Victorian Government Vows 80,000 Homes a Year

The Victorian government says it will build 800,000 homes over the next decade as it unveiled its roadmap to solve the state’s housing crisis.

The Andrews Labor government’s Housing Statement—The Decade Ahead 2024-2034—was aimed at boosting housing supply and affordability in Victoria, it said.

The government labelled it “the biggest shake-up to planning and housing reform in generations”.

“We’re the fastest-growing state in Australia, with our population set to hit 10.3 million by 2051,” a spokesperson said.

“To ease the housing pressure Victorians are facing, we need to build 2.24 million homes in that time, including a target of 425,600 across regional and rural Victoria.”

The housing statement sets “a bold target” to build 800,000 homes across the state over the next 10 years, delivered through an Affordability Partnership with the housing industry.

The government said the statement focused on five areas to tackle the root of the problem—housing supply. They are:

1. Reforming Victoria’s planning system, clearing the backlog of planning permits, giving builders, buyers and renovators certainty about how long approvals will take—and a clear pathway to resolve issues quickly if those timeframes aren’t met.

2. Unlocking new spaces to stop urban sprawl, building more homes closer to where people have the transport, roads, hospitals and schools they need and delivering vital, basic community infrastructure.

3. Protecting renters’ rights by closing loopholes that drive up the cost of living for renters, giving tenants more certainty over their leases, living standards and finances, and resolving disputes faster to keep them out of VCAT.

4. Rapidly accelerating the rollout of social and affordable homes across Victoria and launching a renewal project across Melbourne’s 44 highrise social housing towers.

5. Delivering a long-term plan to guide how the state grows in the decades ahead and reviewing the Planning and Environment Act 1987 to build a planning system “that works with Victorians—not against them”.

▲ The Housing Statement aims to add 800,000 homes to the state during the coming decade.

The government said that in recognition of the joint effort needed to ease the housing pressure Victorians face, it had on Wednesday signed the Affordability Partnership with the Property Council of Australia, Master Builders Victoria, the Urban Development Institute of Australia, the Housing Industry Association and Super Housing Partnerships.

“As part of the partnership, the government will foster the conditions needed to stimulate investment and build high-quality homes faster in the places where Victorians want to live—and the industry will build more housing for the Victorians who need it most,” a spokesperson said.

“At the same time, we’ll give certainty to the sector and Victorians alike by building the infrastructure our growing state needs and continuing to invest in training for the skills our economy needs, too.

“The work being facilitated as part of this housing statement will support 16,000 jobs across Victoria.”

Premier Daniel Andrews said that “the status quo is not an option, and admiring the problem will only make it worse”.

“Unless we take bold and decisive action now, Victorians will be paying the price for generations to come.

“Whether you’re buying your first place, upsizing or downsizing as life changes or renting, the work we’re doing will mean there’ll be a place you can afford and that you can call home.”

▲ PCA Victoria executive director Cath Evans.

Property Council Victorian executive director Cath Evans said the housing statement was a positive step for Victoria that provided a clear policy pathway for the delivery of much-needed housing for Victorians.

“This ambitious and comprehensive plan will enable our industry to activate all types of housing, providing choice to Victorians while also enabling delivery of the volume of new homes that the market needs in order to address the affordability crisis,” she said.

“As announced, the expansion of the Development Facilitation Program will supercharge the delivery of housing in Victoria, getting more houses into the market and more Victorians into homes more quickly.

“Tying affordable housing requirements to eligibility for the program will enable the private sector to mobilise and deliver affordable housing outcomes for a broad cross-section of the community.”

As part of the announcement, the Victorian government committed to the establishment of a Department of Transport and Planning unit to prioritise the clearing of planning backlogs with local government and other approval authorities.

“The property council has identified around 35,000 homes stuck in the planning pipeline, homes that could be housing Victorians and placing downward pressure on affordability,” Evans said.

“Efforts to clear this backlog and get shovels in the ground are essential to getting new supply into the market as quickly as possible.”