Cheaper housing, closer to where you work

Institutional investors – larger entities like superannuation funds or insurance companies – can play a critical role in housing supply. These entities have already shown their appetite to invest in long-term, stable rental properties and build-to-sell developments. We’ll establish an Institutional Investment Framework, creating a dedicated planning pathway and one-stop shop for these investors – attracting more investment at scale in social, affordable, key worker and market homes.

A landmark precinct in central Melbourne, Arden will be a globally recognised destination for bio-medical and health sciences. Arden is an urban renewal precinct set to transform into a thriving community and a new home for Melbourne’s growing technology, life science, health and education sectors. Just 2 kilometres from the centre of Melbourne’s CBD, Arden is a central and connected precinct which will be home to up to 34,000 jobs and around 20,000 people by 2051.

We’ll commence a market search for proposals to activate the Arden Precinct ahead of the Arden Metro Tunnel train station opening earlier in 2025. Our intention is to partner with the private sector, industry and investors to start delivering the Arden precinct – with quality and affordable housing to support diverse residents and key workers, including affordable build to rent, build to sell, shared equity and key worker housing.

Saving for a deposit is taking longer, and getting harder. In the early 2000s, it took a typical Victorian household 3.6 years to save a deposit for a house. Today, it takes an average of 6.2 years. We’ll release another $500 million from the Victorian Homebuyer Fund, putting home ownership within reach for more Victorians. This additional funding will support around 3,000 more Victorians into a home through a shared equity model.

The Fund provides eligible participants with a contribution of up to 25 per cent of the purchase price of the home, with participants contributing a minimum of 5 per cent of the purchase price. Since the Fund started in October 2021, we’ve supported 4,251 settlements with $1.07 billion – including many Victorians who have found it particularly tough to get into the housing market. From the existing program, half of participants are women, more than half are single people, and two-thirds are first home buyers.

Victoria has zero tolerance for real estate agents and sellers who flout the rules. We’ll crack down on dodgy real estate agents by introducing tougher penalties for those who break the law, including taking commissions away from agents who underquote on properties. It’ll mean more protections for Victorians looking for a home, and the majority of agents who do the right thing won’t be unfairly disadvantaged by those who break the law to get ahead.

We’ve heard from institutional investors and the private sector that they need more clarity and certainty when it comes to under-used and surplus government land, in order to guide their investments. We’ll unlock and rezone surplus government land to deliver around 9,000 homes across 45 sites in both metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria. As part of this work, we’ll set a target of at least 10 per cent of affordable homes to be built across these sites.

With more and more Victorians choosing to live in apartments, they should be the best they can be – with liveability and wellbeing front and centre. We’ve already strengthened Victoria’s apartment design standards, with previous reforms improving the internal and external design of new builds. But we know there’s more to do, so we’ll strengthen the existing standards to make sure they deliver the variety of homes Victorians want into the future. Our clear new standards will ensure appealing, comfortable, sustainable, and fit-for-purpose homes.

While short stay accommodation – like Airbnb or Stayz – has become a popular feature of Victoria’s visitor economy, it’s also reduced the ability for many properties to be used for longer term accommodation. In Victoria, there are more than 36,000 short stay accommodation places – with almost half of these in regional Victoria. More than 29,000 of those places are entire homes. These are places that cannot be used for longer-term accommodation or rented out on fixed term agreements – so it makes sense that they should provide some benefit toward the places that can.

We’ll introduce a levy on short stay accommodation platforms. The Short Stay Levy will be set at 7.5 per cent of the short-stay accommodation platforms’ revenue. And the revenue raised from the levy will go to Homes Victoria, supporting their work building and maintaining social and affordable housing across the state, with 25 per cent of funds to be invested in regional Victoria. This also means other local council charges on short stay accommodation will be removed.

We’ll bring forward a $400 million package of works along growth corridors – providing the basic infrastructure that will make a difference on the ground to new and growing communities. Drawing from the Growth Areas Public Transport Fund and Building New Communities Fund, we’ll look at priority projects where they’re needed most for things like toilets, shelter and lighting upgrades at bus stops and train stations, footpaths and cycling paths.

We know we need to increase opportunities for homes in Melbourne’s inner and middle suburbs. At the same time, a home in our newest suburbs and regional cities will continue to be an attractive choice for many households. Growth areas will remain important – and we’ll need to support that growth in our suburbs while building the transport and infrastructure to connect people to jobs and services. The Victorian Planning Authority will continue preparing Precinct Structure Plans (PSPs) for new housing and jobs in Melbourne and regional Victoria. Further work across 21 priority projects will continue to be developed to deliver more than 60,000 homes and 60,000 jobs. They’ll deliver a sustainable supply of greenfield land, and more jobs close to home, while we plan for more housing choice in all parts of Victoria.

Regional Victoria

• Wonthaggi PSP
• Ballarat Infrastructure Growth Alignment Framework
• Shepparton South East PSP
• Corio Norlane Urban Renewal
• Bannockburn South East PSP
• East of Aberline PSP
• Ballarat North PSP

Industrial Land

• Officer South (Employment) PSP
• Greater Avalon (Employment) PSP
• Casey Fields South (Employment) PSP
• Croskell (Employment) PSP
• Merrifield North (due diligence only)
• Mambourn East (due diligence only)
• Werribee Junction (due diligence only)

Established Melbourne

• Braybrook Regeneration Project

Melbourne New Communities

• Beveridge North West PSP
• Gunns Gully Road Interchange GAIC WIK
• Greenvale North (Part 2) PSP
• Devon Meadows PSP
• Melton East PSP
• Clyde South (due diligence only)

The Department of Transport and Planning is leading the whole-of-government delivery and coordination of Priority Precincts such as Arden, Docklands, Fishermans Bend, Footscray, East Werribee, Parkville and Sunshine.

We want to create places where people have vibrant, liveable and sustainable communities, affordable housing and quality jobs which help to grow Victoria’s economy. Our priority precincts will capitalise on the benefits of major infrastructure investments to support thriving communities and encourage further investment.