Victorians invited to shape future housing and living spaces

The Allan Labor Government has initiated a statewide engagement effort to involve Victorians in shaping the living spaces of their cities, suburbs, towns, and regions. This step is part of the ambitious Housing Statement aimed at outlining a vision for Victoria for the next 30 years.

Over the coming months, the government plans to host 60 pop-up community events across Melbourne as well as regional and rural areas of Victoria. An online engagement program will complement these events to ensure broad participation, including from young people, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, people with disabilities, those at risk of homelessness, renters, and homeowners.

Local councils, industry and community leaders, Traditional Owners, and the wider First Peoples Community are also being consulted in this comprehensive engagement strategy. According to the government, the Engage Vic website has already seen over 9,000 visitors since its launch, and more than 200 industry and council participants have been consulted.

The initiative comes in response to projections that Victoria’s population is expected to reach 10 million by 2050. The government’s plan aims to enhance housing affordability and choice through setting clear housing targets for local government areas.

To support councils in this effort, a new case management team will be established to address delays in planning decisions and prevent projects from being escalated to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. This team will engage with developers, councils, and agencies to resolve issues affecting developments valued over $10 million that have been stuck in the planning system for more than six months.

The Minister for Planning, Sonya Kilkenny, highlighted the importance of collective vision in achieving these goals, stating, “Building on our landmark Housing Statement – a new plan for Victoria will set out what our towns, suburbs, cities, and regions look like by 2050.” She emphasized the aim of involving as many Victorians as possible in developing this vision, pointing to the ambitious goal of constructing 800,000 new homes within the next decade and millions more by the 2050s. “Having applications sitting in the system doesn’t get homes built – we’ve established a new team to support councils to stop permit applications ending up in VCAT and ensure we can build more homes,” said Kilkenny, underlining the pragmatic approach being taken to address housing challenges.

Residents are urged to visit the Engage Vic website to participate in the survey, subscribe for updates, and learn about upcoming events.