Aboriginal-led providers have been forgotten by major government-funded housing projects, while one in six Indigenous Victorians face homelessness, an inquiry has been told.
Aboriginal Housing Victoria chief executive Darren Smith told the Yoorrook truth-telling inquiry 17 per cent of Aboriginal Victorians were seeking homelessness support, a number that had been growing at 10 per cent annually.
"If it was in the mainstream, there'd be one million people accessing homelessness services in Victoria, every year," Mr Smith said.
"It would be an absolute crisis."
Access to grants to build homes and social housing under Victoria's big housing build program are limited to registered housing providers.
Mr Smith's organisation and Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative are the only two Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) that meet the requirement, despite others in the state providing housing for decades.
"A lot of departments, when they're writing new strategies and policies, don't understand the ACCO lens and how we work," Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative chief executive Simon Flagg said.
The inquiry heard scale was a barrier, as an organisation would need at least 200 homes to break even or be profitable.
Wathaurong provides culturally appropriate services and support for Aboriginal people in a huge catchment spanning from Geelong to Colac and the Surf Coast in central southwestern Victoria.
"We know our community, we're the ones that have fingers on the pulse of understanding their needs and requirements and yet, most of the time, we're not at the table at the conversation," Mr Flagg said.
His organisation is recommending more flexible options for grant access for the Aboriginal community controlled sector.
Anthony Craig, who helms Goolum Co-Op in western Victoria, said Indigenous applications for rental properties often went to the bottom of the pile.
"In Horsham, as in a lot of regional Victoria, there is no vacancies, and there are never any vacancies if you're an Aboriginal family," Mr Craig told the inquiry.
His organisation is going to the state government with a master plan to grow its housing stock for as many as 40 families still on a waitlist.
"Here we are sitting on vacant land with plans and opportunities," Mr Craig said.
"We're just waiting for the government investment. We're ready to grow our (housing) stock. We know how to manage our stock."
Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-operative helps connect people escaping domestic violence with emergency accommodation, but providers are often reluctant to assist, chief executive Dallas Widdicombe said.
"There's just a list of motels we can't even ring because as soon as they get a whiff that it's us they just say they're full," Mr Widdicombe told the inquiry.
Commissioner Sue-Anne Hunter noted a lack of housing was entrenching disadvantage in Victoria's Aboriginal community.
"Women and men can't get out of prison unless they've got housing, children can't get returned from child protection unless they've got housing," Professor Hunter said.
"And we have the highest rates incarcerated and in child protection."
Mr Widdacombe agreed.
"It's absolutely everything," he said.
"We can''t work with our families on any issues, challenges unless we have stable housing."
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