Victorian government commits initial $860m for 7,000 extra social housing properties

ABC News
25 April 2026
In short:
An additional 7,000 social housing properties will be built in Victoria in the next decade.
Tens of thousands of people are waiting for housing in the state and are facing significant delays.

What's next?
More funding is expected to be announced in order to meet the target.
An extra 7,000 social housing properties will be built in Victoria in the coming decade, with an initial $860 million investment in the upcoming state budget, the Allan government has announced.

More than 56,000 households are on a housing waiting list in Victoria, with even those deemed a priority facing average delays of 17 months, according to the most recent publicly available data.
Treasurer Jaclyn Symes said the May state budget would include an extra $860 million for the Social Housing Growth Fund, established in 2018 to pay community housing organisations to build and operate more properties.
"This will deliver even more social homes sooner, giving people in need a secure foundation," Ms Symes said.
More funding is expected beyond the forward estimates to meet the 7,000-home target.
a woman is smiling and wearing a pink shirt.
Sarah Toohey has welcomed the announcement but says more housing is needed.
Community Housing Industry Association chief executive Sarah Toohey said extra funding would be necessary in coming years to deliver the commitment, and that the government should be building thousands more a year to catch up with other states and territories.
Last year Infrastructure Victoria recommended the government commit to building 4,000 new homes a year for 15 years to make up the difference, saying social housing made up just 2.8 per cent of homes in Victoria compared to 4 per cent nationally.
"But you have to start somewhere," Ms Toohey said, welcoming the announcement as a significant investment.
"It's going to build 7,000 homes that we wouldn't have had otherwise.
"We'll work with the government to ensure they can invest more and build more to meet the needs of the community."
The government established the fund in 2018 with a $1 billion promise to add thousands of homes.
Ninety homes in St Albans and 73 in Bendigo are among the completed projects, though the government was unable to immediately confirm the total number that have been constructed.
A public housing tower in Albert Park
Public housing towers across Melbourne, including this one in Albert Park, will be razed.
The Victorian Labor government has weathered criticism for its focus on community housing over public housing, which is owned and run by the government.
The most vulnerable people tend to live in public housing, given community providers have the flexibility to choose their own tenants.
All 44 public towers in Melbourne will separately be razed and rebuilt by 2051, to increase the number of tenants from 10,000 to 30,000 across the estates.
However, the number of social tenants will only increase by 1,000, with the majority to be private and market rate housing.