Council to Homeless Persons (CHP) welcomes the Victorian Government's decision to answer its urgent calls for vital services to continue.
The decision not to end frontline services provides a lifeline for many vulnerable Victorians but CHP warns the state budget falls short of the ambition needed to tackle Victoria's escalating housing crisis.
The 2025/26 budget, released on Tuesday, confirmed funding for 19 critical programs would continue. This includes support for Wathaurong and Ngwala Aboriginal Access points.
Despite Infrastructure Victoria and a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry backing a call for 60,000 new social housing dwellings over 10 years, the budget has not made new commitments to build more homes.
"The Victorian Government has recognised the need to continue funding critical homelessness services, which deliver enormous benefits for some of the state's most vulnerable people," Council to Homeless Persons CEO Deborah Di Natale said.
"That includes the Rough Sleeper Action Plan – a vital service supporting rough sleepers and connecting them to homelessness organisations.
"However, given the scale of the growth of the housing crisis engulfing the state, there's so much more we need to do, and standing still is deepening the crisis.
"Victoria is already at the bottom of the national social housing rankings and without any new commitments in this budget we're risking a crisis evolving into catastrophe.
"The lack of growth in front line services, such as assertive outreach programs, will particularly hurt regional areas that have been asking for help.
"Victoria is already at the bottom of the national social housing rankings and without any new commitments in this budget we're risking a crisis evolving into catastrophe.
''For a government investing in community safety, and tackling the mental health crisis across our communities, the need to reflect this in tackling the root causes of the homelessness has never been greater.
"With tens of thousands of people sleeping in cars, streets and other unsafe conditions every single night, we need to drastically boost social housing through state government investment in 6000 new dwellings each year for a decade.
"Our world-class Housing First programs must be expanded after being scaled back in recent years so long-term rough sleepers get the support they need.
"A proper long-term investment in housing and homelessness is critical if we want to start fixing the crisis Victoria is in."
Fast facts:
102,000 people sought assistance from homelessness services in Victoria in 2023/24 (up 4 per cent from the previous year)
60,000 of them (58 per cent ) were women
13,000 were working Victorians (up 23 per cent in five years)
One third of people seeking homelessness assistance in Australia are in Victoria, but we have the lowest proportion of social housing in the country (2.9 per cent)
