Corangamite Shire is working to provide affordable housing for workers

A new report by Anglicare Australia found across the country on a sample weekend in March a paramedic would afford 2.4 per cent of the 45,922 rentals available and a construction worker could afford 1.3 per cent of listings available.

The Anglicare report noted most of the essential worker roles identified required a physical presence in the workplace.

"Few nurses, postal workers, cleaners or construction workers can work remotely," the report stated.

"Many are travelling large distances for employment."

It noted the under supply was in social and affordable housing and the shortage of affordable rentals for low-income households grew between 1996 and 2011, "contradicting the theory that housing supply in the private market would 'trickle-down' and create affordable rentals over time."

"Australia now has more dwellings per head of population than at any other time in our history and yet affordability is the lowest it has ever been," it said.

The report stated essential workers were finding it tougher to afford housing within their own communities as rents continued to rise.

A search on a real estate website on Monday, August 21 showed there were no rental listings in Terang, Timboon, Lismore, Derrinallum, Noorat, Simpson with three available in Camperdown and two in Port Campbell.

Corangamite Shire mayor Ruth Gstrein said the council was being proactive with the Unlocking Timboon and Unlocking Simpson projects.

Unlocking Simpson will see an 84 lot residential subdivision with stage one to open up 26 lots.

In Timboon the subdivision will be on council owned land and will be made up of 35 lots.

Cr Gstrein said stage one would be eight lots and the council were developing a preferential sale system to focus on people having difficulties finding housing.

"So while it is about paramedics and emergency service workers it's also about people working in agriculture," she said.

"Someone might not have a spare property on their farm for a worker."

She said the preferential sale system would also look at peoples' gross annual income to help provide social housing.

She said the lots would be available to people who made no more than $128,000 for an individual and $204,000 for joint applicants.

"There's a number of things that we're looking at, including in the criteria," she said.

"Obviously council is well aware this has been an issue for several years.

"It's important to remember council aren't building the houses, we're doing the subdivision and getting the land ready. It's very much market driven.

"Those first eight lots in Timboon will use the preferential sale system to get it moving and hopefully take some of the pressure off."

Cr Gstrein said with money flowing down from the federal government to the state government the council would love to access it and would consider building houses.

"We know that in Simpson there is nothing for sale and there is nothing for rent," she said.

"Anecdotally we're told that there are people who work in Colac who are living in Simpson because they can't get housing in Colac so what you're doing is just pushing the problem onto different areas.

"We're being proactive and trying to get this up and going as quickly as possible and hopefully it does ease some of the pressure."

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