Affordable Housing is defined as ‘housing, including Social Housing, that is appropriate for the housing needs of very low, low and moderate-income households. Maximum income ranges for these household groups are published by the State Government for Greater Melbourne and ‘Rest of State’ (regional Victoria).

Affordable Housing should be priced (whether mortgage repayments or rent) so these households are able to meet their other essential basic living costs (generally no more than 30 per cent of income) and be ‘Appropriate’ for the household’s needs.

Affordable housing includes:

• Social Housing (Public and Community Housing)

Social Housing includes Public Housing (owned and managed by the Director of Housing); and housing owned, controlled or managed by a participating registered agency (registered as a Housing Association or a Housing Provider) where the dwelling will be allocated to a household that meets the State Government published Social Housing income and asset eligibility requirements.

• Indigenous Community Housing

Social Housing that is specifically designed for, managed by and provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households.

• Affordable Rental Housing

Affordable Rental Housing refers to housing that is rented at an affordable price and allocated to households that meet the Planning and Environment Act 1987 Affordable Housing income eligibility requirements published by Governor in Council Order.

• Affordable Home Purchase

Affordable Home Purchase involves the sale of a dwelling at the established market price for that dwelling to a low or moderate income household that meets the Affordable Housing income eligibility requirements where the market price is demonstrated to be affordable for that household without a discount.

• Shared Equity Home Ownership

Shared Equity Home Ownership is where a household that has some (limited) capacity to borrow funds is supported to purchase a dwelling through a structured home purchase arrangement, where the difference between the purchaser’s financial capacity and the market value of the dwelling is only required to be repaid on future sale or refinancing, with the funds then re-applied in future shared equity arrangements.

People are at the centre of everything that we do. Our aim is to address the housing needs of populations identified as vulnerable including the following groups:

• Key workers, our teachers, nurses, community support workers, ambulance and emergency officers, hospitality and retail staff, essential to our city’s functioning but whose earnings are low to moderate;
• First Nations families, many of whom live in intergenerational households and may face overcrowding.
• Young people who are our future and need support. Over a third of Australians experiencing homelessness today are young people, and the pandemic has only made matters worse.
• Our elder community, especially older women who are the fastest growing group experiencing homelessness in Australia. Being single, widowed or divorced are dominant factors in increasing the likely risk of homelessness.
  • Older women have experienced lifetimes of lower wages, longer periods without paid employment, accumulated less superannuation as a result and have lower rates of homeownership than their male counterparts. They are being failed by a retirement system predicated on home ownership.
• People living with a disability and those with complex needs who represent a broad diversity of age and ethnicity. This group can flourish with supported housing.

Affordable housing is primarily located in areas with good access to infrastructure and services - approx. 800m to public transport and/or an activity centre.

The following is taken into account when identifying affordable housing locations:

• Councils urban planning aims, include encouraging urban consolidation, dwelling diversity and affordability.
• Prioritise locations for affordable housing in established urban areas, close to public transport, education and employment opportunities within activity centres, with a preference for affordable housing located within a town centre catchment.
• Prioritise government or authority owned land as a priority for affordable housing reflecting the greater capacity of the State to facilitate outcomes.