New data from the Council to Homeless Persons’ highlights Victoria’s housing crisis has worsened in almost every key measure, revealing surging rents, social housing waitlist and thousands of people forced into homelessness and housing stress.
The Nationals’ Member for Shepparton, Kim O’Keeffe has described the latest data “not surprising”, and the Allan Labor Government has no answers for fixing the housing crisis they have created through higher taxes punishing property owners and renters as well as inaction.
“This latest data released by the Council to Homeless Persons’ further exposes the mess that Labor has created and the sad story that so many Victorians face when it comes to housing stress.
“The government have their priorities all wrong through blowing billons in cost blowouts, city centric spending and financial mismanagement”, Ms O’Keeffe said.
The Council to Homeless Persons’ 2025 Housing Insecurity Index reveals:
- Median rents have increased by 3.9% across Victoria in the past 12 months alone – with regional rents up 6%
- More than 60,000 Victorians are now on the social housing waitlist – up 7.4% in a year
- Over 13,000 people every month are seeking homelessness services due to family violence, and an additional 10,000 people each month are turning to homelessness services because of housing stress.
Ms O’Keeffe said the Shepparton Electorate is experiencing a housing crisis and has one of the highest rates of homelessness in regional Victoria.
“As a region alone, local services are reporting long waiting lists with more than 2,665 people on the public housing waiting lists. Of those 1,447 are priority status and this delay is potentially life changing, particularly for families with children, fleeing family violence, older residents, and people with a disability.
“There are an estimated 436 individuals on any given night that are without a permanent home or roof over their head. Around 162 are aged 19 or younger, further highlighting the crisis of youth homelessness our region is dealing with.”
Since coming to office in 2014, Labor has introduced 30 new or increased taxes targeting property owners and renters.
“Housing is a basic human right, but too many people across our region are being left behind. Without urgent investment in public housing, we risk seeing even greater levels of homelessness and hardship.
“This is just a further example that the Allan Labor Government can’t manage housing, can’t manage money and its regional Victorians who are left paying the price.”