MEMBER ADVOCACY

With the impact of fuel supply pressures from the war in the Middle East being felt across our communities, VCOSS wants to hear directly from our members about the emerging impacts on vulnerable households and frontline services in Victoria.

We know the conflict is contributing to rising cost-of-living pressures, increased demand for emergency relief and food security supports, and heightened stress across communities.

VCOSS is gathering stories, data and frontline insights from community service organisations to inform our sector intelligence and advice to government.

Your experiences and data — especially from regional areas — will directly inform VCOSS’ advocacy to the State Government as we work to secure urgent responses that relieve pressure on low income households and strengthen the capacity of the community sector.

We need to hear from you to ensure that our work is grounded in and represents the diversity of community organisations — large and small, metro and regional — and leverages examples of what is emerging on the ground, the pressures you are facing and the supports you have identified as necessary now and in the months ahead.

For VCOSS members: please fill out this short survey to tell VCOSS about the issues your community and/or organisation are facing.

You can remain anonymous if you choose.

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You can also reach out to us directly about how fuel pressures are impacting you and your community: email Rory.Anderson@vcoss.org.au, Policy Advisor, Energy and Cost of Living.

Together, we are stronger.

The cost of energy represents a large portion of the cost of living for Victorians. These costs have increased over the long term, but particularly in recent years.

Energy is an essential service, one that people cannot live without. And yet, it is delivered through a privatised system, subject to market forces. And energy retailers often don’t adequately support people when they’re struggling to afford energy costs.

The Energy Retail Code of Practice (known among energy experts as the ERCOP) regulates the terms and conditions of energy contracts, the marketing of energy offers, and billing practices. Included in the ERCOP is the Payment Difficulty Framework, which sets the rules and minimum standards by which energy retailers are required to assist customers experiencing hardship.

On 30 September the Essential Services Commission (ESC) announced their Stage 1 Final Decision as part of their ongoing review of the ERCOP.

These ambitious reforms represent a big win for Victorian energy consumers, and for the community sector organisations whose advocacy helped achieve it.

Changes to the code include increased protections for energy consumers, including strong new measures to support customers struggling with costly bills.

These ambitious reforms represent a big win for Victorian energy consumers, and for the community sector organisations whose advocacy helped achieve it.

Because of the importance of the reforms to the sector and many of our clients, VCOSS has produced a briefing document outlining the changes, how they happened, what they mean and why they matter.

Download the briefing document below.

You can also read VCOSS’s submission to the review, and the Government’s announcement.

Watch ‘Adaption for All’ online launch

ANALYSIS

2024 was Australia’s second-hottest year on record. As climate change progresses, Victoria is experiencing not only hotter days and more frequent disasters, but significant impacts to people’s health, wellbeing and livelihoods.

These impacts are not felt by all Victorians equally – those who are already living in poverty or facing other forms of disadvantage experience the impacts of climate change first and worst. 

This report views the impacts of climate change to Victorians on low incomes through the lens of their capacity to adapt – to adjust to these impacts while maintaining their health and wellbeing. 

This report finds that as climate change progress, it’s fuelling a feedback loop that erodes the capacity of Victorians experiencing poverty and disadvantage to adapt. During heatwaves, for example, some Victorians remain isolated at home for days. Many are adopting drasticmoney-saving behaviours such as avoiding using any energy-consuming equipment at homeor rationing food. People are not choosing these actions because they’re desirable, but rather because they have very few options as the cost of living rises and making ends meet becomes more and more difficult.

This research also finds that the capacity of people experiencing poverty and disadvantage to adapt to climate change mirrors the same structural drivers that perpetuate inequality — such as income insecurity, housing precarity, and systemic marginalisation. As climate change progresses in Victoria, existing social and economic inequities are being compounded. 

If the people with the least capacity to adapt aren’t adequately supported as climate change progresses, the gap between the amount of adaptation needed and people’s capacity to do it will continue to grow. With this, we risk a widening chasm between those who can adapt and those who can’t.  Expecting Victorians on low incomes to support their own adaptation, without adequate support, will exacerbate existing inequalities. 

To close this gap, Victoria must prioritise transformative adaptation — adaptation that addresses systemic inequities and improves health and wellbeing for those on the lowest incomes. If individuals and communities with the least capacity to adapt are the focus of adaptation efforts, wellbeing outcomes can be improved, while growing inequity curbed.

Despite significant cost-of-living pressures, people experiencing poverty and disadvantage – where they are supported by community service organisations – are taking positive steps towards adaptation. Reducing the burden for adaptation on individuals by strengthening action within community organisations and the Victorian Government can help achieve transformative adaptation. 

We have the tools we need to support Victorians living in poverty or experiencing disadvantage to adapt to climate change. Victoria must prioritise transformative adaptation to ensure all Victorians can thrive under a changing climate. 

Recommendations

To work towards transformative adaptation, we recommend the Victorian Government to:

1. Continue to urgently invest in climate mitigation to reduce the scale of climate change impacts. This includes: 

a. Ensure access to electrification, energy efficiency upgrades and solar for people on low incomes — so no one is left behind in the energy transition.

b. Expand minimum energy efficiency standards in rental homes to protect renters from heat and other climate risks.

c. Align planning decisions with climate mitigation goals and more equitable social outcomes.

2. Target adaptation investment towards Victorians experiencing the most significant climate impacts

a. Identify the most climate-vulnerable communities and support them with community-led adaptation planning.

b. Invest in the equity-centred actions in Victoria’s Adaptation Action Plans.

c. Develop and implement an Aboriginal Climate Justice Strategy to respond to climate threats to Country, health and wellbeing.

d. Strengthen the resilience of Victoria’s housing stock through targeted upgrades and support for low-income households.

e. Expand minimum rental standards to include resilience measures that protect renters from a wider range of climate risks.

3. Increase funding for community service organisations (CSOs) and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs)

a. Create a climate adaptation fund for CSOs and ACCOs.

4. Strengthen whole-of-government accountability on climate change and intergenerational equity

a. Create and fund an Office of the Commissioner for the Wellbeing of Future Generations to hold the whole of government accountable for decision-making that promotes the health and wellbeing of future generations.

b. Embed collaboration between Victorian Government departments to address climate change by legislating and strengthening the climate budgeting process.

c. Transparently report progress against Victoria’s Adaptation Action Plans.

These actions are essential for a fair and effective response to climate change—one that ensures no Victorian is left behind as we adapt to a changing climate.

ANALYSIS

The Victorian Council of Social Service welcomes the introduction of Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) legislation into state parliament.

The VEU program has a strong record in achieving energy savings and emissions reductions and embedding it in law will ensure it continues as part of Victoria’s energy framework.

The changes to the scheme create new opportunities for targeted assistance for lower-income and other households facing particular challenges due to energy prices and the upfront cost of updating appliances. Similarly, the introduction of stronger consumer protections and stronger Essential Services Commission powers are welcome reforms.

VCOSS CEO, Juanita Pope, said that households on lower incomes often stood to gain the most from upgrades but faced the highest barriers to change.

“VCOSS welcomes this move to embed the VEU in law and strengthen its operation. Victorians have benefitted from this scheme in terms of lower household costs and reduced energy consumption. Our state has benefitted through reduced carbon emissions and more efficient use of energy.”

“The VEU is a key tool in Victoria’s energy transition toolbox, delivering cost-of-living relief to Victorians while setting us up for a cheaper, healthier and cleaner energy future.”

“These changes lay the groundwork for targeted programs to break down the barriers for lower-income households to access upgrades. Added consumer protections and new regulatory powers will limit abuse of the system. Victorians need strong regulatory safeguards to navigate the home energy upgrades market and ensure high-quality services and products.”

“We all want to see Victoria move to a cheaper, healthier and cleaner energy mix – and this bill will help us do that.”

ANALYSIS

We must build homes to withstand the weather of the future now.

It’s no secret that Victorians who experience disadvantages like poverty and rental stress tend to be locked out of safe, high-quality and comfortable housing.

High prices leave people with little choice about where to live, often forcing them into areas that expose them to higher temperatures and other climate-related harms. And in these areas, people get stuck with substandard and poorly maintained homes.

Energy efficiency standards help ensure new homes have critical, basic features that keep them comfortable and keep energy bills affordable: things like insulation, air tightness, efficient heating and cooling, and double-glazed windows.

However, most of Victoria’s homes were built before energy efficiency standards were introduced into the National Construction Code (NCC) in 2006. On the National House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS), these homes achieve an average rating of just 1.8 out of 10 stars.

Energy efficiency advocates refer to these homes as ‘tents’.

Homes built today, with stricter energy efficiency requirements, must achieve at least 7 stars under NatHERS.

This wide disparity creates a divide between those who can afford to live in efficient, healthy, comfortable homes and those who can’t. Newer or recently renovated homes command higher purchase or rental prices, locking out people on low incomes.

But lower quality homes tend to have higher running costs. This is a trap: while rents may be lower, energy bills are much higher. These homes also expose occupants to unhealthy indoor temperatures, often leading to poor health outcomes. 

And the situation is about to get much worse.

That’s because homes built today are constructed to withstand the temperatures of the past. They’re not built with a view to what temperatures will be in the coming decades, let alone 50+ years from now.

According to recent research, homes built to today’s 7-star standard could become as uncomfortable in the heatwaves of 2070 as today’s very inefficient homes are now. The homes we currently consider energy efficient will require more air conditioning to stay comfortable during heatwaves and in hotter day-to-day conditions.

homes built today are constructed to withstand the temperatures of the past. They’re not built with a view to what temperatures will be in the coming decades, let alone 50+ years from now.

This is obviously a problem on many levels. Not everyone can afford air conditioning, and people who do have it can’t always afford to use it. And using air conditioning is maladaptive, contributing to climate change and creating an endless feedback loop.

Reverse cycle air conditioners are efficient and can reduce this effect, particularly if they’re run on renewables, but this expensive technology is out of reach for many people.

And if homes that are currently considered ‘energy efficient’ are going to leave people unsustainably dependent on air conditioning in coming decades, this begs the question: what about the ‘tents’.

The answer is that they will be unlivable. And this will expose many of the most vulnerable people in our communities to far higher temperatures, to heat-related suffering, and even to death.

The way forward is to amend the NCC to require new homes to be built to withstand the temperatures of the coming decades, and to ensure that all Victorians – including those experiencing disadvantage – have equitable access to them.

VCOSS and others have called for this necessary change to the NCC in submissions to the Government’s Plan for Victoria, which presents an opportunity to build this kind of forward-looking planning into the state’s regulatory infrastructure and keep communities safe.  

If you’re a social justice advocate, the intersection between climate change and housing is an important one that affects everyone. VCOSS convenes a network of advocates in this space called the One Million Homes Alliance. Get in contact with Julianne Tice if you’d like to get involved.

You can read the research by Renew and Sweltering Cities here.

ANALYSIS

The Federal Government released its response to the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability on July 31, 2024. The Victorian Government has also responded to the recommendations that fall within its jurisdiction.

VCOSS will be releasing a detailed analysis of both governments’ responses in the coming weeks.

Here are the key points for now.

It was a huge Final Report

The Commission’s Final report came in 12 volumes and included 222 recommendations to improve laws, policies, structures and practices so people with disabilities can live free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.

Not all the recommendations have been accepted

Of 172 recommendations targeted squarely at the Federal Government, 13 have been accepted in full and 117 ‘in principle’. A further six have been “noted” with 36 to be considered further. The Commonwealth has allocated $369 million in new investments announced, of this amount, $227.6 million was announced in the 2024-2025 Federal Budget.

It is a similar story with the 45 recommendations aimed at Victoria, with only 11 accepted in full.

So what’s being acted on?

The policy areas where governments have immediately agreed to act relate to:

• Employment: The Commonwealth will establish a new specialist disability employment program and Disability Employment Centre of Excellence.
• Advocacy: The Commonwealth will also create an individual disability advocacy program, while Victoria has committed to increase the sustainability of the state’s disability advocacy sector.
• Education: Victoria has accepted recommendations to improve inclusive education policies and procedures.
• Health: Both levels of government have promised to embed the right to equitable access in key policy instruments.

What’s not being acted on straight away?

The Federal Government says it needs more time to consider a proposal to establish a Commonwealth Disability Rights Act.

Meanwhile, both governments say they need more time to consider a recommendation to end segregated employment by 2034.

Victoria did not accept advice on Commission calls to phase out special/segregated education, making it clear that disability inclusion does not mean a “one-size fits all” approach.

Both governments have committed to regular progress reporting and emphasize building on existing work. While there are some positive steps forward, VCOSS acknowledges that a national alliance of Disabled Peoples Organisations and a range of other advocacy groups have expressed a level of disappointment and frustration about Australian governments’ responses. Disability advocates have highlighted that many recommendations have not been fully accepted, and stated their views that further action is needed to achieve comprehensive reform for people with disabilities in Australia.

VCOSS also notes that many initiatives rely on coordination between jurisdictions, adding to the complexity of the task before us. On a positive note, both the Commonwealth and Victorian governments acknowledge the importance of this collaboration and agree there is a pressing need for continued improvement in areas such as housing, justice, and sector development to create a more inclusive society for people with disabilities.

VCOSS will release a detailed analysis of the Australian and Victorian responses in the coming weeks.

Further reading:

• Access the Royal Commission Final report (12 volumes).
• ABC News coverage of the Final Report release
• Read the Australian Government response
• Read the Victorian Government response

To register or for more information, visit the Information for Employers website.
Applications for Round 1 close on 12 July 2024.
Once your organisation is registered to participate you will also be able to participate in future rounds of the graduate program.

Round	Applications Open	Graduate cohort commences
One	3 June – 12 July 2024	October 2024
Two	September – October (TBC)	February 2025
Three	March – April (TBC)	July 2025
Four	September – October (TBC)	February 2026
Five	March – April (TBC)	July 2026

A coalition of Victorian justice, community sector and social advocacy bodies has created a new “action plan” to end the over-representation of particular groups of young people in Victoria’s criminal justice system.

Working Together is a blueprint for sustained collective and coordinated action, and the culmination of two years of research and consensus building amongst Smart Justice For Young People members.

The problem of over-representation (which is linked with over-policing and under-servicing by government agencies) disproportionately affects children and young people from First Nations and multicultural backgrounds, children living in residential care and girls and young women with complex needs.

“We often talk about preventing ‘youth crime’ as if young people are the sole problem,” the Action Plan warns.

“In contrast, [we must focus] on the systems that are not working for these young people and their families.”

“Youth crime prevention is a necessary by-product of this focus.”

Watch a recording of the Action Plan launch above, or view all videos on YouTube.

The new blueprint acknowledges that no single organisation, law change, policy reform or practice shift will achieve the necessary change — especially when demand for services is ever-increasing and resources are constrained. 

Instead, the Action Plan calls for genuine partnerships across sectors and ‘silos’. It contains 49 broad ‘system level’ recommendations relevant across government, as well as recommendations for six specific portfolio areas, including:

• Criminal and civil justice systems
• Policing
• Health and wellbeing
• Housing and material needs
• Children, families and their community
• Education

EVENT SUMMARY

Three years after the introduction of Victoria’s new rental rules, the changes to the Residential Tenancies Act are ‘only just starting’ to make a real impact to renters’ lives.

This is the assessment from lead lawyer at Tenants Victoria, Ben Cording.

In the latest Renters’ Rights Rundown, Mr Cording told the forum that some of the biggest improvements from the legal changes are associated with the Equal Opportunity Act, which now covers renters.

“It creates a global awareness. So whenever you apply for a rental property, now they have to actually give you a full statement: ‘This is what discrimination is, these are what are protected attributes’.”

“It gives someone a much stronger position to say you’ve engaged in discrimination,” he said.

Mr Cording also deemed getting rid of no-fault evictions “a cracker” move, saying it has improved stability for renters.

The Tenants Victoria legal expert told the forum minimum standards have, according to some research, led to improvements in the housing being offered in the rental market, but renters are still struggling to assert their rights in a burning hot market, and many are a long way from realising the dream (and the essential service) of safe, stable and affordable housing.

“Has it had an impact? Absolutely, it has. But the pressure, all of this anxiety about being able to have an essential service, comes from supply. It comes from affordability and benchmarking.”

“So when we talk about the rent increase framework … there is no cap. We have no benchmark that refers to the hardship on the renter, which ironically we did in older legislation, in the old 1958 Act. There was ‘what’s going to be the impact on the renter?’ And we don’t have that anymore.”

“So, has it had an impact? Yes. But are we impacting the right spots? We’re only really just starting to look at them.”

Mr Cording provided practical tips for renters and support workers about topics including getting a first foothold in the rental market without any references, how the laws apply to people in social and public housing, and attending VCAT.

“The biggest challenge for people is that they’re scared to go [to VCAT], they’re scared of retaliation … There’s a whole bunch of baggage, legitimate baggage that we need to try and unpack and understand to get our clients to feel safe and even confident to get there.”

Other topics included how the new rules are operating in relation to:

• Evictions
• Pets
• Discrimination
• Rent increases
• Rent arrears
• Minimum standards
• Modifications
• Bonds
• Family violence
• VCAT

“We know that if people say yes, I have a dog, you don’t always find out why you don’t get your rental property. They don’t come back and say…  this is why you didn’t get. It doesn’t work like that, which makes it really hard for people.”

A full transcript of the session and a copy of Mr Cording’s presentation are available here.

VCOSS’s new report Renting in Victoria will be available soon: it’s a deep dive into the current realities of renting, with insights from community sector workers.

ANALYSIS

The Final Report from the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability was released in September 2023, and made 222 recommendations in a 12-volume report, plus an additional introductory volume.

It’s a lot for anyone to get their head around.

For that reason, VCOSS conducted two online briefings in late 2023 – to delve into the Final Report and take stock of what it means for you.

In the first briefing, ‘What the Disability Royal Commission found’, El Gibbs from Disability Advocacy Network Australia urged mainstream organisations to “back our calls for a seat at the table” as government considers the Commissioners’ recommendations:

El outlined the history of activism and advocacy that led to the Royal Commission.

“There’d been decades of work from people with disability – particularly from women with disability – raising the issues of what was happening to people with disability in closed settings.”

What was happening included endemic violence – some illegal and some, such as indefinite detention, restrictive practices and involuntary sterilisation, legal and nominally regulated.

This culture of violence has been enabled by the marginalisation and exclusion of people with disability across society.

What this means for the community sector is that people with disability are important to consider in all these mainstream contexts.

The Commission’s findings shed light on the violence and segregation suffered by particular groups of people with disability.

El said, “If you are only talking to people with disability who look and sound like me you are doing it wrong … You need to be hearing from people with an intellectual disability, from First Nations people with disability, from people with experience from prison, people who have direct and current experience living in poverty.”

Discussing the findings of the Royal Commission – including high-level recommendations aimed at addressing “big picture inclusion” through governance reform – she urged the sector to see the recommendations as a floor, not a ceiling.

She addressed areas where the Commissioners could have gone further – including funding for disability advocacy, beefing up health regulations, and eliminating restrictive practices – and areas in which Commissioners were divided on key recommendations – including the scope and timeframe for phasing out segregation in employment, residential and education settings.

She also discussed the need for more links between disability advocacy and areas like homelessness services:

Similarly in relation to child and family services:

El said, “So this is where I am asking, how do we start linking these things together and understanding that disabled people are part of all of the service users that you have?”

She identified other questions mainstream organisations can ask themselves, with a view to improving inclusion for clients with disability:

• Do you have a disability check box in any of the data that you collect? 
• Are you making sure your services are accessible?
• Is there imagery around disabled people in your comms?
• Are you thinking about how to work with people with disability?
• Are there steps into your service? 
• Is there wheelchair parking? 

“I think some of these basic inclusion measures would make a difference to ensuring that people with disability know that they are both welcome, but also that they have been thought of.”

In the second briefing, Jen Hargrave from Women with Disabilities Victoria drew on on experiences from the Royal Commission into Family Violence to introduce the topic of ‘What’s next after the Disability Royal Commission?’

Jen urged sector organisations to prepare for a period of intense consultation, and possible challenges in shepherding the effective implementation of the recommendations:

She suggested that coalition-building within the sector can help maintain pressure and ensure that implementation aligns with the intentions of the recommendations.

A panel including Damian Griffis (CEO of the First Peoples Disability Network Australia) and Margherita Coppolino (Chair of the Statewide Disability Network for culturally diverse people with disabilities) then discussed the implementation of the recommendations.

Damian commented on the challenges of giving voice to the voiceless – particularly First Nations people with disabilities – and emphasised the need for outreach, especially in remote areas:

He made the point that the people most in need of help are those most often let down by the current system.

Inclusive spaces, collaboration, and partnership between organisations and self-advocates are incredibly important, as is the role of media in amplifying diverse voices within the disability community.

As Margherita put it: “We’ve got to make sure we’ve got all the voices at the table… so they can actually codesign any policy.”

Building on the themes of collaboration and coalition-building, a second panel discussed the importance of unity in the community sector to address inequalities and discrimination faced by people with disability, including in education settings and in the justice system.

Karen Dimmock from Association for Children with a Disability discussed educational disadvantage, particularly for kids in out-of-home care. Forty per cent of children in out-of-home care have a disability, and Aboriginal children are heavily over-represented.

Emily Piggott from the RMIT Centre for Innovative Justice discussed the challenges faced by people with disabilities in the justice system, particularly focusing on the overrepresentation of First Nations people with disabilities.

She pointed out that there’s a problem with how people with disabilities are understood and represented – citing, for instance, the underrepresentation of people with intellectual disabilities and acquired brain injury in Victoria Police’s accessibility action plan.

The conversation delved into what disability advocates and self-advocates need from the social services sector, emphasising direct investment in systemic advocacy capacity.

Diana Piantedosi from Women with Disabilities Victoria talked about “the paradox of care” in systems designed for justice. She called for active listening and collaboration.

“There’s this paradox called ‘displacement of care’ in these systems that are designed for people and care and justice, and as organisations that call that out, our greatest strength is to subvert that by caring for each other and making listening part of our active practice.”

There is perhaps nowhere this focus on listening to lived experience is more important than in relation to empowering marginalised people with disability to lead and drive change.

In the words of Damian Griffis: “How do we give voice to people where English is not a first language, or people who have a non-verbal way of communicating, how do we give voice to the deaf community, how do we give voice to deaf-blind people, how do we give voice to people with an intellectual disability people who have very serious psychosocial disability or mental health-related needs? Again, self-advocacy is the driver and the leader in many ways in giving voice to those communities.”

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ANALYSIS

Have you ever driven past a new housing development and clocked a sea of dark roofs with barely any trees or grass in sight?

More housing for a growing Victorian population is good. But as climate change increases the danger of the kinds of heatwaves we’re already seeing this summer, we need to pay closer attention to where and how people live.

If you live in a ‘concrete jungle’ you’re likely to suffer from what’s called the urban heat island effect.

In areas where there are less green spaces like trees and grass, and more urban surfaces that absorb heat and then release it at night, everything feels hotter. Everything is hotter.

And this is particularly dangerous because Victorians living in urban heat islands are also likely to be more vulnerable to heat-related harms on a number of other fronts.

That’s because there’s a correlation between disadvantage and urban heat islands, as new research from VCOSS has confirmed.

We found that the six most disadvantaged LGAs were within the eight hottest areas.

Looking at individual local government areas (LGAs), we found that the six most disadvantaged LGAs were within the eight hottest areas.

For example, Greater Dandenong is the most disadvantaged LGA in Melbourne and is 1.8 degrees hotter than Boroondara.

The ‘top 5’ hottest and most disadvantaged LGAs

We also found a correlation between financial hardship and urban heat – in other words, if you live in a poorer area, you’re more likely to also live in a hotter area.

If you earn $1 to $7,799 a year, the area you live is about 0.6 degrees hotter on average than if you make more than $156,000 a year.

This should raise alarm bells because it means the people least able to keep cool are living in the hottest areas. The people who most need air-conditioning are the least able to afford it.

And it’s more dangerous when you consider the other factors likely to compound and make extreme heat a severe or even lethal health risk – all of which are again more likely to affect people living in poorer areas.

These include:

• Living in poor-quality housing without proper insulation.
• Having disabilities or pre-existing health issues.
• Being new to Australia or having low English skills.
• Doing outdoor or insecure work.
• Being a woman dealing with family violence and/or pregnancy.

VCOSS is pushing for the 2024 Victorian Budget to include measures that help low-income households keep cool, including free housing retrofits to enhance the energy efficiency, comfort and safety of people’s homes.

Minimum energy efficiency standards for rental properties are also needed to keep renters safe. Previous VCOSS research showed that homeowners were twice as likely to have insulation as renters.

• Read the VCOSS ‘heat island’ research.

Ten years ago, the Morwell community was thrown into the midst of one of the state’s biggest industrial, social and health catastrophes. Tracie Lund, the manager of VCOSS member organisation Morwell Neighbourhood House, reflects on how the disaster changed her community, and herself.

RETROSPECTIVE

“I always thought someone should do something about that, then I realised I am someone.”

Today marks ten years since the Morwell Mine Fire. It’s hard to believe a decade has gone by already.

Initially downplayed, it unfolded into a 45-day industrial disaster, raining toxic smoke and ash on our vulnerable community.

It quickly threatened the state’s electricity supply and moved to a health disaster with even greater speed.

The aftermath led to two government inquiries, the establishment of a Health Innovation Zone, a long term Health Study, the appointment of a Latrobe Health Advocate, and years later, a $2 million Supreme Court fine for what turned into one of Australia’s worst air quality disasters.

The government’s problematic response was blamed on lack of ‘triggers’ and ‘data,’ as only two air monitors were in place, both turned off at the time. Highlighting how extremely unprepared everyone was. It was days into the event before monitors were switched on, and air quality data began to be collected.

Adding insult to injury, our community was divided with the invention of ‘Morwell South’ and finally, we were issued masks and buckets and tasked with the clean up.

The Morwell Mine Fire reshaped emergency response protocols, exposing the pitfalls of confusing messaging for the epic failure they were. The directive, ‘Don’t breathe the air,’ still haunts me and served to put a focus on the need for urgent response and reform for messaging to community during emergencies. The absence of smoke protocols and triggers left us exposed to dense, toxic smoke without protective measures for our community and our health. Thankfully, this is another area of change that communities across the state now benefit from.

Beyond the immediate health concerns we were experiencing, there was a clear indifference from the government of the day and responsible stakeholders to understanding the long-term health impacts.

A GetUp campaign video from April 2014

I saw the pushback unfold regularly during the weekly community information sessions that we held at Morwell Neighbourhood House.

With my young children breathing in toxins and first hand exposure to cryptic and inconsistent messaging from stakeholders, the fear of not knowing ‘what was in the smoke’ became a driving force that pushed me into action.

I put myself on the front line to support a combined community response. Changes needed to be made, and it was clear that the community needed to activate to make it happen.

I started a petition for a health study that gained 25,000 signatures, which I presented to Rosemary Lester, the Chief Health Officer at the time.

To the outside, I’m sure it looked like I knew what I was doing. I didn’t. I was constantly plagued by imposter syndrome.

I saw myself as a ‘housewife’, a ‘working mum’, and I felt I was hopelessly unqualified to raise concerns in any fashion on any issue. Let alone an unfolding industrial disaster. I was also naive, and I quickly learned the inevitable criticism that comes to those who to dare speak up is not only real, it is fiercely gendered and often vicious.

I didn’t actually believe that to be the case until I experienced it myself. I can tell you it’s bought me to my knees as I was not prepared for it at all.

This leads me to the importance of champions and people who believe in you when you don’t or can’t believe in your own worth. I’ve been extremely fortunate to have had the ugly underbelly of public life matched with some incredible support from people who have offered strategic advice, moral support, and sometimes chocolate to pull me through.

I’ve given a brief reflection on the impact the Morwell Mine Fire had on me. It changed my life forever.

I didn’t choose to become an advocate for change and a voice for the voiceless. The circumstances chose me. It changed many lives.

The fallout transformed our community and had broad implications for the state.

I’m mindful of the many people who have fought hard for socially just responses for our community, those who have shared their stories, and those who have been traumatised and remain silent. Healing looks different for each of us, and I deeply respect the individual journey we are all on.

The story of the Mine Fire is a powerful story of resilience and triumph in the face of extraordinary adversity.

The fierce push back from unlikely voices helped channel community strength to respond to the immediate danger we faced.

The fallout transformed our community and had broad implications for the state.

Given all that we’ve been through, it’s crucial that we stay connected, continuing to foster conversations and building relationships with one another. Strong social cohesion is more important now than ever.

In the coming weeks, there will be a renewed focus on Morwell and the Mine Fire. With opportunities for reflection, discussion, and the sharing of stories.

It’s important we look out for each other, reach out to our safe people, and approach interactions with kindness and thoughtfulness.

We will all benefit from allowing space for respectful sharing and moments of quiet reflection as needed.

• Lifeline 13 13 14
• Beyond Blue 1300 22 46 36
• Kids helpline 1800 55 1800

This article first appeared on Facebook. It is reproduced with permission.

VCOSS staff have taken part in the Midsumma Pride March for the first time, hitting the streets of St Kilda with tens of thousands of others.

This annual event is a celebration of queer culture, diversity and experience, and an act of representation and allyship.

Below is a collection of photos from the day, including VCOSS staff, members and others.

Can you spot yourself?

• In 2025, we’ll be inviting workers from across Victoria’s social and community sector to march with VCOSS on the day. Let us know if you’d like to come along.

Click to enlarge images.

And thanks to our photographers for the day.

Insurance companies’ “cavalier and combative” attitudes retraumatised flood affected communities and pushed some people further into poverty, VCOSS has told a Federal Parliamentary inquiry.

VCOSS CEO Junita Pope and Thriving Communities Director Libby Buckingham detailed the stories of people affected by the 2022 northern Victorian floods at a public hearing of the inquiry into insurers’ responses to flood claims on Wednesday 31 January.

After the floods, VCOSS held a series of one-on-one consultations with social service bodies and individuals across northern Victoria and convened a community feedback event in Echuca (see report).

“As we consulted after the floods, one of the biggest issues raised was the inadequacy of insurance,” Ms Pope told the Standing Committee.

“The message, loud and clear, was that the insurance system isn’t working.”

During the public hearing, Ms Pope outlined findings that insurance companies adopted a “cavalier and combative attitude” after the 2022 floods, and that flood victims were “retraumatised” as they lodged and pursued insurance claims.

“Too often, insurers push back against insurance claims — and then push back some more — until a person simply gives up,” Ms Pope said.

“A massive power imbalance exists. All the hard work and mental load is on the shoulders of the person who’s just been flooded.”

The Standing Committee also heard that the cost of insurance is too high for many people, especially those on low incomes, leading to insurance gaps and under-insurance.

Roughly 60% of homes affected by the October 2022 floods were either underinsured, or not insured at all.

“Adequate insurance simply costs too much and premiums will continue rising in disaster-prone aeras,” Ms Pope said.

“People living in flood-prone areas without adequate insurance are being pushed into poverty.”

Ms Buckingham urged the Committee to recommend increased investment in mitigation and community resilience programs, so people, homes and infrastructure are better prepared for future natural disasters, and pressed on the importance of safe, secure housing for people that have been displaced.

“The impact of temporary housing, and unsafe housing, is devastating to the people in these communities,” she said. “It has such impacts on people’s mental health, physical health, education, ability to participate in society. We’ve really heard that people are putting their lives on hold because they have very insecure housing while they wait for their claims to be heard.”

Ms Pope praised the work of community organisations, amid rising demand on services in disaster affected areas.

“The community sector has put in a Herculean effort to support people directly with their insurance problems, and to help people with the flow-on impacts of insurance failure,” Ms Pope told the inquiry.

The Standing Committee also heard evidence from consumer advocates the Consumer Action Law Centre, CHOICE and the Financial Rights Legal Centre.

• You can read their joint submission here.

ANALYSIS

The Victorian Government has unveiled a broad suite of reforms designed to fix the state’s housing crisis.

The long-anticipated Housing Statement includes changes to planning laws, more social housing, a new short-stay levy, rent regulation and more.

This page provides a snapshot summary and analysis of these reforms.

It will be progressively updated as new information become available.

Do you have questions?

VCOSS is collecting sector questions about these reforms. We will seek clarity from the Victorian Government and arrange a member-only briefing to communicate this additional information.

Please make sure you have subscribed to receive VCOSS emails.

EVENT SUMMARY

Community lawyers are urging renters to challenge rent increases they feel are excessive or invalid.

Rental providers are only allowed to raise rents once a year and don’t face any hard rules limiting how big an increase can be.

But Tenants Victoria lead lawyer Ben Cording says there’s an obligation on landlords to document and communicate any proposed rent rise correctly, or it could be deemed invalid.

“They need to give you at least 60 days clear notice before the increases to take effect,” Mr Cording told a recent VCOSS Renters’ Rights forum.

“If they only gave you 58, that won’t be valid. If they gave you 59, it won’t be valid.”

Landlords must also use the correct form, specify the “method of increase”, send the notice in a valid way and give clear and correct advice on how a renter can challenge the proposed increase.

Failure to meet any of these requirements, as spelled out in Victoria’s Residential Tenancies Act, will make the proposed rent increase invalid.

“Many years ago I had a client who had paid very low rent, and each year got a little letter in the mail saying ‘Your rent’s going up a hundred bucks’.”

“Then we realized that there was no proper advice about being able to challenge [the increase] and it wasn’t in the right form, so it was invalid.” Mr Cording said.

The notice of proposed rent increase must be given to you on the official form, either in person (between 8am and 6pm), sent in the mail (in a timely manner) or via email, but only if you’ve given written permission that this is okay.

The requirement for landlords to detail the “method of increase” – essentially how they calculate and justify the proposed rent hike – is one of more than 130 changes to rental regulations made recently by the Victorian Government.

Mr Cording told the forum while there’s no hard formula dictating what constitutes a “fair” rent increase in Victoria (VCOSS is pushing for exactly this), landlords are required to explain and justify their calculations in some detail.

This should include references to similar rentals in the area (not social housing), the condition of the premises, any changes to the property and the value of the dwelling, among other things.

Mr Cording said vague or unsupported references to market forces won’t cut it.

“You can’t just plunk a figure … and use the phrase ‘comparative market research’ to check the box. Not good enough.”

If renters are unsuccessful in rejecting or negotiating a reduced rent increase through direct conversation with their landlord or real estate agent, they can take the matter to VCAT for a formal determination.

Mr Cording acknowledged it was unfair individual tenants were responsible for identifying and challenging suspected invalid rent increase notices, but said help was available through Tenants Victoria or one of Victoria’s more than 50 community legal centres.

The VCOSS Renters’ Rights Forum covered a host of issues specific to rental increases and how social sector workers can support clients to navigate rising rents.

A full transcript of the event and copies of Ben Cording’s presentation is available here.

ANALYSIS

The Victorian Government is promising the “greatest shakeup” of housing policy in decades.

The need for bold reform is self evident. Our state doesn’t have enough social housing, renters are being asked to pay too much, and many property managers and landlords (no, not all landlords) are taking advantage of the immense power they wield over tenants.

This means an increasing number of Victorians are teetering on the edge of homelessness or making heartbreaking sacrifices just to pay the rent — and pay off somebody else’s investment property.

The Victorian Government’s promised Housing Statement is being developed just as a cross-parliamentary committee is investigating the same issue.

So what should be done?

There are five key things housing advocates and anti-homelessness bodies are hoping for:

At the moment, renters are struggling. And the tenancy support services and other community sector organisations that assist renters are also over-stretched and will need more resources to keep up with demand.

The housing crisis is so complex and entrenched that there’s no single (or quick) solution.

The best response will be a suite of coordinated and complimentary measures introduced in tandem.

ANALYSIS

One of the most ground-breaking economic reforms of our generation was launched last week, with the Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers finally publishing his Measuring What Matters wellbeing framework.

This is something that has been much anticipated by policy purists and social justice advocates, yet it is widely publicly misunderstood—if the public has registered its existence at all.

The framework is a first step towards Australia adopting a full blown wellbeing budgeting approach. That is, elevating social and environmental measures to the same level of importance as classical economic indicators, and then reorienting the entire business of government accordingly. 

The Framework includes measurements for things like financial security, overall happiness, social connectedness and housing security.

By putting these indicators front and centre, Chalmers is inviting us into a historically significant conversation that will potentially transform how the Federal Budget is shaped each year. It is a conversation through which the Government is trying to “measure what matters”, to better understand the drivers and actors that inform our individual and collective wellbeing.

In response to this significant moment, the usual chorus of critics have been making noise. Some have questioned the entire concept of wellbeing, but as the discourse around wellbeing economics becomes more mainstream and accepted this line of attack has begun to look old.

Instead, criticisms that have gained most traction are about the currency of data used in the Framework, with commentators claiming that the data—which in some cases is one to three years old—”might as well be from last century.”

These criticisms somewhat miss the point.

The Wellbeing Framework is a first step by which the Australian Treasury can move beyond traditional economic measures of success and take a long-term view of our progress.

Currency of data is obviously important in policy formulation. But for the establishment of a wellbeing framework, it is also important that we find a way to pull back and look at the big picture, at macro indicators and broad trends.

Arguably, the flurry of criticism around Chalmer’s use of data that is not up-to-the-minute in fact plays into the very problem of short-termism that a genuine wellbeing framework can be set up to counter.

For many years people have been calling out for leaders who have long-term vision; leaders who care about what is shaping ordinary people’s lives.

There is a small but noisy minority of people with vested interests who don’t want this conversation to happen and don’t want a change to the status quo. There are people who benefit from only measuring GDP and short-term economic trends.

And then there are the majority of people—’ordinary’ Australians, for whom conversations about the economy are generally boiled down to a yearly blip on budget night.

What should be a broad and inclusive conversation about what matters to us as a society gets simplified into a “winners and losers” column on the first Tuesday of May.

The Australian people are very rarely genuinely asked what matters to us or how government should prioritise budget spending. We get to cast a vote every few years and then we are expected to accept our position in the “loser” column come budget night.

Australia’s first national wellbeing framework is about better lining up our objectives for the economy with our objectives for society. See the full report here: https://t.co/CutFJC7pYH #auspol #ausecon pic.twitter.com/YInEgbWS2N

— Jim Chalmers MP (@JEChalmers) July 21, 2023

VCOSS has been advocating for many years to do things differently. We have been advocating for a wellbeing economy.

Our health and social services systems have been severely stretched by the COVID pandemic, we are facing unprecedented natural disasters and emergencies driven by climate change, and inequality is growing.

And while traditional economic indicators may have presented a positive story over the past thirty years, many people do not feel like they share in this success and don’t feel optimistic for the future. People experiencing poverty and disadvantage are doing it tough; their experiences do not reflect the wealth of a supposedly prosperous society.  

In 2022 and 2023, VCOSS has conducted listening tours around Victoria, speaking to over 1,500 people. The listening tours are designed to better understand people’s experience of the pandemic and their hopes and fears for the future. This was not a run-of-the-mill consultation process; it was meaningful community engagement about what matters to people, conducted in their safe and familiar places.

What we heard was not out of whack with the indicators in the Wellbeing Framework. We heard that people across the state are worried about their health, experiencing loneliness, and struggling to afford the basic necessities of life.

We can quibble with the currency of Chalmers’ data, but our up-to-the-minute exercise in listening to the Victorian people tells us that he is asking the right questions, and this is a huge step forward.

To do what matters we have to measure what matters. We have to define our priorities in clear indicators.

It is our chosen indicators that reveal what we truly collectively value. Perhaps this is why the Framework has inspired such a strong reaction.

Some political commentators see this Framework and the act of government measuring our society’s wellbeing as a threat to their status quo.

But the worst outcome of the Wellbeing Framework would be for political leaders to decide that it is easier not to measure our health, security, sustainability, cohesion, and prosperity. For them to not engage with intellectual reflection on how we are tracking and where we want to get to.

To move this conversation forward, the process now needs to develop into one of deep listening to the values of the Australian people, and into the complex task of collecting the right data.

This is no easy task. To collect quality and insightful data takes time, dedication and resources. But it is a task worth undertaking.

We need to listen to people about what truly matters to them, to collect the data that can help us understand the driving forces in people’s lives.

We need to keep talking about our values and who our economy serves.

Then we might find that, come budget night in May, many more of us will be in the winners column.

GUEST POST

I have stood across the street from neo-Nazi more than once. I came out in London in the mid-eighties when bands of skinhead thugs and National Front bully-boys would march alongside the pride parades spitting abuse and yelling sieg heil.

I was young, in my early twenties, coming out into a world that was vastly different to the one I’m living in today, but that threat — of masked black-clad men in steel-capped boots — has been around for decades — it is just more and less visible, more and less prevalent.

I’ve learnt a lot since those early days about how we live with that threat and about what makes me and my community feel safe. Right now, we’ve just finished up Pride month, a celebration of queer identity and resistance that marks the historic Stonewall riots when, for the very first time in history, queer people were seen in numbers on the streets.

On that day in 1969, we became visible; that’s the importance of Stonewall and of Pride month and, since then, that visibility has been the cornerstone of our freedom. It’s very simple: if we are not visible, if we can’t be seen, we don’t exist — neither to the world, nor to ourselves.

Our events — rainbow balls, drag story times, glitter bingo nights — are about visibility. They are where we see others like us, and where we connect and build community. They are where our young people see the versions of themselves that survived high school; where they see a range of queer people living ordinary, productive lives with partners, kids, lovers, jobs, families and friends.

So, we need people to stop cancelling them.

Now, I know that’s easier said than done, that there are complexities and challenges, and I’m not suggesting there’s a simple solution, but here’s the thing.

Last month, I participated in an event that involved bringing a hundred plus queer young people from all around rural and regional Victoria to a central Melbourne location for a full day of activities with twenty leading LGBTIQ advocates. It was carefully advertised and ticketed, met all Child Safe Standards, had effective security, including a low-key queer police presence. And, it went off without a hitch.

It sent a huge message to those young people that their community sees them, has their back, and will continue to make them safe despite what they see on TV and social media. For those kids, it was a rare day of connection and celebration; they felt proud, hopeful, and part of a community, and all that helps to inoculate them against the hate.

The event was the brain-child of Merrin Wake, a leading advocate who works with queer young people, particularly in rural and remote areas. Wake is also an expert in child safety and the success of the day is a very clear indication that it is possible to run LGBTIQ events successfully and safely in Victoria right now.

So if you’re in the business of running community events and you’re thinking about organising something for the LGBTIQ community, either for kids or adults — or for any other minority, vulnerable or threatened group for that matter — here’s a few things to include in your thinking. They’re not all necessary for every event, of course, but I’m hoping they’ll put a break on the current trend of cancelling events for our ‘safety’.

First, please, take a breath. Run a risk assessment for holding the event. Focus on your immediate local community, not what you’ve read in the paper. Consult with all your stakeholders and make sure that includes queer representatives. Contact your local Victorian Police LGBTIQ+ Liaison Officer and get the most up to date, regional intel and advice. Liaise with other similar organisations in your area and find out what they’re doing. Create a network with them and share those ideas and strategies. Talk to queer community groups supporting the safe running of events.

Identify risk mitigation strategies. Think about the language you use (maybe rainbow rather than drag for the time being) and about how you advertise. Be strategic and creative about ticketing and promotion. Use personal and trusted networks rather than large public platforms. Take the time to follow up with individual enquires and use a private link for registrations.

Brief your workers and volunteers well before the event. Give them an opportunity to talk through their concerns. Provide details of support and counselling services for both your queer and non-queer staff. Remind them of your Employee Assistance Programs (did you know there is LGBTIQ specific EAP?). Set up safe spaces for people during the event and provide extra mental health support and opportunities for de-briefing if required. Review Working with Children Checks and think about your adult to child ratios.

Pay attention to your security. Check in with your local police station and LGBTIQ+ Liaison Officers in the early planning stages. They can help you develop a safety plan to manage different threat levels. Work with your communications team to develop a strategy for managing and monitoring your social media. If you experience negative commentary or hate speech, contact the eSafety Commissioner or your local police.

Employ on-site security for your event to keep an eye on the door or the surrounding environment. Have a list of expected attendees, provide staff with lanyards, and issue wrist bands to participants. Identify key personnel and give them walkie talkies for ease of quick communication, and have contact details of local police to hand.

Then if you’ve done all that, and you still think the easiest option is to put it in the too hard basket, run a second risk assessment on cancelling the event. Ask yourself: What impact will cancelling have on our local LGBTIQ community, especially young people? How will it affect other vulnerable or marginalised communities in our area? What message will it send to the people threatening the event? What happens if, next, they threaten the Jewish community, or target the local mosque, or attack people of colour? What about our multi-cultural celebrations? Will we cancel them, too? And are we still going to run NAIDOC events to support and celebrate our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?

Finally, and most importantly, think about the immediate impact of not running the event on the people for whom it was originally intended. In most cases, these events are cancelled because organisers don’t want queer people, especially young people, to witness overt aggression and hostility, to be exposed to vitriol and hate, to feel fearful or scared.

But none of this is new to our young people. Sadly, many of them experience this in their everyday lives; all of them experience it via social media — just talk to any young queer person you know — or any adult queer person for that matter. What they actually need is for the rest of us to acknowledge that reality and they need to see safe adults standing up for them and pushing back against the hate.

Yes, the risk of running these events can be high, but the risk of not running them is far higher. That young person who was going to the rainbow ball or the glitter bingo is instead sitting in their room at home scrolling through Discord by themselves knowing that hate just won again. Cancelling these events will never make it safer for us, nor for whichever marginalised group those emboldened neo-Nazis come for next.

• This article first appeared on Jac’s medium and has been republished with permission.

Victorians rejected for a rental property because they’re on a tenancy ‘blacklist’ should investigate having that listing removed, a Victorian renters’ rights forum has been told.

Blacklists are databases run by private companies which collect information on renters for use by real estate agents.

“Tenancy databases are unfortunately still an issue for people in Victoria,” Justice Connect Homeless Law lawyer Jemma Donaghey told the forum.

Ms Donaghey says rejected renters should ask to inspect the black list entry to determine if it’s valid.

“Is that information accurate? Should it still be on there? Is there something they can do to have it removed?”

The issue was raised in an audience question during the broader session dealing with renters’ rights, evictions and tenancy protections in Victoria, two years after sweeping changes to the state’s tenancy regulation regime.

VCOSS Policy and Advocacy Director Deborah Fewster moderated the session, and said renters are dealing with surging rents, low vacancy rates and a global cost-of-living crisis.

“The aim [of today] is to address the rental market power imbalance and make renting fairer and safer,” Ms Fewster said.

The session also heard from Angela Kyriakopoulos from the Council to Homeless Persons, who shared strategies for community sector workers who are helping renters avoid evictions and homelessness.

“Specialist programs should be able to assist [people] to stop and prevent [them] from being evicted when they receive a Notice to Vacate,” Ms Kyriakopoulos said.

“They should be able to have the skill, and … know how to access different types of funding programs”. ▇

More on renters' rights

ANALYSIS

A summary of the VCOSS Renters’ Rights Rundown: Renting and family violence, 3 May 2023.

On Wednesday 3 May 2023, people around Australia lit a candle to remember those who have been killed by domestic and family violence.

The Candlelight vigil aims to honor victims memories and bring light to this national crisis.

Family violence causes serious social, economic and health consequences.

Homelessness is one such consequence – domestic and family violence is the leading cause of homelessness for women and children in Victoria. Nearly half of all requests for assistance from specialist homelessness services are related to family violence.

The Royal Commission into Family Violence in Victoria highlighted the complex link between victim-survivor’s safety, the ability to recover from family violence and access to long-term housing.

Since the Royal Commission, significant progress has been made towards keeping women and children safe and establishing better responses to domestic and family violence.

To coincide with the Candlelight Vigil, VCOSS hosted an event in our Renters’ Rights Rundown series, focused on some of these responses, as well as tenancy rights under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 available to victim survivors to prevent the risk of homelessness.

Kim Hay and Courtney Wamala from Safe and Equal talked us through the Safe at Home response, where victim survivors are supported to safely remain at home, while the perpetrator is removed. This response includes a variety of risk- and safety informed interventions across the service system that work together to keep victim-survivors safe, including:

• Interventions with perpetrators
• Justice responses
• Case management support
• Safety modifications and technologies (e.g. security doors, home alarms)

Recognising the significant costs associated with staying safe at home, a key intervention is brokerage, which can help cover costs including but not limited to: safety and security items, education costs, housing costs, furniture, removal costs and legal fees.  

There are a range of brokerage options throughout the service system, as outlined below.

The Personal Safety Initiative is a program that helps victim survivors remain safely in their homes, through the identification and installation of safety and security items on a victim survivor’s home.

Sally Kenyon from Justice Connect Homeless Law talked us through new renter rights around making safety modifications in rental homes that complement these safe at home programs.

Other new provisions under the RTA include rights that allow renters to:

• Change locks
• Prevent open house inspections
• Object to advertising photos or videos
• Terminate a rental agreement
• Reduce the term of a rental agreement 
• Terminate a rental agreement and create a new one 
• Allow access for the removal of belongings
• VCAT can make orders about distribution of bond and liability for rent, damage/maintenance and/or utilities
• Defend a possession order application
• Protect bond
• Remove a renter or amend a database listing / blacklisting

Sally talked us through an example of how this would work in practice with a case study about Chris:

Chris’ ex-partner is excluded from their property via IVO and Chris finds out the rent has not been paid in over a month. They want to stay. 

Chris can change the locks and make other some modifications to help keep them safe – like installing non-hard-wired security cameras and lights.

Chris can apply to VCAT to terminate the tenancy agreement and have a new tenancy created in their name. Chris can also ask VCAT to make orders that the ex-partner is responsible for the outstanding rent and about how the utility bills should be dealt with.

To learn more about renters rights and supports available in family violence circumstances, you can watch the whole event and download the resources.

VCOSS will be hosting more Renters’ Rights Rundown sessions throughout 2023, including:

• Healthy homes – minimum standards, modifications, repairs and more
• Making sense of evictions

Keep an eye on https://vcoss.org.au/projects/rentersrights/ to find out more about these sessions and for other helpful resources for supporting renters.  

Please let us know if there are other renters’ rights topics you’d like to know more about by emailing Karen Taranto at karen.taranto@vcoss.org.au.

▇ VCOSS thanks our colleagues at Safe and Equal and Justice Connect Homeless Law for their participation in this event.

VCOSS thanks Consumer Affairs Victoria for their support of VCOSS’s rental fairness sector capacity building work and acknowledges this work is undertaken thanks to a grant from the Victorian Property Fund.

A summary of the VCOSS Renters Rights Rundown, 29 March 2023

In news that will surprise no one who knows about the Victorian rental crisis, a VCOSS poll of community sector workers has found that the number one issue facing renters is finding a property.

The poll was conducted during the week that we said Happy Birthday to the Victorian Government’s rental reforms, which just turned two years old.

The purpose of the reforms – to give renters more rights and power in a market that’s often stacked against them – has become even more vital as the crisis has worsened.

But laws are only as good as their application – to be effective they need to be well known and understood, enacted and enforced.

With more than 130 reforms washing through the system, it isn’t always possible for individual renters to know and understand all of their rights. And in an incredibly constrained rental housing market, it isn’t always easy for renters to assert their rights. That’s where the community sector comes in – specifically workers who provide information, advice, assistance and advocacy to people with rental issues.

VCOSS is committed to supporting frontline workers to stay across the full scope of the rental reforms, so that you have the information you need to assist people who are struggling. To that end, we’re running a new series of online Renters’ Rights Rundowns (RRR).

At the first RRR for 2023, attended by around 300 people, Ben Cording from Tenants Victoria provided a wealth of helpful information about renters’ rights set out in the Residential Tenancies Act 1997. The presentation focused on key changes that were introduced in March 2021.

The presentation included details about a new eviction process:

Ben said, “One of the major changes is that they removed the no reason notice to vacate. You used to be able to get a four-month notice essentially saying, I don’t have to tell you why I’m kicking you out, I’m kicking you out. That’s gone.”

“Another shift has been with any notice to vacate that’s for no fault. In most cases, they need to provide the evidence when they’re asking you to leave. So if they’re saying, for example, they want to do repairs and renovation, they actually need to show quotes. They need to show how long the works will take. They need to show that it’s necessary, that the renter actually has to move out and that the works can’t be done while you’re still living there.”

Along with this new standard of landlord accountability, another change is the introduction of the reasonable and proportionate test.

“Now, even if they can prove the reason that they want to kick you out, there’s still this question of the hardship, the relative hardship between the parties. It’s not a perfect test, it’s not working as strongly as we would like, but it certainly is stopping some evictions where it’s really not necessary or it’s exposing families to a really severe risk of immediate homelessness.”

When the laws were first introduced, tenancy experts noted that the first few years would feel like a work in progress, as reform elements would be tested in the legal system and rulings would help clarify the practical application of the new laws. This is the case with any major legislative reform. This theme of the laws being a work in progress was reflected in Ben’s summary of other changes, including the rules around pets in rentals (“the vast majority of pet decisions that have gone to VCAT have been successful in favour of the renter”), and anti-discrimination laws:

“It’s unlawful to discriminate when people are applying for properties, and we certainly know that discrimination is a very real thing for a lot of people when they’re applying for properties… So it’s certainly worthwhile being aware of the conduct and the basis of the decisions.”

With rents soaring and the cost of living increasing, the RRR event reinforced that rental arrears are a live issue for many people, so workers need to know the rent arrears framework:

Once someone owes more than 14 days’ worth of rent they can be given a notice to vacate, but the renter has a right to go to VCAT and ask for a payment plan.

Ben says, “There’s really nothing to lose by asking for the payment plan. If you’re not successful in proving the payment plan, then you can ask for extra time, an extra month, and that can be really important in terms of accessing many of your services.”

“We know that most renters are really scared of going to VCAT… The main thing with VCAT is that it’s very user-friendly, most people represent themselves and it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, you don’t have to pay any legal costs.”

This message of not being afraid to front up to VCAT for protection or redress of renters’ rights carried through to other issues, including rent increases, provisions for victims of family violence, lease terminations and bond disputes.

Ben strongly recommended normalising and destigmatising the use of financial counsellors, and being aware of a range of new obligations and prohibitions on landlords and real estate agents.

These new obligations include mandatory disclosures like building and construction plans, asbestos, and relevant historical details about the property.

The new prohibitions include questions that landlords and real estate agents can no longer ask prospective or current tenants, such as personal details about gender, sexuality, marital or parental status, or unreasonable financial details (“they can’t ask for your bank statements and go through all of the things you’ve been spending and go, oh, I can see you owed a little bit of money here and you bought the kids ice cream”).

Ben also highlighted important details of new minimum standards, including that every house in Victoria needs to be mould free, structurally sound and weather proof, have an energy efficient heater in the living area, and have an electrical safety switch.

“If a house doesn’t meet the minimum standards and the rental agreement has started since the 29th of March 2021, then you can treat it as an urgent repair, so you can get into VCAT within two business days.”

The top-line message? Even though this session was for sector workers, many of whom are relative experts in the operation of these rules, it’s a complex and changing landscape and there’s always more to learn. As Ben says, “I’m many years in and still feel like I don’t know everything.”

To that end, Tenants Victoria has a free advice line specifically for community sector workers needing advice for their clients.

“You can call that as much as you need. It doesn’t matter if you’re just confirming something, or if it’s a really complex matter, you can contact us if you’re an organisation supporting a renter. So don’t be a stranger, we really do want to hear from you there.”

You can:

• call Tenants Victoria on (03) 9411 1444, or
• email via Tenants Victoria’s portal on the website.

To consolidate Ben’s excellent overview of the rent reforms, VCOSS will be hosting more Renters’ Rights Rundown sessions throughout 2023, including:

• Renting and family violence
• Healthy homes – minimum standards, modifications, repairs and more
• Making sense of evictions

Keep an eye on https://vcoss.org.au/projects/rentersrights/ to find out more about these sessions and for other helpful resources for supporting renters.  

Please let us know if there are other renters’ rights topics you’d like to know more about by emailing Karen Taranto at karen.taranto@vcoss.org.au.

▇ VCOSS thanks our colleagues at Tenants Victoria for their participation in this event.

VCOSS thanks Consumer Affairs Victoria for their support of VCOSS’s rental fairness sector capacity building work and acknowledges this work is undertaken thanks to a grant from the Victorian Property Fund.

ANALYSIS

Victoria, like other Australian states and territories, is in the grip of a rental crisis. 

Only a tiny proportion of homes are affordable to people on low incomes. Competition is fierce, especially for homes at the low end of the rental market. This makes it easy for landlords and real estate agents to cherry-pick tenants.  

Groups that tend to get a raw deal in this market include students and young people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians, migrants and refugees, people with disability and mental illness, single parents, older people, LGBTIQ+ people, and woman fleeing domestic violence. 

There is simply not enough affordable housing to meet demand – especially social housing. This leads people to lots of bad situations, including rough sleeping, couch surfing, piling into crowded and unsafe share houses; even rostered bed-sharing. 

And for many Victorians it leads to what is sometimes called the ‘housing of last resort’: rooming houses. 

There’s been media coverage about the conditions in Victorian rooming houses, which are often unhealthy and unsafe, sometimes downright desperate. 

Some of this coverage has been about neighbouring residents objecting to the conditions in which rooming houses are kept, and to the social impacts of living near people who might have complex problems like addiction and a lack of wraparound support. 

Some of it has been about residents themselves, especially if they have tragic outcomes. 

What both sets of stories hint at but don’t address directly is that these outcomes flow from structural and systemic failures.  

There are stark power dynamics inherent in the idea of a last resort. People who are at their last resort have nowhere else to go, and very little power in the housing market. This can be both cause and effect of a range of complex and intersecting issues: they might have been recently released from prison, have a history of violence or abuse, have alcohol or other drug addiction. 

When it comes to the private rental market, the Government has worked hard on improving laws that protect renters from a raft of hazards and unsafe conditions, including by introducing minimum standards for rental properties that improve the safety, security, amenity and liveability of rental homes. 

 

Minimum standards for rooming houses should provide at least the same level of safety, security, amenity and liveability as for other tenancies. 

The minimum standards include requirements for features that seem basic and that you would reasonably expect to be included when renting a home – such as functioning and effective external locks, a toilet and kitchen in working order, adequate ventilation and heating. Health and safety issues such as mould and damp need to be dealt with in a timely manner. If a rental property doesn’t meet minimum standards, renters can request urgent repairs, and if these are not actioned they can apply to VCAT for an order to carry out repairs.   

Minimum standards for rooming houses should provide at least the same level of safety, security, amenity and liveability as for other tenancies.   

But since renters living in rooming houses often face complex health and social issues and have less power than those in other types of private rental housing, rooming house residents need additional protections.  

The Government has acknowledged this, initiating a review of the rooming house minimum standards.  

While the changes proposed by the review would improve on the existing minimum standards for rooming houses, there is an opportunity for the Government to go further to ensure improvements in residents’ lives. VCOSS has detailed these ideas in our submission to the review.  

And while stronger minimum standards are welcome and necessary, standards alone won’t secure the wellbeing of rooming house renters. As well as practical changes to the operation of the rooming house sector, system changes we would like to see include: 

• Strengthening mechanisms for monitoring, compliance and enforcement of standards 
• Clarifying powers and responsibilities between local and state government 
• Providing fit-for-purpose dispute resolution that recognises the unique dynamic between rooming house renters and providers 
• Improving the capability of rooming house providers to house vulnerable renters 
• Ensuring that renters can access supports they need, including support in their home. 

And these changes should be backed up by protections to prevent rooming house operators from unreasonably raising rents, and by strong education and compliance campaigns.  

The problems that lead some Victorians to opt for the streets over rooming house conditions are not baked into the system. We’ve seen momentum for change. 

The Victorian Government has made significant progress in making renting fairer and safer, and updating the rooming house minimum standards is an important step towards prioritising the needs of vulnerable Victorians. 

But there’s more work to be done, building on the good work already achieved, to make sure that people needing a last resort aren’t left with no resort at all. 

Read VCOSS’s submission to the Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies (Rooming House Standards) Regulations 2022 here

ANALYSIS

The impacts of climate change are overwhelming.

Every year we are confronted by images of bushfires, floods, droughts and storms.

But although there’s less attention paid to the dangers of extreme heat, it’s a major killer in Australia we should all be thinking about and planning for.

This is the top-line message from a VCOSS event that brought community organisations together with representatives from government, local councils and academics.

Extreme heat also makes people sick, causes financial hardship, and exacerbates violence in families and the community.

People working in the community sector see these impacts on their clients all the time.

And the organisations they work for aren’t immune from the impacts either.

Experts at the event discussed how extreme heat affects vulnerable people, and how communities and organisations can adapt.

Emma Bacon from Sweltering Cities made the point that heat-related vulnerability relates to a range of other issues.

“It’s about structural inequality,” she said. “It’s about where you live, it’s about your income, it’s about your health, it’s about your gender.”

Urban heat islands are a huge problem, particularly in Melbourne’s west and north and around Dandenong.

And Emma shared stories of renters who’d been stopped from making simple heat-safety alterations to their homes, like putting up curtain rails.

“The minimum standard for renters is you need curtains that block light and have privacy, but nothing to do with heat. There’s nothing to do with having a safe cool home in the summer. That’s something we really need to change.”

Heat-related sleeplessness is a huge issue, as is mental health.

“Suicides, mental health presentations, domestic violence and assaults all go up in higher temperatures. There is this really intense mental health impact.”

Air conditioning helps a lot of people keep cool, but it can’t be the whole solution.

“We need to provide funding so people on low incomes can turn it on, or make sure that … it always has renewable energy attached to it so people aren’t worrying about whether they can stay safe during heatwaves.”

Deaths from heatwaves are vastly underestimated because they’re not systematically recorded as heat-related. And Emma pointed out that we have a limited understanding of how bad extreme heat is going to get. In Melbourne we’re projected to have a doubling of heat-related deaths by 2050.

“Every summer heat records will be broken. We’re going to use the word unprecedented a lot.”

One of the problems, she said, is that we treat extreme heat as an individual problem with individual solutions. It’s not enough to tell people how to ‘look after themselves’.

“Feeling hot is not about being uncomfortable for a lot of people; it’s a life-threatening situation… And when you don’t have a lot of money for extra food; when your home is a hotbox that’s unsafe to be in, telling people to turn on a fan and put a wet towel on their neck is really inadequate. People are trying their best.

“Heat waves are environmental disasters where we know when and where they’re going to happen and we can plan for them. And so we need to be doing that now. That’s why we need to be telling decision-makers that they’ve got to act for safer suburbs, for safer homes, for better health outreach, and to make sure our most vulnerable aren’t left struggling to take care of themselves in those situations.”

The impact of extreme heat is also extremely gendered, as Margareta Windisch from RMIT University discussed.

Older women who live alone are at higher risk of heat-related mortality and morbidity, because of factors relating to systemic oppression, discrimination and lack of resources.

Margareta interrogated the concept of vulnerability, and the responsibility it implicitly assumes.

“What we are actually saying is it’s not just there’s something wrong with me – I’m not healthy enough, what am I doing that is creating my vulnerability? – but it is the social environment. It’s the political, the economic environment that actually makes me vulnerable.”

She pointed out that some suburbs have a lot more resources dedicated to their welfare than others, and that life-saving emergency services are under-funded and over-stretched.

“The catastrophic dimensions of heat wave mortality are concentrated amongst particular population groups. They’re higher in particular neighbourhoods… They’re exposing the existence of systemic and spatial inequality.

“What is the role of the state in creating the crisis or responding to the crisis? Why are some neighbourhoods experiencing higher mortality than others?”

Older women also face multiple barriers in accessing cool public places such as libraries and shopping centres. These community safe spaces don’t have adequate funding for transport and don’t consider things like people’s pets and their sense of personal safety.

“We’ve got to listen to what communities need so that older women don’t become the shock absorbers of the climate crisis.”

There are also other intersecting circumstances that make some people more vulnerable to heat-related death and disease.

Kaye Graves from Bendigo Community Health Services talked about risk factors for people from refugee backgrounds.

Language barriers and low literacy in people’s language of origin are major drivers of heat vulnerability.

“We talk about the recognitions of warnings,” she said, “and what that means in a very simple context and knowing when to act.

“I want to reinforce the need for emergency warning systems to be accessible for all local people of refugee background.

“I don’t believe there’s enough research done on how we can embed these messages into orientation to Australia.”

But there is amazing work being done by community organisations to keep people safe.

Mary Farrow from Emerald Community House talked about some of the innovative ways organisations are responding.

“We have free internet, recharging power backup, showers, toilets, generators, laundry, public computers.”

They also run emergency scenarios so community members can plan and prepare ahead for unexpected contingencies.

“When there is an extreme heat event, the power goes out because of the demand on the grid … Design your own scenario. There’s loads of software out there to help you to do this kind of stuff. Work with your group and say, Okay, this is what’s happened. We have a fire or we have a heat event. We’re in a house or we have these people, what are we going to do? Use your imagination.”

Organisations, she said, “have the capacity, the knowledge, the lateral flexibility, the agility to respond to disasters.”

This event was about sharing that capacity and knowledge, learning from those on the front line and from each other, as a matter of survival

As Emma Bacon said, “This is an urgent issue. We should not be waiting until there is a deadly summer and thousands of deaths before we actually start to take this seriously.”

ANALYSIS

As we hurtle towards election day the “cost of living” is a key battleground.    

Increases in what we pay for energy, food, fuel and housing are hitting people hard.  Organisations delivering emergency support to those in financial strife are busier than ever, including helping people who have never needed it before. About 11% of Victorians live in persistent poverty, with many more on the brink.    

But while prices may rise uniformly, the impact of these rises is felt very differently.  

Everybody claims to be feeling the financial pinch, but we need to acknolwedge the uncomfortable truth that some Victorians are feeling it more acutely than others.    

Take the example of two families.   

One family can’t afford tonight’s dinner or medicine for the kids. The parents work hard, but don’t earn a huge amount. It’s not clear how next week’s rent will be paid. Every day, this family is forced to “choose” between essentials like using the heater or buying fresh food. They are experiencing genuine and severe cost of living distress.    

Across town, a different family is also watching prices rise.  Petrol and groceries are more expensive, and their housing costs are growing. But at the end of the day this family benefits from secure and well-paying employment. They can access money if they need to. They might need to cut back on a holidays or nights out, but they’re fundamentally okay.   

Both families are feeling the strain, but it’s not the same.

One is poverty, the other is inconvenience.   

Inconvenience requires empathy, but poverty demands government action.   

We have seen some strong, well-designed policies to make life better for those most in need this election. The most recent was Labor’s pledge for government-owned and operated low-fee childcare in disadvantaged neighbourhoods that are currently childcare “deserts”.   

But too many election pledges haven’t made the distinction between helping those in acute need and helping those who are stressed and inconvenienced. They have been short-term in nature and poorly targeted, if targeted at all.   

People on higher incomes might want a few dollars off their power bill, but it won’t make a material difference to their lives. 

The electoral allure of broad cost of living pledges is obvious. No voter feels they’re missing out. Everyone is happy to save a few bucks.   

But addressing the cost of living is about more than giving money or free things to the Victorian community at large. This easy, short-term approach won’t deliver the structural reforms required to address underlying drivers of our current crisis.  

A sensible first step is really targeting help to those who need it the most.  Better targeting help would allow the parties to be more generous or rollout more assistance programs.   

Sometimes the best responses are right in front of us.   

Roughly 14% of Victorians who are eligible for a power bill concession—that’s as many as 130,000 people—don’t currently receive it.   

These people are predominately low-income earners. They either don’t know the concession exists or that they’re eligible, or are unsure how to apply. Or they need a little help because they don’t speak English or don’t have the devices, data plans or digital skills required to apply online.  

We should be proactively helping these people get the deal they’re entitled to.

Further, more than 16,500 households are currently receiving help from their energy provider but still can’t afford to pay their next bill.  These households owe an average of $2056. That’s not much for a power company or the Victorian Government, but a fortune to somebody on a low income. Non-payment risks disconnection from an essential service.  

The next state government should provide a one-off ‘Utility Debt Demolition’ payment of up to $2000 to help these households clear their lingering energy debts.  

Other solutions are not as obvious.

That’s why VCOSS is calling for the establishment of an independent Cost of Living Commissioner to lead collaborative reform work addressing challenges that sit across multiple areas of government. These would include concessions, food security, telecommunications affordability and accessibility, and housing.   

The Commissioner would have a mandate to look across state services and private markets, and consider national factors.  They would be a problem solver, tasked with helping departments break free from bureaucratic silos.  

The party that wins on Saturday will be governing a state where rent stress is high, more than 100,000 people are waiting for social housing, one in six children live in poverty and roughly 180,000 people struggle for food.  

Lasting solutions won’t be found in universal cash-splashes, short-term payment freezes or cute gimmicks.  

Serious reforms are needed to curb rents, boost social housing beyond the Big Housing Build, address food security and ensure no Victorian is left behind as we transitions to cheaper renewable energy generation.    

This is the real frontline in the cost of living. ∎

Too many election promises haven’t made the distinction between helping those in acute need and helping those who are merely stressed and inconvenienced. | OPINION https://t.co/qCfjeKfESy

— The Age (@theage) November 22, 2022

(This article first appeared in The Age.)

ANALYSIS

For those following VCOSS’s daily Election Advent Calendar reveals, today’s call is for Victoria to fully embrace housing first.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Vic. Council of Social Service (@vcoss_vic)

So what is Housing First?

The Housing First model works on the principle that, for people experiencing long-term and recurring homelessness and those with complex needs, immediate access to stable, safe and appropriate housing is a need that precedes all others. It should be provided with wraparound support, and without obligation for the person experiencing homelessness to first jump through conditional hoops for issues like drug addiction or mental illness.

Housing First has radically improved outcomes for people experiencing persistent and recurring homelessness, both in Australia and overseas.

What about in Victoria?

Here in Victoria, we already have large and successful programs operating on Housing First principles. Homelessness to a Home and Homes for Families support almost 2,000 people with long-term housing and wraparound support.

However, funding for these programs is set to run out in July 2023.

That’s why, this election, VCOSS is calling for all parties to commit to sustained investment in current Housing First-like initiatives, including Homelessness to a Home and Homes for Families.

If funding for current programs lapses next year, some people who are in the early stages of recovering from long-term challenges could be at risk of returning to homelessness. With no alternative housing options and no support, they’ll be spat into the tightest rental market we’ve seen in two decades, or forced to join the ever-growing wait list for social housing.

As well as locking in long-term funding for current initiatives, we’re calling for Victoria to fully embrace Housing First in the next four-year term of government by providing funding for new comprehensive models to end rough sleeping in Victoria.

We want to see ‘high fidelity’ Housing First initiatives across the state, including in regional Victorian centres that will be host sites for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

Hang on, why are we talking about the Commonwealth Games? Aren’t they years away?

Yes, the games are in 2026. But preparations will cause an influx of contractors and their families move into these areas, well ahead of 2026, to work on new regional infrastructure. They will be followed by waves of Games staff, teams and tourists.

This is going to be an exciting time for Victoria, but there’s a risk that regional Victorians could be displaced from their homes, communities, and from crisis accommodation options like motels and caravan parks.

With no alternative housing options and no support, they’ll be spat into the tightest rental market we’ve seen in two decades, or forced to join the ever-growing wait list for social housing.

The good news is that we have time to head off this risk with good planning and investment – including in Housing First.

The Victorian Housing Peaks Alliance is calling for a raft of sensible reforms and commitments in the lead-up to the Games.

These include building more public and community housing, providing community-led and culturally safe housing and supports for First Nations Victorians, protecting regional renters, shoring up crisis accommodation, and committing to fair and respectful treatment of rough sleepers.

And sustaining Housing First-inspired programs that have already been shown to work.

The Commonwealth Games provide a golden opportunity to leave a positive housing legacy for Victoria.

https://twitter.com/Justice_Connect/status/1590207571780149249

ANALYSIS

Happy International Tenants Day! Or is it? 

Rents are going up. Vacancy rates are stubbornly low. Homelessness is on the rise. 

In short, Australia is suffering through a housing affordability crisis.  

VCOSS recently surveyed community sector workers to see how renters are faring. 

While affordability has been a long-term issue for renters, COVID made it worse.  

Record low rental vacancy rates (especially in regional cities) are adding to the pain. 

About 85 per cent of community sector workers said finding an affordable place to live was the top issue facing renters in both 2021 and 2022. Unsurprisingly, people living on Centrelink incomes were the worst affected. 

This has all been compounded by a global cost-of-living crisis.  

In Victoria, long-awaited and welcome changes to make our renting laws fairer and safer came into effect in March 2021. Some of the changes deal with rent and financial hardship, such as limiting rent increases to only once a year, and giving people who receive a notice to vacate (for falling behind in their rent) 14 days to pay the arrears. 

But these changes alone haven’t (and were never intended) to alleviate all the cost-of-living pressures facing renters. 

With a Victorian election around the corner, all political parties should be now turning their focus to what else can be done. 

This means more than building on positive changes already made to our renting laws.  

The world has changed since 2015, when the Victorian Government began reviewing and reforming our existing laws. This means more changes are needed. For example, investigating how to curb outrageous rent rises. 

More also needs to be done to educate renters (and landlords) about new renters’ rights. If nobody knows a right exists, or how to assert it, then that’s a problem. This will require continuing to roll out high-quality information tailored for specific groups of renters.  

It will also mean bolstering Consumer Affairs Victoria and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (which often rules on rental disputes) to ensure renters can access information, advice and dispute resolution.  

Governments also need to be funding community organisations properly and predictably.  

What does this have to do with renting? A lot, actually. Community legal centres, housing and homelessness services, financial counselling organisations and information bodies help renters keep their leases. But funding restraints mean they can’t keep up with demand. 

Happy #InternationalTenantsDay! We provide free & confidential legal advice to renters in Wyndham, Maribyrnong, Hobsons Bay, and the CBD. We also provide legal advice to students at Victoria Uni, and to international students. There is always help available on your rental rights.

— WEstjustice (@WEstjusticeCLC) October 2, 2022

While outside of the Victorian Government’s jurisdiction, lifting Commonwealth income support payments like JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, the Disability Support Pension (etc) is critical. 

Commonwealth Rent Assistance also needs an overhaul. The independent Productivity Commission says this should happen urgently. Any shakeup must also look at how we adequately assist people who are eligible for social housing, but are stranded in the private rental market because there isn’t enough social housing. 

In this context, the Victorian Government should explore whether current state-based financial supports to renters are still meeting need. For example, while family violence victim survivors now have more legal rights to stay in their home, that doesn’t make it any easier to afford the rent, utilities and other expenses. Significant financial barriers remain. 

Finally, the elephant in the room.  

All governments need to work together to build more public and community housing. Victoria has made a great start with the nation-leading Big Housing Build. We need a sustained pipeline of growth beyond the current four-year commitment, with the Commonwealth playing its part. 

By our estimates, Victoria alone must build at least 60,000 new properties homes over the next 10 years just to meet current demand.  

Not only will building more social housing literally give people a safe and affordable place to live, it will also take some demand off the red-hot private rental market.  

In short, more social housing is essential to ensure affordability, reduce evictions and prevent homelessness. New renters’ rights should also be extended in full to social housing tenants. 

Victoria’s 1.8 million renters are relying on us getting this right.

We need a housing guarantee for women and children fleeing violence backed by investment in at least 6,000 social housing properties per year, because unmet need for housing is getting worse. @safe_and_equal @VCOSS #BuildSocialHousing #EverybodysHome https://t.co/OVNE6wi36k

— Council to Homeless Persons (@CHPVic) October 2, 2022

ANALYSIS

Janine Voisey had been a foster carer for more than two years when she took her nine-month-old foster daughter, Elly*, to the doctor for a check-up.

Elly, like many kids in the foster system, doesn’t have a birth certificate.

Foster kids without this basic proof-of-life document can’t access many services and supports, including subsidised childcare, school enrolment, and a Medicare card.

“I’m happy to pay for her,” explains Ms Voisey. “But it’s constantly having to explain.  ‘Sorry, it’s not me that hasn’t got her on Medicare, I’m not a bad mum.’ And then having to tell her story and tell people she’s a foster kid. I shouldn’t need to.

“I think what frustrates me more than anything is that she’s non-existent in the world.”

Ms Voisey and her wife have been trying to get Elly a birth certificate since she came to them at four weeks old.

“Being a foster mum is something I’ve always wanted to do ever since I was young. But this sort of thing is why I’m rethinking being a foster carer, to be honest.”

Proof-of-life documentation is a human right under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

However, workers at the Foster Care Association of Victoria (FCAV) are regularly contacted by carers struggling to get this documentation for the children in their care. FCAV’s Rowan Pulford describes another case involving a carer who has had two children in her care for five years, and is still struggling to resolve this gap in documentation, despite repeated attempts.

This sort of thing makes it impossible for families to plan their lives. 

For instance, Ms Voisey has been hoping to get Elly into childcare so she can return to work. But without a birth certificate she and her wife would have to pay for it out of pocket, which they can’t afford while Ms Voisey’s not working. And she can’t apply for jobs until she has certainty around Elly’s care.

These circular problems keep cropping up. Mr Pulford says carers are regularly tangled up in red tape and obstructed by bureaucratic barriers. 

This affects children in care, and prevents volunteer carers from undertaking essential life activities such as work and travel. 

The impacts are also heavily gendered, with women making up around 80 per cent of foster carers.

Ultimately, it contributes to the “dire situation” some sector leaders say the system is in.

“Being a foster mum is something I’ve always wanted to do ever since I was young. But this sort of thing is why I’m rethinking being a foster carer, to be honest.”

The Victorian Government has launched an audit to work out how many foster kids lack this basic documentation, thanks largely to the advocacy of carers like Ms Voisey, and groups like FCAV. It intends to use the data from this audit to secure a birth certificate for every child in its care so “no child is prevented from receiving medical care when they need it”.

Another thing Mr Pulford hopes will make a difference is a dedicated, Australia-first carer help desk funded in the 2022 Victorian budget.

“Effectively what the Department is saying to carers [with the carer help desk] is ‘We don’t care what path you follow to get to us – whether you approach us yourself or go through an agency – once approached we’ll get your birth certificate, Medicare number or Centrelink number if you don’t already have it.’

“It also acknowledges that child protection workers are not best placed to undertake much of this work, which is administrative in nature, and that it’s better handled in a different and more accessible way.

“There are benefits for everyone in getting better decision-making structures and thinking about how to do things more efficiently.”

Mr Pullford says the wider system also requires adequate and secure funding and more direct financial and social support for foster and kinship carers.

For now, Janine Voisey and her wife are staying foster mums. 

They want to be able to look after Elly for as long as she needs it.

But for that to happen, they say Victoria needs to look after them.

________________

Foster Care Week (September 11–17). 

*Name has been changed