The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have diverse land needs, including land ownership, protection of culturally significant sites, and improved housing and infrastructure. It emphasised that lasting improvements in housing and living standards depend on securing and protecting land rights through legislative and administrative processes that reflect the specific needs and aspirations of Aboriginal people and communities.

DPC provided the following update in 2023:

Department of Premier and Cabinet

The Land Justice Unit noted:

• The Victorian Government transferred 1448 properties from the Director of Housing to Aboriginal Housing Victoria (AHV), to provide secure and affordable housing for approximately 4000 Aboriginal Victorians. Transferred homes are now owned and managed by an Aboriginal organisation for the benefit of Aboriginal people.
• The Victorian Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Framework, introduced in 2020, sets out a blueprint to improve Aboriginal housing. The framework, developed by AHV, was the first self-determined housing policy led and developed by the Victorian Aboriginal community. Its launch included a $5.3 million investment to kick-start initiatives, including an Aboriginal Private Rental Assistance Program.
• Under the Victorian Government’s $5.3 billion Big Housing Build, 10% of all new social housing will be built for Aboriginal Victorians. In 2022, the government committed to investing $150 million to build new homes, in addition to $35 million to upgrade existing housing, through grants to Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) and Aboriginal housing providers. This funding is expected to create more than 400 new homes for Aboriginal households on the Victorian Housing Register.
• From July 2023, the Aboriginal Private Rental Assistance Program will expand into four morel areas identified by the Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Framework.
• The Victorian government has also approved in principle the Aboriginal Public Housing Transfer Management Pilot starting in targeted areas. Aboriginal public housing renters will have the option to transfer housing tenancy management from Homes Victoria to a registered Aboriginal community housing provider. This will allow Aboriginal renters to receive enhanced culturally safe service provision, greater choice, flexibility and control over who manages their tenancy.

Outputs

Mana-na woorn-tyeen maar-takoort

As a key step towards supporting self-determination, the Victorian Government provided funding to Aboriginal Housing Victoria (AHV) to lead the development of Mana-na woorn-tyeen maar-takoort: The Victorian Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Framework. The Framework was informed by a comprehensive process, including a literature review, data analysis, the preparation of three policy background papers and 13 discussion papers, a state-wide summit involving over 150 participants, a findings report, and a community symposium that provided further feedback. Its goal is to ensure that Aboriginal people in Victoria achieve quality housing outcomes within a generation.

Outcomes

Public Housing transfer to Aboriginal Housing Victoria

The Victorian Government transferred 1,522 titles to AHV, worth $500 million, and described it as a landmark move. The then Chairperson of AHV, Tim Chatfield stated,

We are the first Aboriginal organisation in this country to be given the opportunity for real self-determination by owning and managing housing assets.

Jenny Samms, CEO of AHV at that time, said the change put Aboriginal people ‘on the map’ in Victoria where native title had traditionally delivered few benefits to the Aboriginal community.

It has been a tough job managing old government housing stock without actually owning it and being able to make significant improvements.

The transfer of titles to AHV enables more culturally appropriate housing to be provided for Aboriginal families, job programs for youth to learn maintenance and repair skills and home ownership pathways that give people the option of buying the properties they rent. Under the previous agreement, AHV could only act as a rent collector and had no powers to buy and sell properties. Therefore, this is considered a significant step forward for AHV’s ability to control and manage housing. The Prime Minister's Indigenous Council Chairman Warren Mundine also emphasised that,

It empowers Aboriginal people to grow and develop these assets as an enterprise devoid of red tape.

Aboriginal Housing Victoria

AHV is calling on the Victorian Government to return unused public land to Traditional Owners for the purpose of building housing. AHV made a submission to Yoorrook stating that the Native Title Act and Traditional Owner Settlement Act do not consistently provide freehold land titles that allow them to establish housing. AHV declared that Aboriginal homelessness is rising, and an additional 27,000 Aboriginal households will be needed by 2036 to address the problem. AHV Board member Damein Bell emphasised that,

There's always surplus land, governments who operate this land should be engaging traditional owners . . .we should be using legislation already in place to leverage the return of land for purposes including social housing and addressing homelessness.