The transition to a renewable energy future is underway, but how can we ensure people living in social housing are included and benefit from green technologies and infrastructure changes? With current levels of support, we are concerned that the 116,000 social housing residents in Victoria will be not get the health, financial, employment and social benefits that will come with the shift away from residential energy powered by fossil fuels.

Renew in partnership with the Yarra Energy Foundation have made a submission to the Victorian government to argue that social housing residents must not be left behind in the energy transition that will shape the next 10 years.

We call on the government to:

• build new social housing to a 7+ star standard
• audit existing homes using the Victorian Residential Efficiency Scorecard
• conduct large-scale energy efficiency retrofits
• create jobs for residents in retrofit programs
• invest in onsite solar, community battery storage, replacement of gas appliances, and deliver a power purchase agreement (PPA) for social housing
• Provide support and concessions to reduce and manage energy costs

Our full submission is available here.

The Victorian Government defines social housing as an umbrella term that includes both public housing and community housing, and that it generally involves some degree of subsidy. There are more than 116,000 people living in public housing in Victoria, with nearly 5 per cent of those Aboriginal residents. Read more here