More than 3500 Brimbank and Melton families are waiting for public housing.
Public housing waiting list figures for the June quarter reveal that 973 families are on the early-housing list, while 2580 are on the general list for the Sunshine office, which covers Brimbank and Melton.
The early-housing list is a register of families at risk of recurring homelessness, who are coping with a disability or have special housing needs. Another 782 families are waiting to be transferred to other public housing premises that better suit their needs.
State Housing Minister Wendy Lovell said the Sunshine waiting list had shrunk by 60 applicants since the March quarter.
“The main reason for the overall drop in public housing waiting lists is better management and a sheer dedication to improving the system,” Ms Lovell said.
“There is still work to be done to get the list down, but by reviewing vacancy rates and turnover procedures and by working harder with those who have been waiting the longest, we are seeing results.”
Ms Lovell said the state government’s social housing framework, announced in March, included $1.3 billion to upgrade and maintain 9500 public housing properties over the next five years. But opposition housing spokesman Richard Wynne said the 2014-15 state budget provided no new funding for new public or social housing.
Mr Wynne said the average waiting time for public housing applicants in urgent need in Victoria had blown out by 35 per cent under the Napthine government. “The Liberals are selling more social housing than they are building,” he said.
Public housing makes up 2.3 per cent of all housing across Brimbank, according to the 2011 census.
