A new report stemming from the Royal Commission into Family Violence has found that Victoria needs to add 1,700 new social housing dwellings per year for the next 20 years if it is to maintain current social housing levels.
Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence underlined the experience of our sector, of the shortage of affordable housing and its impact sometimes forcing women to return to a violent partner, or preventing them from leaving in the first place.
The Commission process has helped shift community conversations from ‘Why doesn’t she just leave?’ to ‘Where would she go?’, and has resulted in a number of key pieces of work to tackle the chronic shortage of affordable housing for people experiencing family violence. This includes Minister Martin Foley initiating the Family Violence Housing Assistance Implementation Taskforce, chaired by Jenny Smith, CEO of CHP .
A new report commissioned by the Taskforce has used predicted population growth to calculate how many more social housing properties are needed in the coming years.