First Nations Victorians will have extra support to find or keep a private rental with further funding for the Aboriginal Private Rental Assistance Program.
It comes after Housing Minister Harriet Shing announced a $17 million investment for the program at the Victorian Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Forum in Naarm to support around 4,200 more households to help secure or maintain a private rental.
"We're continuing our partnerships with First Nations organisations to design and deliver housing programs that are culturally safe, effective, and tailored to the needs of the people they serve," Ms Shing said.
"We know that these initiatives make a real difference – since launching our rental assistance program, the majority of applicants have been able to find or stay in their private rental."
The initiative is part of Mana-na woorn-tyeen maar-takoort, Every Aboriginal Person has a Home – the Victorian Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Framework.
Developed by the Aboriginal community, for the Aboriginal community in 2020, it aims to respond to the needs of the wider First Nations community in Victoria.
The program, which was co-designed by Homes Victoria and Aboriginal housing organisations, provides rental subsidies, bond support, and targeted tenant programs. The government says more than 2,000 Indigenous households have received support since 2020, with nearly 70 percent successfully finding or keeping their housing.
"We see the best outcomes when Aboriginal communities design and lead solutions," Minister for First Peoples Natalie Hutchins said.
"That's exactly what this rental assistance program does, so that more First Nations families can find and secure long-term housing."
At least 10 per cent of all new social homes under the government's flagship Big Housing Build have been set aside for First Peoples.
It comes as the issue of Indigenous housing availability has been highlighted by advocates and experts as a tangible example of the discrepancy in living standards between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Victorians.
Djaran Murray-Jackson, a Dja Dja Wurrung man, and a member of the First Peoples' Assembly, said in January people needed to have a safe and secure home to help build a "happy and healthy" life.
However, he argued, "the housing and homelessness crisis is pushing this essential foundation for a good life further out of reach for many people — particularly mob".
Over the last five years, there has been a 30 per cent increase in the number of Indigenous Victorians accessing specialist homelessness services. In comparison, there has been a decrease of three percent amongst the non-Indigenous population.
Last year, the Victorian Housing Department told the Yoorrook Justice Commission the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and their access to housing is a "crisis". The truth-telling inquiry also heard more than 1800 Aboriginal children under the age of nine accessed homelessness services in the previous financial year.
In January, Federal Housing Minister Clare O'Neil met with members of the Victorian Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Forum (AHHF) to focus on several priorities, including the establishment of an appropriate Aboriginal homelessness target in Victoria.
"Safe, secure, and culturally appropriate housing is essential to improving health and wellbeing outcomes in our communities," AHHF chair and Aboriginal Housing Victoria chief executive, Darren Smith, said at the time.
"ACCOs [Aboriginal community-controlled organisations] across the state are leading this work under relentless conditions, but the scale of the crisis demands urgent investment from all levels of government to grow housing supply and deliver real, lasting change – ensuring every Aboriginal person has a home."
