03 · Fund Our Neighbourhood Houses
Three named houses. Ten across the alliance.
Neighbourhood Houses are where Box Hill's English classes, senior groups, after-school programs and community lunches actually happen — and where, increasingly, doors are being closed because the funding stopped keeping pace a decade ago.
Read the full plan.
The Community Hubs I am fighting to protect.
Clota Cottage Neighbourhood House
Box Hill
Box Hill South Neighbourhood House
Box Hill South
Louise Multicultural Centre
Forest Hill
And the full Whitehorse Community Houses alliance.
Avenue Neighbourhood House @ Eley
Burwood East
Bennettswood Neighbourhood House
Burwood
Blackburn North Neighbourhood House
Blackburn North
Box Hill South Neighbourhood House
Box Hill South
Burwood Neighbourhood House
Burwood
Clota Cottage Neighbourhood House
Box Hill
Kerrimuir Neighbourhood House
Box Hill North
Louise Multicultural Centre
Forest Hill
Mitcham Community House
Mitcham
Vermont South Neighbourhood House
Vermont South
The 25% gap.
The state's Neighbourhood House Coordination Program funding hasn't kept pace with wages, insurance or rent in over a decade. Across the Whitehorse alliance, that shows up as a real funding gap of around 25% — covered by reserves, cut hours, and the unpaid time of coordinators.
real funding gap, against costs
This isn't just a Whitehorse problem.
Around 46% of Victorian Neighbourhood Houses are now running at a loss. Sector analysis puts the annual statewide shortfall — to deliver a 25% funding increase and restore the historic 80/20 state/local funding split — at roughly $11.7 million per year.
annual statewide funding shortfall
What I will do.
- Close the 25% gap with a restored, indexed base-funding line — not one-off grants.
- Multi-year funding agreements so houses can plan, hire and retain coordinators.
- Restore the 80/20 state/local funding split where local government has been quietly absorbing the difference.
- Treat Neighbourhood Houses formally as community-safety infrastructure for funding purposes.
Why this is a safety story too.
Connected communities are safer communities. Every coordinator who keeps the doors open, every after-school place that doesn't disappear, every senior English class that stays weekly — those are not "nice-to-haves". They are the quiet, evidence-based infrastructure of community safety. Funding them is one of the cheapest, highest-return safety investments the state can make.