In June 2018, the Planning and Environment Act 1987 was amended to define Affordable Housing as ‘housing, including Social Housing, that is appropriate for the housing needs of very low, low and moderate income households.’

The Victorian Government has specified a range of income levels, updated annually, to facilitate understanding of the definition (see below).

Housing is a basic human need, and its absence affects people’s health and wellbeing, and their ability to work and participate in society. As housing issues grow, these impacts ripple outwards to affect our whole community. Although housing shortages are continuing issues, in recent years the complexity of these issues has increased, and the need for cohesive action has intensified.

Council offers services, funding, and support to assist residents in acute housing need, and/or who are on low incomes, and to community organisations providing food, transport, financial counselling, and family violence and addiction recovery programs, as well as advocating to State and Federal Governments for funding for local Registered Housing Agencies to increase housing stock.

To date, Council’s role as Planning Authority has contributed to affordability in the market through the timely release of land parcels for residential development.

As of June 2018, Council has been given broader responsibility and capacity to act through to changes to the Planning and Environment Act 1987. Council received a grant of $50,000 from DELWP in December 2018 to prepare the Strategy.

The State Government has published income bands to define ‘Affordable Housing’ for households on Very Low, Low and Moderate incomes (see table below).  These bands are updated every financial year.

For example, a family on a low income of up to $63,590 in 2019/2020 may be able to afford mortgage repayments on a dwelling purchased for $275,089, or to pay $367 per week in rent.

There may be few houses on the open market at those prices with the right number of bedrooms and other necessary features, so the family may require a government subsidy or other assistance to purchase a more expensive property, or the allocation of Social Housing that is rented at less than 30% of its income. The Affordable Housing Strategy will support the development of more Social Housing stock to catch-up to the number of people who need this type of support.

The Affordable Housing Strategy also supports Council to negotiate with developers of new estates, to include a variety of types and sizes of housing, so that more appropriate dwellings sold on the open market would be priced below $275,089 or rented at less than $367 so the family could occupy the home without requiring assistance.

‘Housing affordability’ refers to the general cost of housing relative to a household’s financial capacity to meet their housing costs, whether rent or mortgage payments. Households in the lowest 40% of income levels that spend more than 30% or their income on housing expenses are considered to be in ‘housing stress’.

The Strategy’s development process explored Council’s roles to see what actions could be taken to support increasing Affordable Housing stock across Greater Shepparton. It provides a strong evidence base regarding the need for Affordable Housing in Greater Shepparton to support the actions.

Council will continue to advocate for funding to build Social and Affordable Housing from the Federal and State Governments. It will also work to build partnerships within the community to coordinate efforts and maximise the resources we have, including negotiating with developers to build Affordable Housing in new estates, encouraging diversification in housing stock and alternative housing models, assisting tenancy support programs, and promoting improvements to rundown areas.

One of Council’s first actions will be to assess our own assets for suitability for temporary or permanent housing options.

Housing provision is not a direct function of Council. The actions in the Strategy largely build on Council’s existing roles as Leader/Advocate, and Planning Authority, to enable collaboration with agencies and developers who are building houses to increase Affordable Housing stock from 5% to 12% of the total across Greater Shepparton.

The Federal and State Governments offer a number of programs that provide rental assistance and other forms of subsidy or support. Council will explore opportunities for these and other programs to be utilised in Greater Shepparton, particularly the allocation of funding through the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement and the National Housing and Finance Corporation.

Different types of Affordable Housing will be required to fulfil the needs of the variety of people who need it. Where possible, Affordable Housing will be ‘pepper-potted’ through existing and new residences, rather than being concentrated in a specific location. A key direction of the Strategy is to encourage Affordable Housing to be integrated into surrounding neighbourhoods.

Some housing will be Social Housing, which is managed and/or owned by Registered Housing Agencies or the Department of Health and Human Services, and allocated to residents registered on the Victorian Housing Register.

Some Affordable Housing will be produced by having new estates and infill development include a mix of housing types and sizes, creating a range of price points for purchasers.

A number of factors will influence where new housing is located:

• Access to services, employment and public transport
• Availability of land
• Existing public and social housing stock
• Integration into neighbourhoods

Council will continue to advocate for funding from the Federal and State Governments to building Affordable Housing in Greater Shepparton. However, housing shortages are such a widespread issue that it is unlikely sufficient funding will become available, so Council will draw on available resources to promote projects that deliver Affordable Housing.

Council has welcomed a number of offers of assistance from individuals and organisations within the community since beginning the preparation of the Strategy. The Strategy includes the establishment of an Affordable Housing Reference Group to co-ordinate these resources to deliver Affordable Housing stock.

The Affordable Housing Strategy takes a broad overview of housing issues across the municipality. Following the adoption of the Strategy, it is expected that further work will explore the housing needs of specific groups and opportunities to address targeted responses.