Currently, in April 2025, approximately 59 people are experiencing homelessness in our City, with 34 of these people actively rough sleeping.

These figures are taken from the Port Phillip Zero Network By Names List, and includes people who are rough sleeping, people who are couch surfing and people in temporary living arrangements.

The latest housing statistics for our City:

• In 2021, 44% of households in the City of Port Phillip were purchasing or fully owned their home, 44.0% were renting privately, and 4.7% were in social housing (ABS Census).

• Only 0.6% of new leased dwellings in our City in the year to June 2024 were affordable for low-income households.

• Only 0.3% of all available 1-bedroom dwellings in our City were classified as affordable in March 2024. Rental affordability refers to the ability of a household to afford housing costs (rent) while still being able to meet other essential needs (spending no more than 30% of their gross income on rent).

• The percentage of social housing stock in the City of Port Phillip has shown a gradual decline over time. In 1996, 8% of the housing stock in our City was social housing. By 2022/23, this had dropped to 6.4%. As of June 2024, there are 4,238 social housing dwellings in Port Phillip.

Commonwealth and State Governments are mostly responsible for policy and support across homelessness and affordable housing, however a range of other organisations, including local government, can and do play a role.

Local Government

Local government is responsible for land use planning and for developing a health and wellbeing plan. Investment in addressing homelessness and affordable housing beyond this is a service that some Councils choose to make to respond to local community need in line with the Local Government Act Victoria 2020.

Victorian Government

The Victorian Government builds, maintains and tenants social housing through Homes Victoria, and funds and regulates community housing providers. It provides funding to a range of services to support people experiencing homelessness.

The Victorian Government also controls the planning scheme and sets policy and initiatives through the Planning and Environment Act 1987.

Commonwealth Government

The Commonwealth Government provides funding for housing and homelessness programs, income support and rental assistance. Housing Australia provides low-cost finance to not-for-profit housing providers for social and affordable housing. It also provides some finance for infrastructure and several schemes to help first home buyers. The NDIS provides some funding for Specialist Disability Accommodation.

To date, Council has had a role in the following:

• Directly contributing cash and land for new projects that address homelessness.

• Facilitating & brokering community housing projects.

• Advocating to deliver planning controls in Fishermans Bend to meet affordable and social housing requirements.

• Allocation rights to vacancies in 437 units, in five housing properties in St Kilda, Port Melbourne and Albert Park for older persons needing public housing.

• Providing information for people seeking how to access social housing and their rights while living in social housing.

• Coordinating partnerships in Port Phillip Zero, to provide a coordinated local service response to persons experiencing homelessness in the City of Port Phillip.

• Providing funding for one full time worker in Launch Housing’s Rough Sleepers Initiative.

• Providing information for people seeking access to local homelessness services.

Council currently plays these roles in homelessness support in the City of Port Phillip:

• Facilitating Port Phillip Zero, a partnership between Council, local organisations and the community, working together to find opportunities to create new housing and reduce rough sleeping.

• Delivering the sponsorship program for older residents to access public housing through housing information and coordination.

Council currently plays these roles in growing affordable housing in the City of Port Phillip:

• Provider of cash or land contributions to community housing projects, and a supported social housing project.

• Advocate for increasing social housing.

• Strategic partner (project supporter and advocate).

You can read more about these roles in the Fact Sheet available on the project page.

Council currently plays these roles in supporting renters in the City of Port Phillip:

• Advocating to the State Government for strategies to improve outcomes for tenants’ security, and equitability and conditions that will generate investment in rental supply and affordability.

• Advocating to the State Government to consider the need to address through their programs the higher local private rental costs in Port Phillip when compared to the metropolitan average.

• Advocating to Consumer Affairs Victoria for a targeted Tenancy Assistance and Advocacy Program in the inner south to directly support and address issues facing the community.

• Advocating to the Federal Government to extend welfare support around Rent Assistance.

What we hear from the community during Stage 1 of engagement will help to inform the development of the draft Homelessness and Affordable Housing Strategy.

After the draft Homelessness and Affordable Housing Strategy is developed, we will provide an opportunity for the community to read the draft Homelessness and Affordable Housing Strategy and provide further feedback, during Stage 2 engagement.

We will report back to the community after each stage on how your feedback has helped to inform decision-making.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines homelessness as when a person does not have suitable accommodation, or if their current living arrangement:

• is in a dwelling that is inadequate

• has no tenure, or if their initial tenure is short and not extendable

• does not allow them to have control of, and access to space for, social relations.

Social housing in Victoria is government-subsidised, short and long-term rental housing for people on low incomes, including those who have experienced homelessness, family violence, or have other special needs, and it consists of public and community housing.

Public housing is housing that is owned and managed by the State Government.

Community housing is housing that is managed (and often owned) by not-for-profit organisations.

Affordable rental housing is housing where rents are set below market rates, designed to be accessible to low to moderate-income households, enabling them to meet their other essential living costs.

Crisis accommodation, also known as emergency or temporary accommodation, is short-term housing offered to individuals who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, often provided by specialist homelessness services.