Get Help – Women’s Services

Information Assessment & 
Planning (IAP)

Your first conversation will be with a member of our IAP team. They’ll assess your needs, provide housing advice and information, assist you directly, or refer you to housing options or support services.

The IAP team can also access Housing Establishment Funds (HEF) to immediately assist women and families with nowhere to stay. HEF provision is based on a needs assessment and is subject to available funding. As such, not all requests can be funded.

To access our IAP or discuss your eligibility for HEF:

Call (03) 9412 6868 between 9am and 1pm Mon-Fri.

If you don’t get through on the first try, you’ll be given the choice to arrange a callback. We do our best to return calls within one business day, but response times may vary in peak periods.

For more information about IAP and HEF, or to find specialist services in your area, click here.

Transitional Housing

Women’s Housing Ltd is a Transitional Housing Manager (THM) funded by DFFH. We manage a portfolio of short-medium term properties across metro-Melbourne for women and families who cannot access housing without support and require a temporary housing option until they can establish long-term private or social housing.

THM vacancies can only be accessed via referral from funded homelessness or allied services.

WHL manages the rental agreement and property, including any maintenance requests.

Together, the referring agency, the property manager, and household identify goals and develop a transition plan to work towards long-term housing.

IAP at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre

This program provides a housing pathway to women at risk of leaving the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre (DPFC) homeless, or who need assistance to sustain an existing housing option for their release, by:

• Helping women sustain existing private or social housing tenancies should they be absent from home for a short/fixed period.

• Providing IAP assessment and referrals to connect women to post-release housing options and supports.

• Applying for public and community housing via the Victorian Housing Register (VHR) under the ‘Priority, Homeless with Support’ category – if eligible.

• Purchasing crisis accommodation to bridge the gap between custodial release and presentation to access points or other housing support.

We work closely with other agencies supporting women exiting prison, including the ACSO ReStart Program and the ReLink/ReConnect Program provided by Drummond Street Services and Elizabeth Morgan House Aboriginal Women’s Services.

For more information, email: iapoutreach@womenshousing.com.au

Women’s Justice Diversion Program

The Women’s Justice Diversion Program (WJDP) provides housing assessment and intervention to women on remand or serving a short sentence at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre (DPFC).

The WJDP was created in 2020 as a gender-specific housing and homelessness response to help divert people from DPFC into housing and support services, and reduce further interaction with the justice system.

The WJDP can provide up to three months of post-release support to eligible participants. Eligibility for this support and flexible housing funds is dependent on the assessment and planning undertaken with participants following referral.

Referrals are received from DPFC-based programs, court-based programs, legal services, and other support and advocacy services that support criminalised women and gender-diverse persons.

For more information, email: iapoutreach@womenshousing.com.au

Complaints and Appeals

You have the right to appeal a decision or raise a complaint about the service you have received from Women’s Housing Ltd. Rest assured that making a complaint will not negatively affect any future service you receive from us.

As a starting point, it’s recommended that you discuss any issue with the worker you received a service from. This is the quickest way to clear up any misunderstanding to achieve a satisfactory resolution.

If this does not resolve the matter, you can email the details of your complaint to: reception@womenshousing.com.au. Be sure to address the email to the attention of the Women’s Services Manager.

You can request a return call via email if you would prefer to discuss the matter over the phone.

To further escalate the matter, complete the attached form and send it to the same address. This message should be addressed to the Operations Manager.

Please ensure you have good reason and include supporting evidence in your email.

You can also raise a complaint with an external body:
Department of Families, Fairness, and Housing (DFFH): https://www.dffh.vic.gov.au/making-complaint
Commonwealth Department of Social Services: 03 9665 8888
Office of the Public Advocate: 1300 309 337
Homelessness Advocacy Service (HAS): 1800 066 256
Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission: 1300 292 153