Recurring homelessness

If you're living in crisis accommodation and you need extra support to stay in long term housing, you could be eligible for priority housing assistance under the recurring homelessness category.

This category applies to people who have a history of being homeless and, for this reason, experience a range of other social or behavioural issues that make it difficult to find a stable home.

Assessments are not done by local housing office staff. They are done by accredited housing providers such as Transitional Housing Managers, crisis centres and refuges. These services have expertise in specialist support areas and they are in the best position to assess what kinds of housing and support services are needed.

Contact your local housing office for a list of accredited housing providers.

Eligibility

You're eligible if you:

• have a history of being homeless or are at risk of being long-term homeless
• currently live in housing managed or arranged by a Transitional Housing manager or other crisis accommodation agency
• meet the current recurring homelessness income and asset limits
• don't own or part own a house, unit or flat
• live in Victoria
• are an Australian citizen or permanent resident
• begin repaying any money that you still owe the Office of Housing from a previous public housing tenancy or bond loan

Application process

You can only apply for assistance under the Recurring Homelessness category through an accredited housing provider such as a Transitional Housing Manager. 

An experienced housing provider, like a Transitional Housing Manager, crisis centre or a refuge will complete your an assessment of your eligibility.

Your local housing office has a list of accredited housing providers that can assess your situation and can complete and submit your application for you.

These services will be able to match you with the best housing and support services to meet your needs.

If you think you are eligible for priority housing, have your housing provider complete the Recurring Homelessness Application form.

You will also need to be on the public housing waiting list when you apply for this priority assistance. If you haven't applied yet, fill in the General Housing Application form and lodge both applications with your local housing office.

If you are not successful with your application you can appeal the decision.

Recurring Homelessness housing is not emergency housing, so there may be a waiting period before a home is available for you.

Contact your local housing office for assistance or more information.

For Housing Providers

Housing providers completing the Recurring homelessness application should refer to the following documents:

Recurring Homelessness Application form (Word Size 37KB, Pages 9)

Recurring Homelessness Guidelines (Word Size 98KB, Pages 22)

Recurring Homelessness User notes (Word Size 386KB, Pages 8)