2025-06-17
Today the Victorian Greens are calling for bipartisan support to make housing a human right in the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities (the Charter).
The Victorian Greens will introduce their Human Rights and Responsibilities Amendment (Right to Housing) Bill 2025 in the Victorian Parliament this week, which adds the right to adequate housing into the Charter.
Amending the Charter would mean that future legislation and regulations, Government departments, the police and the courts would all need to comply with and uphold the right to adequate housing. Under this Bill, making housing affordable, accessible, secure and habitable would become core to government decisions around housing.
The bill also specifies that housing should be structurally sound and located to appropriate public services and employment.
The Greens are calling on the Premier, Opposition and Cross Bench to support this bill.
The bill will be first read on Tuesday and second read on Wednesday in the Legislative Council.
Quotes attributable to Victorian Greens Housing Spokesperson, Gabrielle de Vietri:
“It’s time to fundamentally change the way we think about housing – not as a commodity but as a human right. This bill would do this.
“Today we are offering something all MPs across the political spectrum can agree on – that everyone has a right to a safe and affordable home.
“Anyone who votes down this bill will need a bloody good explanation for the more than 1 million Victorians in housing stress.
“Without a home, everything falls apart. You can’t access healthcare, education or work, you lose connections to family and community. Labor should look seriously at its responsibility to make sure Victorians have this basic human right protected now and into the future.”