2025-26 Victorian State Budget Submission

Today, the Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Forum (AHHF) proudly launches its 2025-26 Victorian State Budget Submission – developed in close collaboration with our member organisations. This submission outlines a self-determined, community-led roadmap to address the housing and homelessness crisis faced by Aboriginal Victorians and to advance the vision of Mana-na woorn-tyeen maar-takoort – Every Aboriginal Person Has a Home.

Aboriginal Victorians remain significantly over-represented in social housing and homelessness services. Nearly 7,000 Aboriginal households are on the Victorian Housing Register, and homelessness rates continue to rise. Without targeted and sustained action, this crisis will only worsen.

In response, the AHHF is calling for a total investment of $256 million to deliver immediate and lasting solutions – ensuring every Aboriginal Victorian has access to safe, secure, affordable and culturally appropriate housing. This requires long-term, strategic investment and genuine partnership with government to drive the reforms needed for lasting change.

Key Budget Priorities

• Building Aboriginal Social Housing Supply – $120 million per year
  Partner with the Victorian Government to secure a fair and proportionate share of the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF), delivering 1,000 new homes for Aboriginal Victorians and supporting a sustainable, independent Aboriginal housing sector.
• Transitional Accommodation for Vulnerable Cohorts – $60 million capital, $3.9 million operational
  Deliver two Aboriginal Youth Foyers and two transitional housing facilities for women and children experiencing family violence, providing safe accommodation and tailored support pathways.
• Aboriginal Homelessness Entry Points – $13.6 million per year
  Secure ongoing funding for Wathaurong and Ngwala Willumbong Entry Points and establish two new Entry Points in priority regions, ensuring Aboriginal Victorians can access culturally safe homelessness services across the state.
• Sustaining Tenancies and Preventing Homelessness – $9.45 million per year
  Expand the Aboriginal Tenancies at Risk (ATAR) program and deliver the Aboriginal Homes Thrive initiative to support renters, prevent evictions, and reduce homelessness.
• Pathways to Private Rental and Home Ownership – $18.2 million total investment
  Expand the Aboriginal Private Rental Assistance Program and establish a rent-to-buy pilot, creating new opportunities for long-term financial security and home ownership.

These priorities reflect practical, community-led solutions to the most pressing housing challenges facing the Victorian Aboriginal community.

Join us in calling on the Victorian Government to walk alongside community, and commit to building a future where every Aboriginal person has a home.