Advocacy for residents in Parliament inquiry

Louisa and Steph Parliament Inquiry June 2025

Published July 28 2025

Our West Heidelberg Community Legal (WHCL) service recently appeared before the Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee, as part of an inquiry into the redevelopment of Melbourne’s public housing towers.

Principal Lawyer Stephanie Price, alongside Louisa Bassini, Managing Lawyer - Housing and Tenancy at Inner Melbourne Community Legal (IMCL), stressed the need for enforceable right for residents to return to public housing, if they wish to do so, following the redevelopment of the estates.

Stephanie commented, “our practice experience and the available research shows that without intervention, the replacement of public housing with community housing – a key underpinning of the high-rise redevelopment program - will erode rental standards for social housing residents.”

WHCL and IMCL are partners in The Social Housing Legal Program - a service delivering specialist legal advice and representation services to public and community housing renters across Melbourne.

Watch a short recap video of the inquiry now or find out more about our free legal support available.