Victoria's Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Forum (AHHF) has welcomed the federal government's plan to build more than 21,000 new social and affordable homes nationwide, saying the announcement "signals the beginning of a necessary shift in national housing policy".
The Albanese government confirmed Round 3 of the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) last week, arguing the 21,000 homes will help meet its goal of delivering 55,000 social and affordable homes by mid-2029.
Round 3 contains a dedicated First Nations funding stream aimed at improving housing outcomes and strengthening the community-controlled sector. It includes $600 million in funding, concessional loans, a 10 per cent First Nations tenancy target, a new First Nations concierge within Housing Australia, and updates to the agency's Investment Mandate to embed Closing the Gap priorities.
"Australia's housing crisis comes from a housing shortage so all governments have to build, and that's exactly what the Albanese Labor Government is doing by supporting thousands of social and affordable homes in every corner of our country," Housing Minister Clare O'Neil said.
"After a decade of dithering under the Coalition and relentless opposition in the Parliament, the Housing Australia Future Fund is building. More homes. More speed. More scale."
The AHHF this week said the announcement aligns with Priority Reform 2 of the Closing the Gap Agreement — building the Community-Controlled Sector — and reinforces the need for Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) to lead housing solutions for Community.
AHHF Chair and Aboriginal Housing Victoria CEO, Darren Smith, said the announcement showed a genuine commitment from the Commonwealth to improve Aboriginal housing outcomes.
Mr Smith said it was an important step to "address the housing crisis faced by Aboriginal people" and followed years of advocacy from ACCOs.
"While this investment is significant, need is far greater - both in Victoria and across the country," he said. "To truly close the gap, the First Nations stream must grow in future rounds, and the 10 per cent target must be expanded as part of a long-term national strategy."
According to the AHHF, more than 7,000 Aboriginal households are currently on the Victorian Housing Register, and rates of housing stress and homelessness continue to climb. A 2022 Aboriginal Housing Victoria report found Aboriginal Victorians face persistent discrimination, financial barriers and limited access across the housing system.
"11.5 per cent of all Victorians without homes are Indigenous, and one in six Aboriginal Victorians will experience homelessness each year," the report said.
Last year, former Yoorrook Justice Commissioner Kevin Bell warned Australia is facing a housing crisis so severe it risks becoming a national catastrophe without urgent, coordinated action. He noted in his book Housing: the Great Australian Right that "Australian housing, one way or the other, is located on land taken from First People at colonisation, in what was a massive and system breach of their human rights".
Mr Smith said the AHHF "appreciate the leadership shown" by the federal government and welcomed the "opportunity to partner with the Commonwealth to build on this momentum".
"Every Aboriginal person has a right to safe, secure and affordable housing," Mr Smith said. "This announcement moves us closer to that goal, and we will continue advocating until it is realised."
Earlier this year, the Yoorrook Justice Commission's final report urged the Victorian Government to fully fund and implement the Mana-na woorn-tyeen maar-takoort framework, reduce Aboriginal overrepresentation on the Victorian Housing Register by prioritising Indigenous applicants, increase support for ACCOs delivering homelessness services, and expand the Aboriginal housing supply, including by transferring "fit-for-purpose public housing units to ACCOs".
In hearings last year, Yoorrook Counsel Assisting Tim Goodwin noted almost 19 per cent of Indigenous Victorians required specialist homelessness services — "about one in five Aboriginal Victorians being homeless, compared to one in 50 for the general population".
He also highlighted that 2,863 Aboriginal children accessed specialist homelessness services in 2022-23 — 1,800 under the age of nine.
"934 - so more than half - remained homeless at the end of their support period," he said.
