Housing and homelessness

Support Services

If you or someone you know needs assistance to find accommodation, please call one of the following numbers:

For local assistance during business hours

Uniting Homelessness & Support Service

  • Phone: 9870 4020
  • Hours: 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday
  • Address: 291A Maroondah Highway, Ringwood
  • Information, crisis support, emergency relief and referral

After hours help

Statewide After Hours Homelessness Services

  • Phone: 1800 825 955 (free call) or (03) 9536 7777
  • Hours: 5 pm to 9 am, Monday to Friday and 24 hours on weekends and public holidays

For women and children escaping family violence

Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre for women and children:

  • Phone: 1800 015 188 (free call)
  • Hours: 24 hours

Regional Local Government Homelessness and Social Housing Group Charter

Thirteen councils representing 2 million residents in Melbourne's east and southeast have joined in a unified voice calling for urgent action for more social housing to end homelessness.

They want more housing as the first step to address the often complex social and health needs of people affected by the housing crisis. Providing a safe home first, as part of a broader social housing framework, is the way to stem the increase in homelessness. Only then can the compounding set of circumstances which leads to homelessness be properly addressed to enable better outcomes for vulnerable people facing extreme adversity.

Homelessness is more likely to affect women and children fleeing family violence, people with a disability, people living with a mental health condition, people living in poverty and others impacted by compounding factors such as unemployment, low income and illness.

The alliance of councils has adopted a Charter to guide this campaign. The Regional Local Government Homelessness & Social Housing Charter 2020 was determined following a forum of CEOs and senior staff from all councils in November 2019 and attended by housing providers, peak bodies and the State Government.

The Regional Local Government Homelessness and Social Housing Charter 2020 prioritises three regional commitments which the 13 councils act on:

  • Work in partnership with Federal and State governments, and public and private sector partners in a coordinated approach to deliver meaningful outcomes to increase the provision of social housing and respond to homelessness in east and southeast Melbourne
  • Scope land within each local government area that has the potential to be repurposed for adaptable housing needs
  • Advocate for inclusive housing growth including mandatory inclusionary zoning

Social housing refers to housing owned by the State Government or by non-profit community housing providers that is rented to low-income households at either 25% (public housing) or 30% (community housing) of household income.

Regional Local Government Homelessness & Social Housing Charter 2020(PDF, 1MB)

Learn more

Visit City of Monash’s website to:

  • Hear Nova's story of the lived experience of homelessness 
  • View Charter developed research and reports
  • Read research the City of Monash commissioned through the Council to Homeless Persons

Upcoming events

Click on the event tile to find out more:

Further information

The local government areas that form this collective are: 

City of Casey, City of Cardinia, Frankston City Council, City of Greater Dandenong, Knox City Council, City of Kingston, Manningham City Council, City of Monash, Maroondah City Council, Mornington Peninsula Shire, City of Whitehorse, Yarra Ranges Council and Bayside Council.

This group is supported by Eastern Affordable Housing Alliance [EAHA], Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), Eastern Region Group of Councils and the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS).

Regional Local Government Homelessness and Social Housing Group Charter

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