A new-formed South East Homelessness and Housing Alliance will focus on early intervention and the region’s “unique needs”, according to Greater Dandenong Council.
The group, which includes Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia councils and community agencies, was launched on 31 July in the midst of what’s termed a national housing crisis.
Greater Dandenong is one of the most impacted areas – with one in four children living below the poverty line, according to a 2025 advocacy paper by the council.
Affordable rentals for low-income renters had dropped to 6 per cent in 2023.
Besides the alliance, Greater Dandenong has partnered with Launch Housing since 2022 with a goal of ‘functional zero’ people sleeping rough.
This year, the numbers of actively homeless in Greater Dandenong have risen 21 per cent from 61 in February to 74 in July.
Of them, 46 were ‘sleeping rough’ this winter.
Greater Dandenong community strengthening executive director Peta Gillies said Australia’s housing crisis was “amplified” in the South East due to a lower socio-economic and faster-growing population.
“There is a need for increased and more tailored support services and diverse housing options that meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity.”
The council hopes the alliance will align services across the region with a “focus on prevention and intervention”, Gillies said.
It also aimed for a greater variety of housing stock for the diverse community.
“(Council aims to) develop community understanding of the challenges facing people experiencing homelessness or housing security, centring the voices of those with lived experience, to garner support for change.”
Three of the council’s officers attended the launch, along with Casey and Cardinia councillors and groups such as Wayss, Casey North CISS, Wayss, Launch Housing, Ermha 365, Southeast Community Links, and Southern Homelessness Services Network.
Ahead of the recent federal election, Greater Dandenong lobbied for federal funding for a pilot scheme requiring 10 per cent affordable housing on all new developments.
It also requested $5 million for putting a council car park underground at 32-34 Warwick Avenue, paving the way for a mix of affordable and market-value housing.
