On this page
Summary
A coalition of leading youth organisation have responded to the Inquiry into the redevelopment of Melbourne’s public housing towers. This Inquiry considered the Victorian Government’s decision to demolish and redevelop 44 high-rise public housing towers in Melbourne. Our submission focuses on the impacts of these plans on young people, particularly those overrepresented in the criminal legal system.
Our submission is co-authored by:
- Koorie Youth Council (KYC)
- Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVic)
- Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY)
- WestJustice
- Youthlaw
- Smart Justice for Young People (SJ4YP)
Through SJ4YP’s Action Plan, ‘Working Together,’ we know access to safe, secure and culturally appropriate housing is a critical protective factor against criminalisation. Our submission highlights key concerns associated with displacement caused by housing tower redevelopment, including impacts to young people’s mental health, education, social connectedness and access to services.Without access to stable housing, this also means young people are more likely to be refused bail, breach conditions, and end up in custody.
We also heard many young people felt excluded by a rushed and unclear consultation process. Young people deserve a real seat at the table when decisions directly affect them and their communities.
Our submission makes eight recommendations, such as centering the voices of impacted young people and their communities in consultations, measures to rebuild community trust, and investment in affordable housing stock.
Our recommendations
Recommendation 1
The Victorian Government should ensure next steps are aligned with the Eight Shared Principles outlined by our colleagues at Inner Melbourne Community Legal (IMCL) in their submission to the same Inquiry.
Recommendation 2
- Strengthen youth consultation practices in line with best practice as outlined in the Youth Engagement Resource Platform (YERP) developed by the Youth Affairs Council Victoria (YACVic), Victoria's peak body for young people and youth workers.
- Strengthen consultation practices with First Nations young people in line with the Values, Knowledge and Actions set out in ‘Wayipunga’, KYC’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth participation framework.
- Strengthen consultation practices with multicultural young people in line with 'Not just ticking a box', the Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network's resource and CMY's 'Inclusive Organisations Good Practice Guide' for engaging and supporting youth participation with young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
- Ensure appropriate youth representation on Homes Victoria Advisory groups and boards – such as the Homelessness Lived Experience Reference Group.
Recommendation 3
The Victorian Government should embed measures to strengthen government accountability and transparency regarding the redevelopment, such as through the public release of documents related to current and future plans for the relocation of tenants and rebuilding of housing.
Recommendation 4
The Victorian Government should lead and support measures to rebuild trust between community members and government. This should include re-visiting learnings and considerations from the 'hard lockdowns' in 2020, with the particular respect to the Victorian Ombudsman's recommendations regarding appropriate community consultation and information sharing with public housing tower residents.
Recommendation 5
The Victorian Government should, at all levels, urgently invest in affordable and accessible housing stock – emergency, transitional, social and public housing - to meet a variety of family sizes and configurations, including accommodating larger families, supporting families to remain intact and providing critical support for young people from overrepresented backgrounds. This should include an increase in early intervention and support to families and young people from overrepresented backgrounds to prevent the escalation of complex issues.
Recommendation 6
The Victorian Government should acknowledge the specific vulnerabilities of young people from overrepresented backgrounds with regards to homelessness and ensure all government-led strategies respond appropriately to these cohorts. To inform this, the Victorian Government should develop and fund a Victorian specific youth housing and homelessness strategy, in line with Ask Thirty Five of ‘Working Together’ and the Youth Housing and Homelessness Alliance ‘Joint statement to government response to Homelessness Inquiry’ to coordinate services, supports and interventions for young people, including dedicated youth-specific social housing properties to meet rising demand.
Recommendation 7
The Victorian Government should invest in strengthening the cultural, trauma and gender responsiveness of the housing service system on all levels to meet the diverse intersectional needs of the Victorian community – from personnel, organisational policies and procedures, and accommodation options available – and require services to demonstrate accountability in their implementation of these practices.
Recommendation 8
The Victorian Government should develop a more detailed and consistent data collection system in relation to migrant and refugee young people to gain a more accurate understanding of homelessness and housing stress amongst this group, and ensure they are responded to adequately. This is in line with Ask One and Two of ‘Working Together’ and the CMY submission to ‘inquiry into the rental and housing affordability crisis in Victoria’.