Women's Housing | Our Story Women's Housing | Our Story

Coming together to create more connected communities

While Women’s Housing Ltd has only been around for a few decades, our roots reach much further back. We were formerly known as the State-wide Women’s Community Housing Service (SWCHS) and only changed our name in 2002 so we’d be easier to find in the phone book.

While the way people find us has changed, our founding principles and reason-for-being, has stayed the same: the provision of accommodation for at-risk women across Victoria.

Our experience, knowledge and desire to help comes from our founding members:

• Young Women’s Housing Shopfront
• Safe Place for Women
• Flat Out
• Young Women’s Project
• Cambodian, Lao & Vietnamese Young Women’s Accommodation
• Council of Single Mothers and their Children
• Counterpoint Young Women’s Refuge
• YWCA of Dandenong & Westernport
• Women’s Housing Outreach Support Service
• At Last Young Women’s Refuge

In 1997, we were all ultimately working towards the same outcome – stable, affordable housing for women – so we pooled our resources for the greater good. At the time we were established, the Department estimated that we had oversight of 45-60 properties. This portfolio has expanded in scale and variety of housing options over the years and will continue to do so in the future.

Our Guiding Principles

Vision
All women will have safe, secure, affordable housing choices.

Purpose
Effective provision of specialist housing services.

Women’s Housing Limited is committed to:

• Safe and secure housing is a right afforded to all women

• Service provision will be culturally appropriate and accessible to all women

• Self-determination, respect and dignity underpins all service activities

• A feminist philosophical framework that acknowledges the need for gender specific housing

• Collaboration and partnership with key stakeholders on issues of strategic importance to homeless women

• Transparent accountability in effective and efficient organisations

• Commitment to continuous quality improvement

Our Proud Story Is Still Being Written

1998
We Established Women’s Housing
AGM & official launch of State-Wide Women’s Community Housing Services with 54 transitional homes under management.
2000
We Established Women’s Housing
Renamed to Women’s Housing Ltd. Core services included the Housing Pathways Initiative, working with women at DPFC and managing transitional housing.
2004
We Established Women’s Housing
Corrections Victoria evaluated the services provided to women leaving prison through its Better Pathways Strategy. As the key housing services provider in this initiative, Women’s Housing Ltd assists in the development of an Integrated Model of Transitional Support.
2006
We Established Women’s Housing
Women’s Housing Ltd is registered as a housing provider. A  partnership with WOMBAT Housing sees WHL transition into management of long-term housing as well as transitional housing.
2009
We Established Women’s Housing
Women’s Housing Ltd is accredited as a Homelessness Assistance and Support Service (HASS). We also organised the Women’s Housing Futures Inaugural Conference- the first women’s housing conference to be held in Australia for 20 years.
2010
We Established Women’s Housing
Women’s Housing Ltd purchases first homes in Meadow Heights & Werribee thanks to funding under Federal Government Nation Building Stimulus Package and opens its first development in Bayswater (27 apartments).
2012
We Established Women’s Housing
Women’s Housing Ltd’s Bayswater project wins the affordable living category in the UDIA Awards for Excellence.
2015
We Established Women’s Housing
Then Minister for Consumer Affairs, the Hon. Jane Garrett MP, awards a Victorian Property Fund grant to Women’s Housing Ltd for the development of twenty affordable housing units at Newport.
2016
We Established Women’s Housing
The 6-star energy rated 20 apartment development in Newport opens.
2018
We Established Women’s Housing
Women’s Housing Ltd achieves registration as a Housing Association.
2020
We Established Women’s Housing
Women’s Justice Diversion Program commences.
2021
We Established Women’s Housing
Women’s Housing Ltd awarded funding for 13 new social housing projects as part of the State Government of Victoria’s Big Housing Build.
2022-2025
We Established Women’s Housing
290 WHL owned homes delivered via Big Housing Build funding,
2023
We Established Women’s Housing
Women’s Justice Diversion Program receives Victorian Homelessness Achievement Award.