Productivity Commission finds Victoria spent $83 per person in 2017-18 compared to national average of $167

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Victoria is spending less than half as much on social housing as New South Wales, according to a report that has also provided evidence that homelessness agencies across Australia are being strained by increased demand.

The Productivity Commission’s report on government services, released on Tuesday, was labelled a “damning insight into many years of neglect” from both state and federal governments.

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But the report’s findings were bleakest in Victoria, which was recorded as spending $530m on social housing last financial year, below NSW ($1.37bn), Western Australia ($829m) and Queensland ($628m).

Taking into account its growing population, the commission said Victoria’s expenditure equated to just $82.94 per person, compared with $173.35 in NSW. The national average in 2016-17 stood at $166.93.

Victoria’s per person spending on social housing has also fallen each year since 2014-15, down from $95.92 per person, the report showed.

During last year’s election campaign, Daniel Andrews’s government faced a campaign from social services groups to build 30,000 social houses over a decade. It responded by pledging $209m to build 1,000 new public housing units over the next three years.

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On Tuesday, Victoria’s peak homelessness body seized on the report to call for an emergency commitment to social housing in the state budget.

The Council To Homeless Persons cited figures showing Victoria’s social housing stock had fallen by 200 units since Labor came to power in 2014.

“The report is a damning insight into many years of neglect of our social housing safety net from both the state and federal governments,” said Jenny Smith, the chief executive of the Council to Homeless Persons.

“It’s patently obvious that homelessness will continue to increase without an ambitious plan to grow public and community housing in Victoria.”

Smith said social housing levels had been historically low in Victoria, meaning agencies were forced to “churn families, single women and young people through motels, rooming houses and refuges”.

“Our services have an ever-increasing number of people coming to them for help, and fewer social housing units in which to put them. It’s not rocket science – we just need more housing that is affordable to people on the lowest incomes. That is a job for government.”

Government data showed in July last year that there were 82,000 on the social housing waiting list in Victoria.

The Victorian government was contacted for comment on Tuesday.

The Productivity Commission report also reveals the proportion of homeless people being turned away from accommodation services has increased steadily over the past five years.

On average across each state and territory, 32.7% of clients identified as being in need of accommodation were unable to be assisted by an agency, according to previously unpublished data cited by the report. In 2013-14, only 24.1% of people who needed a service could not be helped.

The total number of people deemed in need of accommodation has increased from 140,000 in 2013-14 to 160,000 last financial year.

In 2017-18, there were 53,286 homeless people who were turned away from a service, the report said.

Sarah Henderson, the Coalition’s federal assistant housing minister, said the Victorian government had to “fix the disconnect between its low expenditure on social housing and its massive waiting list”.

“According to its own estimates, 1,700 new homes are needed each year for the next 20 years to simply keep up,” she said.

The Victorian Greens leader, Samantha Ratnam, accused the Victorian government of ignoring the state’s housing crisis.

“It’s time for Labor to admit that its approach to public housing has failed the community, and go back to the drawing board,” she said.