Victoria's housing crisis has worsened in the twelve months since the state government's Housing Statement. This inaugural index presents key indicators of housing insecurity alongside the availability of social housing, showing that pressure on services and the community is rising while housing growth has stalled. 

The index looks at the latest available data on rent prices, the public housing waiting list, access to specialist homelessness services, housing stress and social housing stock to develop an overall picture of Victorian housing affordability in a national context. Building on the index's findings, the authors make three key recommendations for the state government. 

Key findings

• Annual rents rose 13.3% across the state, with a 14.6% increase in Melbourne, and 5.3% in regional areas.
• The public housing waiting list is now at 61,587.
• More than 32,000 people accessed Victorian homelessness services in the latest monthly data, with about a third doing so because of housing stress.
• The number of people accessing specialist homelessness services because of housing stress has been above 10,000 for every month since January 2023.
• Proportion of social housing in Victoria's total housing stock is just 2.8% - the lowest in Australia.
• Employed people account for one in eight homelessness service users in Victoria.

Recommendations

• Amend the Housing Statement, to better address social housing.
• Commit to building at least 6000 public and community dwellings each year for a decade.
• Increase funding for under-pressure homelessness services.