Affordable Housing Policy

Imagine a city where everyone has a safe, secure, and affordable home.

Council has created a Draft Affordable Housing Policy to help increase affordable housing in Frankston City.

The Draft Policy aims to assist Council to contribute towards a city where everyone is welcome and has a safe, secure and affordable home.

Once approved, the policy will guide Council’s planning, decision-making and advocacy around affordable housing in our City. We want to hear your feedback on the Draft Policy. We invite you to provide feedback below or attend one our community pop ups.

Why does our community need more affordable housing?

There are currently not enough affordable homes for everyone. As our population grows, so too does our need for affordable housing – it’s estimated that we will need over 8,000 more affordable homes by 2036.

Data and your feedback show that more households than ever are finding it difficult to secure an affordable home and are experiencing rental stress.

Affordable housing is essential infrastructure and an important part of any thriving City. Having enough affordable housing for everyone can help to reduce homelessness, improve community wellbeing, create more vibrant neighbourhoods and support key workers, which will allow our City to prosper and grow.

There are many different types of housing options - two types that are commonly confused are social and affordable housing. Social housing includes both public and community housing and is generally subsidised. Affordable housing on the other hand, is a broad term used to describe housing that is priced (to either buy or rent) in a way that is affordable for very low to moderate income households. This policy focuses on the latter.

The Draft Policy aims to ensure that as our population grows, our city will have enough homes that are affordable and are well located near jobs, services and transport.

Our role in affordable housing

The Draft Policy is focused on three main roles for Council to help increase affordable housing on both public and private land in Frankston City:

Council as a supply enabler

Leverage planning systems to accommodate housing needs and support a healthy housing market.
Council as an advocate

Advocate to federal and state government, landowners and developers for continued investment in affordable housing and regulatory reform.
Council as a partner

Explore opportunities to invest in partnerships that facilitate affordable housing supply.

Do the quick survey

How should Council support growth of affordable housing in Frankston City?

Have your say now

Have more to say?

Review the draft Affordable Housing Policy in full and provide a detailed response.

Have your say now

Community Engagement Stages

Timeline item 1 - complete

Housing Discussion Paper community engagement

Completed in 2023
See the results here.
Timeline item 2 - complete

Develop the Draft Policy

March to September 2024
Timeline item 3 - active

Community engagement on the Draft Policy
21 February 2025 to 23 March 2025
Understanding community feedback about Council's role in affordable housing.
Want to speak with someone? We will be at the following pop-up locations to discuss the project and complete the survey with you:
- Wells Street Plaza, Frankston
  Wednesday 26 February – 11am to 1pm
- Seaford Community Centre
  Thursday 6 March – 9am to 11am
- Banyan Reserve, Carrum Downs
  Tuesday 18 March – 3pm to 5pm
Timeline item 4 - incomplete

Draft Policy presented to Council for adoption

Mid 2025

Who's listening?

Rachel Masters

Coordinator Social Policy and Planning

1300 322 322

social.policy@frankston.vic.gov.au

Narelle Algie

Senior Social Policy and Planning Officer

Your Questions Answered

Under the Planning and Environment Act 1987, affordable housing is a broad term describing housing (including social housing) that is appropriate to the needs of a range of very low, low, and moderate-income households and is priced (whether bought or rented) so these households can meet their other essential living costs. The income ranges for these households are set by the Victorian Government and reviewed annually to reflect median household income.

Social housing is a subset of affordable housing and is for people on very low to low incomes who need housing, especially those who have recently experienced homelessness, family violence or have other special needs. It is made up of two types of housing, public housing (owned and managed by Homes Victoria) and community housing (owned and/or managed by registered community housing providers). Social housing includes both subsidised short and long-term rental housing and calculated at no more than 30 per cent of the household’s income to ensure that households pay an affordable rent. Social housing is accessed through the Victorian Housing Register.

As with other forms of essential infrastructure, high quality affordable housing provides an important foundation on which to build thriving communities and a productive economy. However, housing prices are rising faster than wages, there is a shortage of affordable housing, and the housing market is struggling. Additionally, the lack of policy reforms to ease rental pressure in the private market means there aren't enough safe, secure, and affordable homes for everyone who needs one.

This Draft Policy will be used to guide and inform Council’s planning and decision making on affordable housing, with the intention of encouraging more investment and development of affordable housing on both private and public land to:

Increase the number, diversity and quality of affordable housing dwellings.
Encourage an equitable distribution of affordable housing throughout the municipality that is near jobs, services and public transport, and well-integrated with neighbourhood character and local amenity.
Encourage a diverse mix of housing types and tenures to accommodate different life stages, income levels and community needs.
Position Council to effectively support and partner with key stakeholders, including other tiers of government and the development sector.
Build community support for affordable housing as essential infrastructure for thriving communities.

Frankston City needs more safe, secure and affordable homes to meet the needs of its residents. This need is demonstrated by the number of households facing housing stress and the limited availability of affordable homes on the market. Data from the id. Housing Monitor shows that:

Single person households are most in need of affordable homes.
One third of private rental households are having to make difficult decisions between paying for their rent or paying for other essential items like food, medications and petrol (34.2% of all private rental households are living in rental stress, spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs).
Only half of all private rentals are affordable for households on low incomes, which includes workers like child carers, commercial cleaners and delivery drivers (55.1% of all private rentals over the 12 months to December 2023 were affordable for how income households, dropping to 0.8% for low income single person households and 11% for low income single parent households).
Only a small number of homes for sale are affordable for low income households (7.7% of all sales were affordable to low income households in the 12 months to December 2023).
An estimated count of 785 people were homeless on Census night in 2021.

Data from SGS Economics & Planning shows that there is an estimated shortfall of over 6,000 affordable homes in Frankston City, affecting 14% of all households in the municipality. Without action to attract government investment and encourage local development to boost affordable housing, the shortfall is expected to grow to over 8,000 homes by 2036 as the population continues to increase.

The Federal and Victorian Governments are primarily responsible for the funding and delivery of housing and homelessness services. The Victorian Government is the main supplier and manager of social housing in the state and registered housing agencies are the main community housing providers.

However, local government can play a constructive role in facilitating more affordable homes for its community within its legislative powers, without unduly diverting Council resources from other much needed services. For example:

Acting in its official role as the authority responsible for local planning to explore ways encourage more affordable housing that meets the needs of a growing and changing population and supports a healthy housing market.
Advocating for ongoing investment in Frankston City by making sure that our community’s affordable housing needs are understood and being considered by Federal and State Governments, landowners and developers. The council will also advocate for changes to regulations to help increase the supply of affordable housing.
Actively seeking opportunities to partner with others to help increase the supply of affordable housing where suitable.

Engage Frankston!

A safe, secure and affordable home for everyone.

Imagine a city where everyone has a safe, secure, and affordable home.

Why does our community need more affordable housing?

Our role in affordable housing

Council as a supply enabler

Council as an advocate

Council as a partner

Do the quick survey

Have more to say?

Rachel Masters

Coordinator Social Policy and Planning

Narelle Algie

Senior Social Policy and Planning Officer

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

Translation and accessibility

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