Our Advocacy Work

We have been working with an extraordinary alliance of social, consumer and environment groups calling on the Victorian Government to make significant changes and support work to improve the energy and water efficiency of One Million Homes across Victoria.

Overcoming the barriers to energy and water efficient housing

Efficient homes make good sense. Saving energy and water cuts the cost of living, particularly for the growing number of households struggling to pay soaring utility bills. Efficient homes are more comfortable and healthier to live in, particularly in extreme weather. Investing in efficiency creates thousands of jobs and postpones or avoids the need for costly additional supply. And reducing consumption cuts greenhouse pollution and saves water for our rivers.

Improving residential energy and water efficiency delivers a ‘win-win-win’ outcome for Victoria’s people, economy and environment. So if efficiency makes such good sense, why does Victoria’s pre-2005 housing stock average only 2 stars?

A range of market barriers work against homeowners and tenants – particularly low-income and disadvantaged households – improving the efficiency of their homes. These barriers include the upfront cost of efficiency measures, the split incentive facing tenants and landlords, and a lack of timely and trusted information about efficiency options and costs.

The One Million Homes Alliance welcomes the Victorian government’s vision, described in the June 2015 energy efficiency statement, for an “efficient, productive and resilient state”. This Roadmap brings together the knowledge and experience of Victoria’s leading consumer, social and environmental organisations to outline our plan for turning this vision into reality.

Delivering this Roadmap will see all Victorians, including the most vulnerable, benefit from more efficient homes. It will unlock billions of dollars of investment, supporting up to 13,000 jobs (gross) over the 10 year program and 8,500 ongoing jobs. An average household should save around $1,000 a year on energy bills, while the government could save $2.5 billion from its energy concessions budget over 20 years.

And by focusing on creating a stable policy environment which leverages investment from a range of sources, while targeting government assistance to the most vulnerable, this Roadmap ensures government investment delivers high-impact outcomes.

One Million Homes: The Goal

1. Improve standards Build on the Victorian Residential Efficiency Scorecard and regulate minimum performance.
2. Facilitate finance Establish accessible and affordable finance to drive efficiency upgrades.
3. Raise public awareness Provide information about the benefits of energy efficiency.
4. Deliver Targeted Programs Provide meaningful support to those most in need across Victoria.
Learn more about the One Million Homes Roadmap