Throughout the latter part of 2015, the VPTA were very vocal in the media calling for greater innovation, invention and ingenuity to be exercised in seeking to meet the housing needs of all Victorians.
In that spirit, we welcome the Commonwealth Government’s decision to establish a working group to investigate innovative ways to improve the availability of affordable housing.
The announcement states that the working group will look at improving the supply, quality and management of social and affordable housing across Australia.
Assistant Minister to the Treasurer, Alex Hawke said the working group would seek proposals for housing solutions before working with states to implement some of the suggestions offered.
“We want solutions that will benefit Australians now and into the future,” Mr Hawke said.
“We will be encouraging proposals of social and affordable models that are ready to be implemented, as well as the presentation of new ideas.
The working group will comprise members of the Treasury and Department of Social Services as well as members from the NSW, Victorian and West Australian governments.
The Terms of Reference for the working group and an Issues Paper will be released before the end of January, along with a call for proposals from interested parties.
The VPTA is well placed to participate in this process having prepared a detailed ‘Housing Blueprint’. We look forward to contributing our ideas and our expertise. Most of all, we look forward to the working group delivering concrete outcomes that lead to better housing options for low-income Victorians.
As further information on the process becomes available, we will share it here, on Facebook and via Twitter. If you want to contribute your ideas, feel free to drop us a line on any of those platforms.