In 2019, Victoria remains the site of a humanitarian crisis in Aboriginal homelessness. Over the past year, 17 per cent of Aboriginal people in Victoria sought assistance from a homeless service. Almost half (44 per cent) of these people were already homeless. This is the highest rate of presentation for homeless assistance by Aboriginal people anywhere in Australia. If the mainstream Victorian population sought homeless assistance at the same rate (1693 per 10,000), more than one million Victorians would be seeking homeless assistance each year.

The scale of the crisis is mounting at a concerning pace. The numbers of Aboriginal people assessed by homeless services as requiring assistance has grown by 33.6 per cent in just four years. This is the fastest rate of growth for Aboriginal people anywhere in Australia. Around half of those requiring help are under 25. The work undertaken by the Aboriginal community to complete this Framework has made clear that - if existing policy settings remain in place - the emergency in Aboriginal homelessness we are experiencing in Victoria will not only continue, it will escalate.

This Framework provides the building blocks for reconceptualising Aboriginal housing in Victoria. It initiates a new policy dialogue between the Aboriginal community and the Government. Through this dialogue we commit to provide every Aboriginal Victorian with a home and end a period in which to be homeless is a rite of passage for too many young Aboriginal people.

As this policy journey continues we aim for a destination where Aboriginal home ownership levels match those of other Victorians and housing crisis is exceptional, temporary and aberrant. We invite the Government to join us on this journey and to work with us in putting in place the building blocks of a new approach to achieve safe and secure housing for Victoria’s First Peoples.