About the Project

Bass Coast is experiencing a crisis in housing affordability and availability. Homelessness in our community is also rising, with access to homelessness services difficult due to the significant distances that people need to travel to access them.

To address these issues, Council requires:

• Investment in increased social, affordable and key worker housing in Bass Coast Shire
• Urgent funding for specialist, emergency and transitional accommodation, including for people experiencing family violence.
• Unlocking of key strategic sites to enable master planning that would progress delivery of catalytic affordable housing and place making projects.
• Increased funding for the homelessness service system, including ongoing funding for assertive outreach in Bass Coast and Gippsland.

Background
Our residents experience both mortgage and rental stress at rates higher than the Gippsland and Regional Victoria average, with more than a third of renters in stress. The affordability crisis is starkly illustrated by the fact that, in the 12 months to June 2023, only 1.2% of all housing sold was affordable to low-income households, compared to almost 10% in June 2020. There are currently 672 households in our shire with an unmet need for affordable housing, and over 1,100 people on the Victorian Housing Register waitlist seeking housing in Bass Coast. Council’s Affordable Housing Strategy provides a platform for partnerships with State and Federal Government to boost supply of social and affordable housing.

Council and community stakeholders call for urgent and prioritised investment in Bass Coast to deliver social, affordable and key worker housing through remaining Minimum Investment Guarantee funding, The Regional Housing Fund, The Housing Australia Future Fund, The Regional Worker Accommodation Fund and other funding opportunities.

Council calls for an urgent uplift in specialist accommodation in Bass Coast and the Gippsland region, including specialist family violence accommodation and services, emergency and transitional accommodation, and youth foyer models.

More than 570 people accessed specialist homelessness services over 2022-2023, many needing to travel significant distances to receive service. Council, in partnership with service providers and community, calls for increased homelessness service system funding in Bass Coast and Gippsland, including immediate and ongoing investment in assertive outreach funding in Bass Coast and Gippsland, with the establishment of a Gippsland Advance to Zero project.