Have your say on affordable housing
Published on 28 October 2026
The community is invited to help shape Surf Coast Shire Council’s approach to improving access to safe, secure, appropriate and affordable housing.
Council will release its draft Affordable Housing Policy for community consultation. It has also noted an Affordable Housing Context Report and Affordable Housing Action Plan, which together provide an evidence base and pathway for future work.
The draft policy updates Council’s 2021 Social Housing Policy and reflects how local housing needs and funding opportunities have evolved over the past five years.
“The Surf Coast Shire continues to experience significant housing pressure, with strong rental demand, limited supply and underused housing – including short-term rentals – making it harder for people to live in the communities where they work, study, and volunteer,” Cr Liz Pattison said.
“The draft policy recognises that housing affordability pressures affect not only very low and low-income households, but also many moderate-income households, including key workers such as nurses, educators and hospitality staff.
“We want to continue to play our role to help address the key worker crisis. These workers are invaluable, providing essential services and deserving the opportunity to live and participate fully in their community.”
The draft policy sets three objectives: stronger planning, evidence and decision-making; increased supply and diversity of affordable and social housing; and stronger partnerships across government, the housing sector and the community.
It will guide Council to embed affordable housing in planning, support housing projects, consider suitable Council processes and land, strengthen partnerships and advocacy, and monitor progress through better data and evaluation.
“We’ve taken some big strides in the accommodation space: from continuing to work on the Aireys Inlet Affordable Housing Project with our partner, Housing Choices Australia, to the inclusion of future affordable housing as part of the adopted Anglesea Community and Health Hub Concept Plan,” Cr Pattison said.
“Broadening our focus from social housing to affordable housing will allow us to work with a wider range of partners and seek funding for projects that aim to address a broader range of housing needs, while maintaining support for social housing.”
Council Plan consultation found that almost one-third of respondents had experienced difficulty accessing affordable housing, while the 2025 Youth Survey of more than 1,000 young people identified housing affordability, rental shortages and cost-of-living as significant concerns.
“The draft policy and action plan will lay the foundation as we continue to work towards enabling diverse housing types and fostering an increase in long-term affordable housing for key workers in our coastal towns,” Cr Pattison said.
Community consultation on the draft Affordable Housing Policy will open 2 November via yoursay.surfcoast.vic.gov.au. The draft policy, Affordable Housing Context Report, and Affordable Housing Action Plan will be available on the webpage.
People wishing to obtain hard copies can call Council on 5261 0600.
There will also be targeted engagement with groups that may face housing affordability challenges.