Brief

Victoria’s $27.8m outreach plan may raise demand for rough‑sleeping services

The state’s plan to send outreach teams to street‑level sites could add pressure to already stretched crisis accommodation, experts say.

By Felo News Desk · Published Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:46:04 GMT

Victoria’s government has announced a $27.8 million expansion of its “by‑name” outreach programme, sending teams of homelessness workers onto streets across the state to profile, build trust with and prioritise the most vulnerable rough sleepers. The move follows a 25 % rise in rough‑sleepers who sought specialist help last year, bringing the figure to 10 673, according to Council to Homeless Persons data.

Homelessness services warn that crisis accommodation centres are regularly full before lunchtime and that the new outreach could increase demand, potentially leading to unsafe placements. Council to Homeless Persons chief executive Deborah Di Natale said the programme would probably cost $31 million to deliver and that it “does not go far enough”. She added that the single biggest investment to end homelessness would be a commitment to build more social housing.

Melbourne City Mission chief executive Paul Wappett also backed the outreach as a positive step but said more support services were needed, particularly for young people. He warned that the programme would “highlight just how much more housing we need for people who find themselves in homelessness”.

Key facts

• Victoria’s state government is investing $27.8 million in an assertive outreach programme to reduce rough sleeping (smh.com.au)
• Council to Homeless Persons data shows 10 673 people slept rough and sought specialist help in Victoria last year, a 25 % increase over five years (smh.com.au)
• Homelessness services warn crisis accommodation centres are often full before lunchtime, leading to unsafe placements (smh.com.au)
• Deborah Di Natale estimates the outreach programme would cost $31 million to deliver and is not sufficient alone to end homelessness (smh.com.au)
• Paul Wappett says the outreach will increase demand and expose the need for more housing for rough sleepers (smh.com.au)

Sources

• [1] smh.com.au — originally reported as “Victoria homelessness crisis: Struggling services warn that $27. 8 million assertive outreach program will increase demand”