By Cara Eyers
What’s Happening?
A week before his resignation, then-Premier Dan Andrews announced a sweeping set of reforms to public housing. These plans will shift public land into private hands, and relocate people at the largest scale in our state’s history. With no consultation, communication or prior notice given to the residents.
Despite this being public land, there is no public housing planned. Labor plans to redevelop public land with expensive private apartments and community housing. But community housing should not replace public housing, as the housing provided is less secure and less affordable.
Are the towers structurally unsound? No. Economists, architects, planners and housing experts agree that the plan is disastrous. It fails to assess each building individually, nor consider refurbishment instead of destruction. The buildings do require attention, as successive governments have allowed them to fall into a state of managed disrepair. However, RMIT researchers found that refurbishment is in fact a cheaper, less disruptive and more environmentally friendly option.
“These buildings are places of survival and belonging… despite decades of government neglect which was deliberate, in order to make these buildings appear unsafe and undesirable and used as justification for demolition.”
Reem, North Melbourne Public Housing Resident
If the government can’t ensure a human right as fundamental as housing for our vulnerable communities, then how can we expect them to protect our health, safety, or fundamental dignity? Indeed, this decision not only disproportionately erodes housing rights, but the basic human dignity of our most vulnerable communities.
Public Housing Inquiry Report Released
In 2025, a parliamentary inquiry secured by the Greens, revealed that it’s “impossible for the government to justify this decision”.
Over 15 months, this inquiry heard harrowing testimony from residents, experts, advocates and service providers. While much work was undertaken to understand the reasoning behind the decision, the government refused to provide many documents.
Key findings:
Finding 19: The Victorian Government has engaged in the process of managed decline of its public housing properties, failing to conduct repairs and maintenance in a timely and adequate way. This failure has become more pronounced since the announcement of the demolition in September 2023.
Finding 23: The Victorian Government has relied on the umbrella term ‘social housing’ to transfer public housing tenants into a privatised model of housing.
Finding 30: The Victorian Government and Homes Victoria engaged in significant coercive and misleading practices to relocate residents within an arbitrary deadline, causing deep harm to social, emotional and physical wellbeing of the residents.
Key Recommendations:
Recommendation 6: That the Victorian Government ensure all documents that have a claim of executive privilege be submitted to an independent arbiter to determine whether a legitimate claim of Executive Privilege exists in accordance with Legislative Council Standing Order 10.03
Recommendation 7: That the Victorian Government halt all work associated with the redevelopment program until it provides condition reports for each building, feasibility reports into alternatives to demolition, and the cost-benefit analysis for each site which demonstrate evidence that demolition was the best and only feasible option.
Recommendation 9: That the Victorian Government publish a casebycase approach for Melbourne’s 44 public housing towers, justifying why redevelopment is preferable for each tower to refurbishing or retrofitting.
Legal fight
Residents, activists and legal bodies have been fighting back. Lawyers from Inner Melbourne Community Legal are taking a Class Action to the High Court. They argue this policy follows neither due process, nor adheres to the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic). Even as these actions are ongoing, Homes Victoria continues to force evictions and displace residents, despite the legal ambiguity.
“It is outrageous that Homes Victoria is continuing to press ahead with this program despite the widespread opposition to it from residents and their supporters and in the face of legal proceedings that have not yet concluded,”
Louisa Bassini, Acting Director IMCL
More demolitions announced
So… what’s the most recent update on public housing in Melbourne? In February 2026, the Victorian Labor government announced 7 new towers set for demolition, which house vulnerable and elderly residents. 70% of residents are 65 years or older, yet they will be forced to leave their homes, communities and health services.
“Every day we hear from older people who are unable to survive in the private rental market, living in significant rental stress and at risk of or experiencing homelessness,”
Fiona York, CEO of Housing for the Aged Action Group
Have your say!
The Greens will continue to fight for public housing residents and their homes. But we need your help.
Public housing has been one of the clearest institutional expressions of Australia’s commitment to welfare. A recognition and demonstration that shelter is a human right. The government’s public housing policy abandons this notion – it is our responsibility to fight back.
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