THE City of Whittlesea has adopted a new plan to help deliver more affordable housing for local residents.
Councillors voted to adopt the Affordable Housing Plan 2025-2030 at the Council Meeting on Tuesday, December 16.
The Affordable Housing Plan defines the role Council can play in facilitating affordable homes, noting that many of the levers sit with federal and state governments and the private development industry.
A shortage of affordable homes is one of the major economic and social issues facing Australia, with demand far outstripping supply across the country.
The plan establishes policy directions to help address the critical shortfall in affordable housing across the municipality.
In the City of Whittlesea, it is estimated there is currently a deficit of more than 5000 affordable houses, and this is expected to grow to almost 9000 by 2041.
The Affordable Housing Plan sets out a strategic path to expand the availability of affordable homes in the municipality by working with federal and state governments, delivery partners and the community to provide safe and secure housing.
Increasing access to well-designed and well-located affordable housing will reduce rental stress and decrease the likelihood of people experiencing homelessness.
The new plan continues Council’s long-held commitment to increasing affordable housing, which has helped deliver 151 affordable homes in the Epping Renewal Site, with a further 27 soon to be constructed in Ashline Street, Wollert.
The final plan was informed by two rounds of community consultation. The first round was through Council’s Community Insights survey and the second through a month-long community consultation process.
City of Whittlesea Mayor Councillor Lawrie Cox said it was something Council wanted to continue to commit to, ensuring everyone could be a homeowner one day.
“The Affordable Housing Plan continues Council’s commitment to boosting affordable housing supply by working with different tiers of government and community housing providers,” he said.
“Housing is a fundamental human right and addressing the shortfall in affordable housing in our community will give more residents access to safe and secure housing.
“Council looks forward to working with our partners to achieve the goals set out in this plan so that we can ease the pressure on local families.”
Two industry stakeholders, Community Housing Industry Association Victoria and Beyond Housing, were among the respondents, with each expressing strong support for the plan and offering constructive feedback.