Case 78: Charter assists in affording 66-year-old woman appropriate accommodation

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A 66 year-old woman with mental health concerns had been applying for alternative accommodation as her public housing property was exacerbating her health conditions. She was told by the Office of Housing that a transfer would not be possible for three years. The Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic communicated with the Office of Housing and raised the woman’s rights under the Charter including her right to security and right to life. The clinic requested that the transfer to appropriate accommodation be prioritised. This was successful, with the Office of Housing transferring the woman within two weeks.

Source: Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic, Submission to the Review of the Victorian Charter, 2011