As Victoria prepares to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, Queensland’s peak body for housing and homelessness has reflected on what lessons can be learnt from Gold Coast 2018.
Key points:
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Non-profit organisation Q Shelter says targets should be set for affordable and social housing at the 2026 Commonwealth Games
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The Victorian government says Games villages will provide a legacy of social and affordable housing for each host city
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Ballarat’s mayor says “all options” need to be considered for the Ballarat village
“Legacy” is a word consistently being used by leaders in discussions about the 2026 Games, especially around infrastructure and, more specifically, the athletes’ villages.
Four regional Victorian cities have been chosen to host the villages: Ballarat, Geelong, Bendigo, and Morwell in Gippsland.
At the announcement of the sites, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the villages would “deliver a legacy that includes social and affordable housing”.
Looking to the Gold Coast athletes’ village in Southport, executive director of Q Shelter Fiona Caniglia, said while the site’s “build-to-rent” model did increase supply of rental housing, it did not include a component of social and affordable housing.
“I think it was a missed opportunity … and it’s hard to get that back again,” Ms Caniglia said.
Three key takeaways from 2018 ‘mega event’
Ms Caniglia said there were three key components that the 2026 Games could learn from the 2018 “mega event”.
The first is setting intentional “targets” for social and affordable housing.
According to Development Victoria, the four villages will collectively house 7,000 athletes and officials during the Games.
Ms Caniglia suggested about 25 to 30 per cent of the newly created accommodation should be retained for social and affordable housing “in perpetuity”.
“Even more if you can manage it,” she said.
Secondly, Ms Caniglia said employment opportunities should be open to people who were usually excluded, through supported programs and social enterprises.
Finally, she said visible homelessness in the host cities for the 2026 Games needed to be addressed now.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 122,494 people were experiencing homelessness in Victoria on Census night in 2021.
“Work now to have a longer-term, supportive housing solution … so that it’s not just a crisis response about where you put people [during the event],” Ms Caniglia said.
“It’s about saying these Games are going to see an overall reduction in complex homelessness because we’ve made sure people are looked after long before the games start.”
‘All options need to be on the table’, says Ballarat mayor
In a statement, a government spokesperson said each of the 2026 Games villages would be “integrated with the community with great open spaces, connectivity, and public amenity”.
The ABC has learned the total number of dwellings in each location will be determined by considering the specific needs of the region and community.
It is also understood that the type of housing will vary from village to village, but will be a mix of permanent and re-locatable housing.
City of Ballarat Mayor Des Hudson said “all options need to be on the table” for the Ballarat village, which will be built at the site of a former saleyard.
“You don’t want something that’s rushed; you don’t want something that doesn’t leave the right legacy,” Mr Hudson said during a media conference in Ballarat last week.
“I’m very open-minded in terms of what it can be.
“If there’s a mix of temporary [accommodation] that can be re-located off-site afterward, if it gives us a better outcome going forward, then that’s absolutely something we should be looking at and willing to accept.”
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