{"id":510361,"date":"2026-03-02T23:10:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T23:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/510361\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T23:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T23:10:11","slug":"millions-promised-for-mental-health-housing-support-undelivered-years-after-royal-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/510361\/","title":{"rendered":"Millions promised for mental health housing support undelivered, years after royal commission"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Victorian government has been accused of abandoning a funding commitment intended to stop Victorians with mental illness from falling through the cracks of the housing crisis.<\/p>\n

The government made the commitment in the wake of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System<\/a>, which identified a lack of long-term supported housing as a critical gap in the mental health system.<\/p>\n

At the commission’s recommendation, it agreed to provide 2,000 social housing homes \u2014 delivered under its Big Housing Build program<\/a> \u2014 as supported housing, which provides tenants with things like tailored mental health treatment and integrated support.<\/p>\n

The government set aside $40 million in support funding over four years in the state’s 2021\/22 budget. The commission set a target completion date of the end of 2024.<\/p>\n

But years after the pledge, and with thousands of Big Housing Build homes complete or underway, the funding still has not been delivered.<\/p>\n

\"Tim<\/p>\n

Former treasurer Tim Pallas delivered Victoria’s 2021\/22 budget. (AAP: James Ross)<\/p>\n

The Community Housing Industry Association Victoria (CHIA Vic) said the sector had now been advised the funding would not be delivered \u2014 a decision it was urging the government to reverse.<\/p>\n

“We’re actually not asking for new investment,” chief executive Sarah Toohey said<\/p>\n

“We’re asking for the government to deliver the investment that was promised.”<\/p>\n

A state government spokesperson did not deny the promise had been scrapped.<\/p>\n

They said the government remained focused on “delivering the royal commission’s vision for supported housing for people living with mental health challenges” and eligible tenants were being provided with a range of supports.<\/p>\n

Do you know more about this story? Contact Jesse Thompson at jpjt@protonmail.com<\/a>.\u00a0If you’re sharing sensitive information,\u00a0read our tips on how to contact us confidentially<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A revolving door of homelessness and hospitalisation<\/p>\n

In Melbourne’s outer south-east, Darren Benson has lived in a self-contained unit linked to communal areas and on-site support staff for about two-and-a-half years.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Darren Benson lives in supported housing in Melbourne’s outer east. (ABC News: Simon Tucci)<\/p>\n

The 45-year-old had made several attempts to move out of the family home before then, but found himself returning just as often.<\/p>\n

When his mother and primary carer died, he took up residence at the Haven Foundation, a community housing organisation offering long-term housing to people living with mental health challenges.<\/p>\n

Since then, he has found the community to be a source of stability amid the up-and-down nature of the severe anxiety, bouts of psychosis and severe nerve pain that he manages \u2014 as well as the grief of his mother’s death.<\/p>\n

“The people help us whenever we need it, and you’ve got support whenever you need,” he said.<\/p>\n

“If places like this were to disappear, honestly, I think there would be a lot of people with disability out there who would have a lot more struggle each day. This place has actually saved lives.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Darren Benson says without supported housing, he is unsure where he would turn. (ABC News: Simon Tucci)<\/p>\n

Mr Benson \u2014 who wanted to share his story in the hope of helping others \u2014 could be considered a case study for what the royal commission called the transformative role a stable home can have for those experiencing mental illness.<\/p>\n

But too often, the commission warned, a lack of appropriate housing would see people discharged from hospital into homelessness or substandard, privately operated residential services.<\/p>\n

Where is Victoria’s Big Housing Build going?<\/a><\/p>\n

A $5.3 billion fund \u2014 billed as the nation’s largest-ever investment by a state government in social housing \u2014 was rolled out in Victoria four years ago. Now questions are being asked about where the money’s being spent.<\/p>\n

While the 2,000 dwellings were intended to have a “sizeable and meaningful impact” on this cohort, the royal commission’s final report said, further investment would be essential.<\/p>\n

However, Ms Toohey said the government’s failure to provide the initial $40 million could put tenants at risk of a similar pattern of homelessness and hospitalisation.<\/p>\n

“Our concern is that they really put the residents at risk of losing their tenancies because their mental wellbeing isn’t as well-managed as it should be,” she said.<\/p>\n

“So, this is actually a really good upfront investment for government to make to save at the more acute end of the system.”<\/p>\n

Housing investment ‘wasted’<\/p>\n

Allan Fels AO, one of four royal commissioners on the mental health inquiry, also questioned the efficacy of providing housing without the necessary supports.<\/p>\n

“Without some ongoing support, the investment in the house tends to be wasted,” Professor Fels, who is also a Haven Foundation director, said.<\/p>\n

“People with severe mental illness need a degree of support on-site or from mental health professionals who visit them.”<\/p>\n

\"Professor<\/p>\n

Allan Fels presided over the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)<\/p>\n

The state government spokesperson said nearly 300 purpose-built homes had already been delivered across Victoria as it continued its work in this space, including some completed by the Haven Foundation.<\/p>\n

“This is complex reform. It’s why we need to take a phased approach to ensure people living with mental health challenges get the long-term housing and specialist support they need,” they said.<\/p>\n

“Individuals identified for this program are provided with a range of dedicated supports, including through our Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Services, the Early Intervention Psychosocial Support Response or the NDIS.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The government promised to deliver 2,000 Big Housing Build homes as supported housing for Victorians with mental illness. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

In a June 2024 report on social housing delivery, the Victorian auditor-general’s office warned the government was not on track to meet its Big Housing Build target for people living with mental illness because of the funding issue.<\/p>\n

That report said the state’s housing minister had approved a plan to meet the royal commission’s recommendation through a mix of new and existing dwellings, but the mental health minister was yet to approve the approach.<\/p>\n

A related recommendation urged the government to provide a further 500 medium-term supported housing places for young people living with mental illness.<\/p>\n

A government webpage tracking progress in both areas has not been updated since December 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Victorian government has been accused of abandoning a funding commitment intended to stop Victorians with mental illness…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":510362,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[202905,49,48,202908,202909,84,393,394,202906,17336,202907],"class_list":{"0":"post-510361","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-big-housing-build","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-community-housing-industry-association-victoria","12":"tag-haven-foundation","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-mental-health","15":"tag-mentalhealth","16":"tag-royal-commission-into-victorias-mental-health-system","17":"tag-social-housing","18":"tag-victorian-government"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/510362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}