TWiSK reckons it’s timely to consider two important questions:
Does the community feel safer after a vigorous community discussion about safety?
What progress has been made on helping the homeless, sleeping rough and encampments on streets?
Both the questions will be addressed this Wednesday evening at the final Council meeting for 2025 when councillors will work through a mammoth 700 page agenda including these hot topics.
Yes, 700 hundred plus pages of agenda items were released for public consumption at 5 pm last Friday.
The homelessness and affordable housing strategy is bold and humane. It promises to reduce homelessness to effectively zero by spending over 10 years.
Bravo. But as we also report elsewhere this week, there is reliable evidence that current practices by council and agencies are unresponsive and infective leaving concerned residents and homeless people at odds with each other.
Community safely is now a recognised concern
Also with community safety, the yearlong process to develop an effective community safety plan comes to a conclusion on Wednesday.
Let’s start with the good news. There is clear acknowledgment of community concern and a commitment to work in partnership with police and agencies. Surprisingly, that feels like progress. But that’s just the beginning.
TWiSK will report on Wednesdays decisions next week. In the meantime, here are summaries of the major agenda items.
Towards ‘zero’ homeless in a decade
Council’s proposed Final Homelessness and Affordable Housing Strategy aims for functional zero homelessness over the next decade, where homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring. The strategy focuses on providing safe, appropriate housing with wraparound supports like mental health and financial counselling. It champions new affordable housing, protects existing stock, and advocates for private rental market security.
The strategy is built on five pillars: strengthening community responses to homelessness, enabling social housing access, improving affordable and key worker housing access, supporting private rental market stability, and strengthening places that support housing stability.
The total operating expenses for the strategy were $2.484 million in 2023/24, increasing to $2.938 million by 2028/29. This includes employee costs, service agreements with community providers, cash contributions to capital, and rental subsidies.
Community Safety Plan acknowledges concerns
The Port Phillip Community Safety Plan 2025-2029 aims to create a thriving, inclusive, and resilient community where everyone feels safe, connected, and empowered.
The plan is grounded in equity, prevention, and collaboration, taking a public health approach with early intervention, harm reduction, and trauma-informed care. It focuses on three pillars: creating safer public places, improving communication and information, and strengthening social cohesion and connecting communities.
The plan was developed through extensive community engagement, including a Community Safety Roundtable and surveys, which highlighted community concerns such as housing and homelessness, personal and property safety, and crime prevention.
Key findings from the 2025 Annual Community Satisfaction Survey indicated that community safety is a significant concern, with perceptions of safety in public areas, especially at night, being lower than regional benchmarks. Criminal incidents and total offenses in Port Phillip rose by over 20% in the year ending March 2025.
Council has committed a budget for the next four years to support the plan’s delivery, including staffing, service agreements, and program delivery. An additional $250,000 over four years is allocated for community safety programs. The total operating expenses are projected to be $623,000 in 2025/26, $534,000 in 2026/27, $474,000 in 2027/28, and $486,000 in 2028/29.
Decision time on local laws
The Council is considering three options regarding amendments to the Community Amenity Local Law 2023 and an Operating Protocol with Victoria Police.
Option A involves amending the Local Law to add a new Part 4A, “Encampment Equipment on Council Land.” This option would allow the CEO to designate “no encampment” areas in response to behaviours that have or may have adverse amenity and welfare impacts, provided specific conditions in the Local Law are met. It would also empower Council’s Authorised Officers to remove encampment equipment from these designated areas. This option applies when there is an encampment of three or more persons and requires the CEO to seek assurance from Police regarding enforcement resources before designation. Enforcement would focus on removing and impounding encampment equipment, not fines. The CEO or their delegate would also be authorized to sign the Police Protocol (Attachment 1). An allocation of $60,000 is proposed for communications, engagement, reporting, and legal review for this amendment.
Option B also involves amending the Local Law to add a new Part 4A, “Encampment Equipment on Council Land.” This option would allow Council’s Authorised Officers to respond to behaviours in camps that have or may have adverse amenity and welfare impacts, provided conditions in the Local Law are met, and empower them to remove encampment equipment. Unlike Option A, Option B applies across the municipality at all times and can apply to any number of persons. The decision to commence enforcement under Option B would be made by authorized officers. Prior to directing items to be removed, authorized officers must use their best endeavours to address behaviors with support through local health and outreach services. Enforcement would not include fines, but rather the removal and impoundment of encampment equipment. This option also proposes allocating $60,000 for communications, engagement, reporting, and legal review. Additionally, it authorizes the CEO or delegate to renegotiate the Police Protocol to apply to Option B and requests that any renegotiated Protocol be brought to a future Council meeting for endorsement.
Option C is to not amend the Local Law. Under this option, the Council would not proceed with any changes to the Local Law. However, it would authorize the CEO or delegate to sign the Police Protocol (Attachment 1) on behalf of Council. This option acknowledges that the majority of community feedback on Option A was in opposition, and that there has been no engagement on Option B. It also considers the risk of criticism that removing encampment equipment does not address the underlying causes of rough sleeping. Not proceeding with a Local Law change would allow for the implementation of an enhanced service delivery model, as outlined in the new Community Safety Plan, and for Council to review the impact of these additional services, programs, and partnerships on encampments.
