to be home to 2500 athletes and officials during the 2026 Commonwealth Games prior to being transformed into publicly available accommodation, including 20 to 30 per cent social housing.

Earlier this year, Premier Jacinta Allan announced up to 400 new homes would still be built on the vacant Waurn Ponds site, including 72 social houses.

Premier Jacinta Allan. Picture: NewsWire/ David Crosling

Real Deal Geelong Alliance project officer Sally Fisher said the 72 houses now promised for the Commonwealth Games site were still “inadequate”.

“Geelong alone needs 7000 social homes, but the state government won’t even deliver that many social homes across the whole of Victoria,” Ms Fisher said.

“We’d like to see vacant sites like the Commonwealth Games site used for social housing.”

Last Wednesday the Barwon Homelessness Network placed 700 paper houses at the site for National Homelessness Week, which ended on Sunday.

The number, Ms Callahan said, reflected a portion of the requested priority homes listed on the Victorian Housing Register (VHR) in the Barwon region.

VHR priority access issocial housing for those who are homeless and receiving support, or those escaping or who have escaped family violence, anyone with support needs or a disability, and anyone who needs to move for health reasons.

There are currently about 6500 priority households requestedon the VHR in the Barwon region.

This location preference data aims to provide applicants’ location preferences of social housing across Victoria, rather than the number of VHR applications, with applicants about to select up to five waiting list areas for their location preferences.

Ms Callahan said beyond those needing priority housing, thousands more local residents were still in housing crisis.

She said the campaign was calling on every level or government to deliver an adequate alternative to the ditched Commonwealth Games athletes village was promised for social housing.

In June, Geelong Mayor Trent Sullivan described Geelong’s social housing shortage as “reaching crisis point”, with less than one per cent of rental properties in Geelong are now affordable for very low income households.

A Victorian Government spokeswoman said they were investing record amounts to increase the supply of social housing across the state, including Greater Geelong.

“Under the historic $5.3bn Big Housing Build, we are on track to deliver at least 12,000 new social and affordable homes to help house applicants from the Victorian Housing Register, with more than 9600 homes underway or complete across the state,” she said.

The spokeswoman said in addition to this, the $1bn Regional Housing Fund would deliver more than 1300 homes right across rural and regional Victoria.

“We have invested more than $200m in the Greater Geelong region through the Big Housing Build and other capital programs, with 563 homes either completed or underway.”

Of the Big Housing Build houses, 9,300 of these homes will be social housing, and the remaining 2,900 will be affordable and low rent homes, including 25 per cent in rural and regional Victoria.

Originally published as Calls for social housing at ditched Commonwealth athletes’ village