Victorian Election Platform 2026
A Home to Build From is our Victorian Election Platform for 2026. A safe and affordable home gives women greater choice over their lives. It creates the stability from which women can build financial security, take part in their communities and decide their future.
YWCA Australia is a leading national not-for-profit organisation that has been championing women’s rights and gender equality for over 140 years. With a presence in 19 locations across the country and almost 200 dedicated employees, we deliver a range of services, including social and affordable housing, specialist domestic and family violence and homelessness services and leadership programs. Our purpose is to enable women and gender-diverse people to find stability, safety, and security, allowing them to build the future they envision for themselves and their families.
YWCA Australia is calling on all parties for three commitments for Victorian women and families in need of housing security.
Upgrade rooming houses for privacy and independence
The commitment: “We will invest $100 million to upgrade rooming houses across Victoria into self-contained homes for women, giving women leaving violence a home of their own.”
A statewide Rooming House Renewal Fund, acting as a direct deal pathway for registered community housing providers to upgrade government-owned and managed rooming and boarding houses into self-contained homes. It builds on existing assets, so there are no new sites to find.
Community housing providers across Victoria, including YWCA, bring ready-to-go proposals straight to Homes Victoria, support residents through the works, and house women from the Victorian Housing Register in every upgraded home.
Her own kitchen, bathroom and front door. Women tell us self-contained homes give them the privacy and independence to recover, have their children stay, and plan what comes next. Each home is a household off the Register.
Help women make a home last
The commitment: “We will invest $3 million to continue and expand the Women’s Housing Support Program for four years, giving women the supports they need to stay housed.”
YWCA’s Women’s Housing Support Program gives women specialist support after they move into housing, so a new tenancy becomes a lasting home. It runs today at Lakehouse in South Melbourne.
Continue the program at Lakehouse for the next four years. Fund it through four-year service contracts with indexation, so staff and the women they support are not left waiting on year-to-year renewals.
Women keep their homes instead of cycling back into homelessness. They stay connected to the same worker while they settle, find work or study, and rebuild. Longer contracts mean experienced staff stay.
A ten-year pipeline of homes for women
The commitment: “We will commit $2.48B over the first four years of a $6.2 billion, ten-year social housing pipeline, with at least half of new homes allocated to women and their families, and we will seek additional Commonwealth co-investment.”
A long-term, always on, social and affordable housing pipeline. YWCA backs the community housing sector’s call, led by CHIA Vic, for Victorian Government investment of at least $620 million a year for ten years, with a measurable share of new homes for women and families.
Lock in $2.48 billion over the first four years, with Commonwealth co-investment sought alongside the Victorian commitment. Community housing providers turn that certainty into investment-ready projects, with a target of at least 50% of new homes allocated to women and their families.
Fewer women and children waiting years for a home. A guaranteed share means new supply reaches women leaving violence, older women and young women.
Get Involved in our Victorian Election Campaign A Home to Build From. Together, we can ensure everyone has access to a safe place to call home.
Join our Digital Activist Community: Become part of a movement of young advocates. Stay up to date with the campaign and take action online. Share your support on social media using the #AHomeToBuildFrom hashtag and tag your local MP. You can join here
Contact Your MP: Contact your local MP, urging them to support our key asks. Your voice can make a difference.
Spread the Word: Share our campaign graphics, videos, or your own personal story using #AHomeToBuildFrom to inspire others to take action. Check out our Facebook and Instagram for posts.
Invest in homes. Reduce the cost of crisis.
Investing in YWCA Australia’s gender-responsive housing helps women build secure futures and reduces demand for high-cost government services. Our Housing That Pays Back research estimates $7.8 million in annual savings across YWCA’s national housing portfolio.
Housing That Pays Back: Why Investing in Housing for Women and Families Delivers Measurable Economic Returns (YWCA Australia and Per Capita Centre for Equitable Housing, 2026)
A home should be more than a response to crisis. It should be the foundation from which women decide what comes next.
Commit to all three announcements in your election platform, with funding and a timeline.
Share the platform and ask your local candidates where they stand on housing for women.
Join our Digital Activist Community and add your voice to the campaign.