Thousands of Victorians are living in draughty, poorly insulated rental properties that are freezing in winter and cost a fortune in energy bills just to keep at a healthy temperature.
It’s unfair. The good news is that right now the government is reviewing tenancy laws, so we have a once-in-a-decade opportunity to fix the problem.
Consumer Affairs Victoria has completed the consultation phase of its review of Victoria’s rental laws and is now making recommendations to government. We need to make sure the government hears the voice of renters and progressive landlords.
City of Melbourne Councillors are scheduled to vote on the proposed bylaws that will effectively ban camping on 25 July. Council to Homeless Persons (CHP) has launched a campaign that aims to shape the community conversation around homelessness and the proposed laws in the lead into this vote.
A message from Eastern Community Legal Centre (ECLC)
ECLC has been operating its Tenancy Advice and Advocacy Program since 2012, mainly funded by Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV).
Recently, CAV made significant changes to this program and will no longer be funding ECLC for this work and has allocated funding to another agency. ECLC is therefore regrettably closing its tenancy program from July 1, 2017. The exception is for Deakin University students who will continue to receive tenancy assistance through the Sort It partnership.
From July 1, all other private tenancy-related matters should be referred to:
Who are we?
The YHAG has been active in the Eastern Metropolitan Region (EMR) for a number of years and is now run under the umbrella of Creating Connections. Creating Connections consists of five agencies which offer a coordinated service system and enable homeless young people to achieve and sustain housing and be socially included. These agencies are Uniting Care Harrison, Wesley Mission Victoria, Salvocare Eastern, Family Access Network and Anchor Inc.
Beyond 18: The Longitudinal Study on Leaving Care is a long-term research project about the lives of young people in out-of-home care and their experiences of leaving care in Victoria. It is the first of its kind to be conducted in Victoria.
The purpose of the study is to inform government policy in supporting more effective transitions for young people from out-of-home care. In particular, it will aim to improve young people’s move towards interdependent relationships and eventual independence by:
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Providing insights into the critical success factors associated with transition from out-of-home care
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Proposing ways of enhancing out-of-home care
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Proposing improvements in the transition from care
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Proposing improvements post transition from care
Council to Homeless Persons (CHP) reaction to the Federal Budget
On Tuesday night the Treasurer handed down the much anticipated Federal Budget 2017-18.
As a sector, we are celebrating the Federal Government having maintained the existing levels of homelessness funding, and the increased certainty of that funding, but have expressed concern that the additional investment needed to cope with the demand crisis was missing.
Watch this video of Jenny Smith giving a Budget reaction on behalf of Homelessness Australia, and read the Homelessness Australia media release, and read on for deeper analysis of Budget papers.
What are the peak bodies saying. We hear from CHP, CHFV and VCOSS
Council to Homeless Persons (CHP)
The Council to Homeless persons has congratulated the Victorian Government on the significant investments in housing, homelessness and family violence announced in this year's State Budget. While many of the commitments outlined in the Budget had been announced previously, they are worth recognising a second time; in particular, the Government’s major housing centrepiece Homes for Victorians, which includes $1 billion commitment to a Social Housing Growth fund. The other big news in this year's budget was the $1.9 billion investment in family violence services. Given the insidious relationship between homelessness and family violence, this commitment is highly commended.
Message from CHP - Update 21 April 2017
The new Rooming House Operators Act comes into effect on 26 April, requiring all existing operators to be licensed by 24 August.
Those applying for a rooming house license must now satisfy a ‘fit and proper test’, including a criminal history check, a financial history check, and checks against various offences. Operators who opt to close their rooming house rather than apply for a license have been advised to issue an appropriate notice to vacate by 26 April.
The Gatwick Hotel has been for sale for a number of years. On 6 March, the current owners of the Gatwick Hotel announced their decision to close the Hotel. All current residents were advised of this by letter on 8 March 2017.
Following the announcement of the sale of the property, all residents have now been issued with Notices to Vacate within 60 days.
The owners have advised local services that they are no longer accepting any referrals. Can you please also advise relevant staff in your organisation of the Gatwick Hotel's closure. If there are other service providers in your network that make referrals to the Gatwick Hotel can you also pass on this advice to them as well.
A Message from Council to homeless persons (CHP)
On Monday, Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas released the affordable housing plan 'Homes for Victorians'. This includes several recent announcements, including the $1 billion fund to grow social housing announced last month, as well as new initiatives. The sections that will have most impact on homelessness include: