Published on Monday, 27 October 2025

Appeal over public housing class action gets underway

The Supreme Court will today begin hearing an appeal against a decision earlier this year to allow the demolition of public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington.

Inner Melbourne Community Legal has lodged the appeal on behalf of public housing residents who allege that the Victorian Government has breached their human rights by deciding to demolish 44 towers by 2051.

“This appeal comes at a critical time for residents of the North Melbourne and Flemington housing estates,” said IMCL Managing Lawyer for Tenancy, Louisa Bassini.

“Even though there has been an appeal in train for several months, residents have continued to be made final offers to relocate to new housing away from their community. This is causing enormous stress for remaining residents who are fearful about their future.

“This case has ramifications well beyond the two estates.

“If the demolitions are allowed to go ahead, hundreds of public housing homes will be lost in the inner city. This valuable public land must not be handed over to private developers; there must be a commitment to increase Victoria’s public housing stock.

“The government should be building more public housing on the land it owns, including new housing for residents who are temporarily relocated.”

The appeal to be heard in the Supreme Court today is made on six grounds, including that Justice Melinda Richards erred in finding that Homes Victoria had discharged its responsibilities under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act.

Other appeal grounds are based on the question of whether residents should have been consulted with and the inclusion of evidence that ought to have been excluded.

IMCL argues that Homes Victoria’s decision to demolish the public housing towers was made without regard to the impact on the people living in them, and without adherence to proper processes that the department is required to follow, such as consultation with the residents.

“North Melbourne and Flemington residents were denied procedural fairness when the decision to demolish their homes was announced without any prior consultation with them,” Ms Bassini said.

“The first they knew about the plans was when they heard of them in the media. Next thing Homes Victoria was knocking on their doors asking them to sign relocation agreements.

“Ever since there has been obfuscation and a lack of transparency about why demolition is necessary and retrofitting the towers is not an option. The appeal will argue that Homes Victoria has failed to demonstrably justify its plans.”