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Social and Affordable Housing

The Victorian Government’s $5.3 billion Big Housing Build to construct and create 12,000 new social and affordable housing dwellings over the next four years has been welcomed by the MAV and Victorian councils.

The Big Housing Build fills a long-standing policy and funding vacuum and provides an important stimulus for Victoria’s post-COVID social and economic recovery. However, within this large-scale and rapid infrastructure build lies a range of complex planning and implementation issues.

Social and Affordable Housing Compact

In November 2020 the Victorian Government called for a new partnership signified by the development of a Social and Affordable Housing Compact. The Compact is a unique opportunity to establish a partnership with the state government to address long standing housing issues faced by local governments.

The scope of the intended Compact is key and needs to reflect the broad range of issues faced by councils and engage the broad range of state government agencies that influence social and affordable housing.

As a first step towards development of a Compact, and while we await the release of the State Ten Year Social and Affordable Housing Strategy, MAV developed a draft Victorian Local Government Position Statement on Social and Affordable Housing. It provides councils an opportunity to adopt a shared local government position and establishes clear parameters for the ingredients we would like to see included in the Compact.

Councils are encouraged to adopt the statement either in full, or as a guide to development of a local or regional policy. As it is possible the Victorian Government’s 10-year affordable housing strategy is likely to be released soon, the MAV Board will be considering the draft position statement again at its May meeting. Your feedback prior to that will be appreciated.

If you would like to discuss the statement, or arrange a presentation to your council about the statement, Compact and the Big Housing Build, please contact John Smith, Social and Affordable Housing Advisor at johns@mav.asn.au.

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