Victorian tenants are set to benefit from a $98m funding boost for rental support programs across the state.
Thousands of Victorian renters are set to share in a $100m lifeline intended to improve their access to advocacy and advice.
The state government has announced $98m to fund a Victorian Renter Rights Program across the next five years that will help provide localised access to advocacy for renters across the state, provide specific support for tenants aged 55 and up, as well as establishing a Victorian Renter Helpline.
It comes on top of $10.2m in funds to assist tenants via Consumer Affairs Victoria programs this financial year, and will take the state’s capacity to help renters from 12,663 to 25,500.
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The suite of programs will replace a range of existing services including the Tenancy Assistance and Advocacy Program, the Tenancy Central Service, and the Retirement Housing Assistance and Advocacy Program.
There is an additional $16.4m to extend financial counselling across the 2027 financial year.
The series of changes follows a review of CAV’s rental and financial counselling services.
New programs are expected to kick off later this year.
The review found that prioritising early intervention, wraparound support programs and better access were becoming increasingly important.
Consumer Affairs minister Nick Staikos says Victoria is the best state to be a renter, and new funding will help cement that position.
Consumer Affairs minister Nick Staikos said the services would help more Victorians access support, advocacy and advice after more than 150 rental reforms have been implemented across the state.
“We know that cost of living is front of mind for many Victorians and this Labor Government will always have their backs,” Mr Staikos said.
Tenants Victoria chief executive Jennifer Beveridge said for many tenants a lack of support around their rental rights meant they paid more money in heating and cooling homes that had issues with allowing weather conditions to affect interior temperatures more than they should.
“And, if they are having a problem getting repairs done, they will find workarounds themselves — often with costs to the tenant,” Ms Beveridge said.
She added that Tenants Victoria welcomed the announcement, review findings and extra funding for tenants support programs.
Tenants Victoria chief executive Jennifer Beveridge believes more funding will mean more tenants can access support much more quickly than they do at present.
“The first thing this means is that the government has listened to the feedback and that there are not enough services to meet the demand,” Ms Beveridge said.
“They picked up on all the overarching areas that we were concerned about.”
While the funding would provide more services, she said it would also help generate data that could be used to analyse where the most support was needed and isolate problem areas faster.
However, while the funding and new programs will commence later this year, the Tenants Victoria chief executive said it was likely it would be 2027 before significant increases in capacity and support were achieved as it would take time to hire new staff among other things.
“We are really keen to work with the government to roll this out, so we can offer a much stronger rental support program in Victoria,” Ms Beveridge said.
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