Just days after the ‘notorious bloc of six’ Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors, led by Mayor Anthony Marsh, voted against declaring a Homelessness Emergency, new figures from Homelessness Australia and the HomeTime campaign have revealed the extent of the crisis gripping the country.
STPL News has explored the national data, specifically focusing on the Mornington Peninsula and Frankston.
National picture
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reported that in 2023–24, 13,300 children sought help from homelessness services without a parent or guardian. Of these, 2,762 were in Victoria — the highest proportion in the nation.
Despite thousands of children needing long-term housing, more than 80 per cent were unable to secure it, leaving many trapped in cycles of insecurity, violence, and disadvantage.
Homelessness Australia CEO Kate Colvin said many children are being forced from one unsafe situation into another.
“Most children who are homeless without a parent or guardian are fleeing homes where they have experienced violence, abandonment or neglect. They go from danger of one kind into danger of another.”
Local impact on the Mornington Peninsula and Frankston
Figures from the AIHW Specialist Homelessness Services Collection data cubes 2011–12 to 2023–24 show the Mornington Peninsula and Frankston account for a significant share of child homelessness and housing insecurity in Victoria.
Children recorded as homeless in 2023–24:
- Mornington Peninsula: 82 children aged 0–9 and 89 adolescents aged 10–19.
- Frankston: 147 children aged 0–9 and 160 adolescents aged 10–19.
Children recorded as at risk of homelessness in 2023–24:
- Mornington Peninsula: 180 children aged 0–9 and 211 adolescents aged 10–19.
- Frankston: 230 children aged 0–9 and 265 adolescents aged 10–19.
This means nearly 480 children and teenagers were already homeless locally, and more than 880 were identified as being at risk of homelessness.
When set against the total demand for services, the scale becomes clearer. In 2023–24, 2,857 people in Frankston and 1,704 on the Mornington Peninsula accessed homelessness services — a combined 4,559 clients of all ages. Children and adolescents therefore made up around one in four of all clients locally, underlining how deeply the crisis is impacting younger residents.
Answering STPL News’ request for comment, Dr Jennifer Fitzgerald AM, Group CEO of the St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria, said:
“No child should carry the heavy burden of homelessness. Every child deserves to be free to enjoy being a child, to play and grow with their basic needs of food, safety and a stable home being met.
These figures show that, on the Mornington Peninsula and in Frankston, we are seeing too many young lives disrupted by homelessness. St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria members witness the toll this takes on families every day, and this is why we are calling for urgent housing investment and stronger support for families, so that children are not robbed of their childhood.”
Council resistance draws criticism
Notorious Six Turn Their Backs on Homelessness Crisis
The Notorious Six councillors have blocked a motion to declare a homelessness emergency on the Mornington Peninsula. The proposal, which would have cost the Shire no funds, aimed to push state and federal governments to act as the region records Victoria’s highest rates of rough sleeping and three deaths in the past year.
The release of this data follows the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s decision to block a motion by Cr Max Patton to declare a Homelessness Emergency. Despite evidence that the Peninsula records the highest number of rough sleepers in metropolitan Melbourne, the Marsh-led bloc — including councillors Williams, Pingiaro, Allen, Rankin and Batty — voted the motion down.
Critics argue the decision sends the wrong message to frontline services and families in crisis, particularly as new figures show children make up a significant proportion of those both homeless and at risk.
National and local calls for action
The HomeTime campaign, supported by federal crossbench MPs, has called for urgent reforms, including:
- 15,000 dedicated homes with tailored support for young people
- Removal of the youth housing penalty in social services
- Prioritisation of 16–24 year olds in the Housing Australia Future Fund
Advocates say unless change comes quickly, children and adolescents in regions like the Mornington Peninsula and Frankston will continue to make up a disproportionate share of those experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Pressure on local services
Local agencies report they are under mounting pressure. With rents climbing and affordable housing stock shrinking, demand continues to grow while resources remain stretched. The result is more young people left to navigate unstable arrangements and greater exposure to harm.
The combination of council inaction and worsening data has intensified calls for both state and federal governments to intervene — and for local government to take a more proactive stance in addressing the region’s growing crisis. More needs to be done, and councillors who voted against acknowledging a Homelessness Emergency are now being urged to reflect on these new figures and reconsider their position in light of the impact on local children and families.
Call them what they are: a cabal cartell