Nearly 3000 Victorian households apply for social housing in three months

Requests to be placed in social housing have surged by almost 3000 applications in three months.

The figures come as the Victorian government has been accused of reworking the way it reports data to obscure the full extent of the state’s housing crisis.

New housing register figures show there were 51,602 applications for social housing by the end of June, up from 48,620 in March. More than 9000 transfer applications from people already in social housing were recorded over the same period.

New housing register figures have shown a surge in the number of applications for social housing.Credit: Eamon Gallagher

When combined, the two figures represent a 5 per cent increase in three months in Victorians seeking help with keeping a roof over their head.

Affordable-housing advocates are concerned by the latest numbers, published last week, and say another sector shake-up is needed a year on from the government’s landmark housing statement.

Opposition housing spokesman Richard Riordan also accused the government of trying to make its housing figures look better than they are by separating transfer applications from the total number of social housing applications for the first time in more than a decade.

Riordan claimed the move, which he said occurred without any warning or public notice, amounted to hiding almost 10,000 households that had a “crushing, urgent need” to move out of their accommodation.

“Homeless Victorians need real homes, real choices and a government that can manage a housing crisis,” he said.

“No words can describe the cynicism at work in the Allan government that, under the cover of dark, tries to secretly remove almost 10,000 people from the official waiting list.”

A government spokeswoman insisted it was appropriate to count transfer applicants separately because they already safely lived in social housing.

Social housing tenants can request a transfer for various reasons, such as needing an extra bedroom for a growing family.

Housing Minister Harriet Shing said new housing register applications had decreased by 8 per cent in the 12 months to June.

“Around Australia, families are doing it tough for all sorts of reasons,” Shing said. “Here in Victoria, we are doing everything we can to build new housing and provide support to people in need, including the most vulnerable people in our communities.”

September marks a year since then-premier Daniel Andrews unveiled his signature housing reforms. Among other things, Andrews set a target of building 800,000 homes over a decade and promised there would be more social and affordable housing through industry sweeteners and other policy levers.

Andrews’ successor, Jacinta Allan, has stuck with those pledges and last month held a housing summit to hear what else needed to be done to boost housing stock.

Premier Jacinta Allan and Housing Minister Harriet Shing at a public housing site in Hampton East in July.Credit: Eddie Jim

Jason Perdriau, the Community Housing Industry Association Victoria’s acting chief executive, said the latest figures showed the government needed to seriously reconsider an affordable housing contribution scheme.

“We need a long-term strategy for social housing that will allow Victoria to build at least 6000 new social homes every year for the next 10 years,” he said.

“This growth should also be supported by introducing a mandatory affordable housing contribution scheme, where all new developments contribute to delivering the social and affordable housing Victoria needs.”

Victoria has previously flagged a social and affordable housing contribution – effectively a tax to fund social housing – but abandoned the policy after a backlash from property developers.

Public housing is owned and managed by the government, while community housing is managed but not always owned by not-for-profit organisations. In both cases, tenants pay below-market rent. Social or affordable housing is the umbrella term that applies to both models.

The Greens’ public and affordable housing spokeswoman, Samantha Ratnam, said Labor should push for 100,000 of its desired 800,000 new houses by 2033 to be public homes.

“Labor’s plan is to demolish and privatise the public housing that we do have. That is only to make the housing crisis worse,” Ratnam said.

The Greens have for the past year campaigned against the government’s plan to knock down and rebuild Melbourne’s 44 public housing towers.

Last month, The Age confirmed the government’s 2020 promise to build 12,000 social and affordable homes over four years is three years behind schedule.

In March, this masthead also revealed that more than $50 million worth of government land that could have been used to bolster Victoria’s social housing stock by 800 homes had instead been sold.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.