Affordable Housing Strategy

The Affordable Housing Strategy was adopted by the City of Casey at its Council meeting on 15 December, 2020.

Summary 

• The City of Casey is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Victoria.
• Council has the long-term vision of making Casey Australia’s most liveable city where all of Casey residents have access to secure, appropriate, and affordable housing.
• Affordable housing is a key element of a liveable city - an essential infrastructure.
• In the City of Casey, there are people who are experiencing housing stress, overcrowding, insecure housing or who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. Casey’s Affordable Housing Strategy sets out how Council responds to this issue.
• Research into the current and forecast need for affordable housing in the City of Casey has demonstrated an existing and forecast shortfall of affordable housing, including social housing.

Importance of affordable and social housing

Affordable housing is ‘housing including social housing that is appropriate for the housing needs of very low, low and moderate income households’, as defined under the Planning and Environment Act 1987.

Social housing is ‘public housing and housing owned, controlled or managed by a participating registered agency’, as defined under the Housing Act 1983.

Social housing is for people in our community with low incomes who need housing. Social housing tenants are often supported by other services to help them get back on their feet or improve their quality of life. Similar to other types of rental properties, tenants pay rent, although it is set at a rate they can afford to pay.

Social housing supports community members in need to be able to access housing. This is critical within the City of Casey as the population has a diverse range of needs.

Affordable housing shortfall

Research on the need for affordable housing has demonstrated an existing shortfall of more than 5,500 affordable houses. Without efforts to address this, by 2041 this shortfall is forecast to grow to 10,200 affordable houses. 

This shortfall affects an increasing number of very low and moderate income and vulnerable residents who do not have access to affordable housing appropriate for their income level. The Affordable Housing Strategy has been prepared by Council in response to this research.

Strategy

Purpose

The Strategy outlines Council's policy position and role in advocating, partnering and facilitating affordable housing in Casey.

The purpose of the Strategy is to:

• establish and detail Council’s roles in increasing the supply of affordable housing,
• guide the planning of future affordable housing, and,
• inform an action plan that guides and monitors Council’s implementation of the Strategy.

Access to appropriate and secure housing is a necessity and a basic requirement for everyone in the community under the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986, Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 2010 and the Human Rights Commission; but also an essential infrastructure of ensuring a safe, accessible and thriving community.

To increase the supply of affordable housing in the City of Casey, Council identified three strategic principles in this Strategy:

• Advocating
• Partnering
• Facilitating

The three strategic principles are implemented through actions, which consider homelessness, affordable housing investment, policy and legislative change, awareness-raising, and data and research capacity building.

What Council is doing 

Council is actively working to address the shortfall of affordable housing in Casey by implementing the Casey Affordable Housing Strategy Action Plan.

What has been done so far

In the first three years of the action plan, the following activities have been undertaken:

Strategic Principle 1: Advocate

• prepared Casey submission for 10-Year Strategy for Social and Affordable Housing for Victoria 
• prepared Casey advocacy submission to Rooming House Minimum Standards as part of Victorian Rooming House Reform Project
• prepared Casey submission for the National Housing and Homelessness Plan
• Social & Affordable Housing included as a key priority in City of Casey’s 2022 State Election advocacy campaign agenda, Connecting Casey 
• held the 2021 Casey Cardinia Housing and Homelessness Summit 
• contributed to several local news stories regarding homelessness, housing stress, affordability, and Council’s approach
• advocated to Homes Victoria for potential investment in Casey revitalisation projects

Strategic Principle 2: Partner

• implemented the Regional Local Government Homelessness and Social Housing Charter
• formed South-East Housing and Homelessness Services Managers Alliance
• formed Casey Rooming House Working Group with internal and external stakeholders
• developed advocacy list of State Government owned land suitable or available for social and affordable housing projects

Strategic Principle 3: Facilitate

• negotiated Casey Gardens Development Plan and finalised affordable housing agreement
• organised attendance by Casey staff of affordable housing planning agreements training
• investigated possible affordable housing and associated opportunities at sites in Narre Warren for social/community return including completing industry sounding meetings with five community housing providers
• presented updates at developer forums

Current priorities

In 2023/24, there was a review of the action plan, and it was agreed that priorities for 2024 were as follows:

• Scope emerging opportunities (at State and Federal levels) and map a range of options that Casey could take in the affordable housing space, to be presented to the new Council for consideration and decision
• Determine agreed advocacy agenda and approach for Casey in relation to affordable housing
• Establish an internal Implementation Group with expertise from across the organisation to undertake the above, as well as continue to support the existing action plan

Enquiries

Contact via emailing AffordableHousing@casey.vic.gov.au.

Resources

For housing support, please contact Launch Housing Dandenong (free call, 24 hours) on 1800 825 955.

For information on applying for social housing, public housing tenants and help with private renting, visit Housing Victoria or the Victorian Housing Register.