The City of Greater Bendigo has formally adopted a new Affordable Housing Action Plan covering 2026 to 2028, setting out an ambitious programme to lift housing supply, diversify dwelling types, and strengthen collaboration across government, industry, and the community sector.
The plan was endorsed at a council meeting on 15 June following extensive community consultation and engagement with property industry stakeholders. It sits alongside the City's Managed Growth Strategy, which promotes higher-density development in established urban areas and flags additional greenfield sites on the urban fringe.
The scale of unmet need in Greater Bendigo is considerable. The region is forecast to absorb approximately 40,000 additional residents by 2046, while current social housing stock is described as falling well short of demand.
More than 800 people are currently homeless or at immediate risk, with over 2,400 accessing homelessness support services. Older women have emerged as one of the fastest-growing cohorts facing housing insecurity — a demographic shift with direct implications for the dwelling types brokers are likely to be financing in coming years.
Mayor Thomas Prince (pictured) framed the challenge in national terms.
"Affordability and availability of housing is an issue of national significance and high local importance in the community," Prince said in a media release.
Front-line data underscores the strain. The MFAA's February 2026 Market Sentiment Survey ranked housing supply constraints among the top three drivers of borrower caution, while NAB and Cotality's Q1 2026 data shows regional Victorian dwelling values up 8.0% annually, listings down 12.6%, and vacancy rates at just 1.4%.
The action plan centres on three priority initiatives. Most visibly, Greater Bendigo has joined STAND, an international initiative coordinated in Australia by the Municipal Association of Victoria — making it one of only eight Victorian councils participating in the 12-month programme. The initiative works to reduce stigma and shift community narratives around homelessness and housing stress, backed by planned advocacy to state and federal governments for increased social housing funding and crisis housing support in the region.
On the supply side, the plan pursues two further initiatives in parallel. The first involves partnering with registered housing providers, youth organisations, and health and community wellbeing bodies to lodge a bid under the federal Housing Australia Future Fund, targeting higher-density dwellings on underutilised Council land with a focus on wheelchair-accessible design and people at the highest risk of homelessness.
The second supply initiative aims to lower barriers to small-scale construction — specifically secondary dwellings such as granny flats, as well as more flexible options including tiny houses and caravans. Council proposes to reduce or waive planning permit fees where possible and investigate amendments to the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme to encourage apartment development in the city centre.
That local push sits alongside a state-level reform already in effect: under the Victorian Government's Housing Statement: The Decade Ahead 2024–2034, small second homes up to 60 square metres no longer require a planning permit in most cases, according to Planning Victoria.
"By working in partnership with government agencies, industry and community services, we can take meaningful steps toward improving housing levels in the region, supporting vulnerable people and building a stronger, more inclusive Greater Bendigo," Prince said.
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