Wednesday, 5 February 2025

Responses

Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Minister for Housing and Building, Minister for Development Victoria and Precincts) (18:55): There were 15 matters on the adjournment this evening and they will be referred variously to the ministers who have carriage of them.

A couple of matters came up under the housing portfolio. One was from Mrs McArthur. I will provide a response to her in writing given that she had to leave the chamber earlier than perhaps anticipated this evening.

Mrs Hermanns asked a question which was pretty wideranging in its scope. I want to touch on a couple of things that are relevant to the matters that she raised, in particular the mum who was at the end of a lease in a situation of great vulnerability and had concerns, having presented to Mrs Hermanns’s office, around housing and accommodation. The other was a student who needed immediate assistance and was not able to attend school for a variety of different reasons, including extreme vulnerability and disadvantage.

Mrs Hermanns, there have been a range of investments made across multiple budgets to address not only the shortage of supply but the delivery of services to address need. This is where again in this year’s budget we do have on top of the $300 million that has been allocated for homelessness services an additional $197 million. This is work that is going on. This is allocation of funding that is going toward addressing the sorts of issues that occur when people are homeless or at risk of homelessness. This includes early intervention and prevention, which is where, again, we do have significant investment into understanding those areas of need and responding to them.

Homelessness services in Victoria meet a really high demand for accommodation services, providing more accommodation than in fact any other jurisdiction – 35,090 clients were accommodated across the 2023–24 year. But there is always more work to do. As I responded to Mrs Tyrrell on a question today, one of the things that is so essential – and it seems simple but it is really important to continue to state in making sure that homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring – is housing stock. This is where, again, we are bringing additional stock online with that investment of $5.3 billion across the Big Housing Build, of which $1.25 billion is in regional Victoria, plus the additional $1 billion under the Regional Housing Fund and the partnerships that we have with the Commonwealth, including through the Housing Australia Future Fund, the Social Housing Growth Fund, the social housing accelerator program and other supports for delivery, including – and this is relevant perhaps, Mrs Hermanns, to the matters that you raised tonight – for women and children who are victim-survivors of family violence and for young people.

We know there are specific areas of vulnerability, which is also where the education youth foyers play a really important role, as do the efforts that are undertaken by organisations such as Kids Under Cover, and the Village 21 model is an incredibly important part of that work. Again, we know that in providing a response to areas of need it is also important to provide wraparound services to people who often have very, very complex needs.

That work does go on. We are determined to ensure that that commitment to providing access to services and to improving whole-of-life outcomes and opportunities, health and wellbeing for people in need is met and continues to be part of the work that we do. There is no finish line for homelessness and for rough sleeping. The work needs to go on and needs to be continued in perpetuity. It needs to be undertaken by all levels of government, and this is where those investments play such an important role.

But it is also about workforce development. There are a range of reports that indicate that support for the sector is of crucial importance. That is around recruitment, training, professional development and retention. These are the things that occupy the priority and time of the sector and of government. I am also grateful for the efforts of the sector within the Council to Homeless Persons and the work that they do. We have got entry points. We have got the approach to targets that are set and embedded in the housing allocation and targets, whether that is for family violence victims and survivors, whether that is for Aboriginal people, or whether that is about making sure that we are assisting people in particular areas of vulnerability to age in place, for example.

There is a lot in this space. If ever you do have particular matters that you wish to draw to my attention, as you have done in the past, I hope you will continue to do that so that issues can be addressed in a person-centred way based on the circumstances that are at play here. But finally, people will often have experiences, as you have indicated in your adjournment, relating to the end of a private rental arrangement that lead to situations of housing vulnerability. There are supports available, and this is where the amendments and changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, the creation of Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria and the streamlining processes in the housing statement are all intended to address the sort of disparity that you have raised in your adjournment here tonight. I hope that provides you with some context as the work goes on.

The PRESIDENT: The house stands adjourned.

House adjourned 7:00 pm.