The areas of Victoria suffering most from housing stress have been revealed in a landmark report by the Community Housing Industry Association.
This means they are either experiencing homelessness, living in overcrowded homes or spending over 30 per cent of their income on rent.
In Victoria, the worst affected area is Melbourne's west where 6.9 per cent, or more than 20,000 households, are not appropriately housed.
Melbourne's north west is second with 6.7 per cent, followed by the south east at 6.6 per cent.
Ballarat and Shepparton have the highest proportion of unmet need in regional Victoria at around 6 per cent, according to the report titled 'Quantifying Australia's unmet housing need'.
CHIA Victoria acting CEO Jess Pomeroy said the report highlights the urgent need for more social housing in Victoria.
"The inner, west, and south east parts of Melbourne are among the top ten areas in Australia with the highest number of households facing unmet need," she said.
"Victoria has the lowest proportion of social housing in the country. We urgently need governments to provide a clear, long-term funding pipeline for social and affordable housing beyond the Big Housing Build.
"The Victorian Government can help achieve this by spending $6 billion on 20,000 social homes over the next decade.
"It can also leave a 2026 Commonwealth Games legacy by working with not-for-profit community housing organisations to ensure the athletes' villages are fit for long-term social and affordable housing."
CHIA CEO Wendy Hayhurst said the report highlighted the importance of a long term national housing strategy with clear targets to address the housing need right across Australia.
"There are currently 640,000 Australian households whose housing needs are not being met, and this figure is projected to increase to 940,000 by 2041," she said.
"The Commonwealth has laid important foundations for expanding social and affordable housing and it is reassuring to see them seriously grapple with this challenge. However we will need to muster additional investment from all levels of Government and superannuation funds to meet this challenge.
"It is hard to think of a higher priority than giving all Australians a stable and secure home."
Victoria worst affected areas (Statistical Area 4) |
Percentage of households facing unmet need |
Number of households facing unmet need |
1. West Melbourne |
6.9% |
20,200 |
2. North West Melbourne |
6.7% |
9,900 |
3. South East Melbourne |
6.6% |
19,200 |
4. Ballarat / Mornington Peninsula (equal fourth) |
6.4% |
4,600 / 7,900 |
6. Shepparton |
6% |
3,300 |
To view the interactive map with electorate and LGA breakdowns, click here
