Commonwealth Games: Fears hope for permanent social housing will not come true

Tender documents have revealed an athletes’ village in the regional Victorian city of Ballarat will be ‘relocatable’.

Kardinia Park will host the closing ceremony. Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games

There are concerns the $2.6bn 2026 Commonwealth Games may not leave a “lasting legacy” of permanent social housing in at least one regional Victorian location as promised.

Last week, published tender documents revealed the athletes village to be built at the former saleyards in Ballarat – one of four locations where the Games will be held across regional Victoria – will be temporary.

“The proposed development will involve the construction of the Commonwealth Games athletes village that will potentially comprise a mixture of low- to medium-density temporary residential dwellings,” one document relating to Ballarat read.

“There is also the potential for the athletes village accommodation to become permanent residential accommodation.”

A project brief says the village at Ballarat will “predominantly feature relocatable-type housing”, while Bendigo, Geelong and Gippsland are set have built a mixture of townhouses and possibly apartments.

It compared with a statement released by former Ballarat mayor Daniel Maloney in July last year, in which he welcomed the news and said the state government’s investment in infrastructure is an “opportunity” to fast-track work “to support our growing city that might otherwise have taken five, 10 or 20 years to be funded and built”.

The release went on to say the athletes village would house up to 2000 competitors, which could “create a legacy of social and affordable housing options”.

“When considering the local rental vacancy rate is 1.4 per cent, and about 2500 people are waiting for social housing, this investment can help address an issue of real need in the Ballarat community,” it read.

Tender documents have also revealed there is low-level contamination in some areas of the proposed village site at La Trobe Street – about 130km west of Melbourne.

Ballarat Mayor Des Hudson said he hoped the “prime site” could be used in the future for long-term housing.

“There are several positives to arise from the Commonwealth Games athletes village being located at the site of the former saleyards,” he said.

“Although it would be a disappointing outcome if there was not to be any permanent infrastructure at the site, it would allow for proper planning to take place to ensure the best possible long-term legacy in the area.

“The work the state government is undertaking in terms of remediation has advanced the future of the site dramatically, meaning any future works to develop the area can proceed years earlier than would have been possible otherwise.”

Beverley McArthur, the opposition MP for the Western Victoria region, said on Friday the tender documents confirmed the “legacy” of Ballarat’s Games athletes villages will be temporary structures that “will be taken away”. “The athletes village is a contaminated mud hole that sits within an industrial buffer zone,” she said.

A government spokesman said Games villages will have social and affordable housing, “including relocatable homes that will be able to be distributed around Victoria to areas in need”. “We’re on track and … in the market for contractors to build all four Commonwealth Games villages to host thousands of athletes and officials during Victoria 2026,” he said.

It comes as Victoria hurtles towards a net debt of $171bn by 2026-27 and after the federal government refused to contribute any funding to the Games, despite promising Queensland $3.4bn for the 2032 Olympics.