New chapter for Bendigo seniors

Bendigo Seniors move into new homes as housing project celebrates milestone 

• 42 Senior residents move into purpose-built homes as Stage 1 of landmark social housing project completed.
• St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria and VincentCare Community Housing – with Homes Victoria through the Big Housing Build – deliver new chapter for local site. 

Forty-two Bendigo locals, aged 55 or older, officially began a new chapter today in brand-new, energy-efficient homes at Kennington, as the landmark social housing development celebrated the completion of Stage One and residents moved into their new homes. 

The new apartments have been delivered by VincentCare Community Housing and St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria as part of the Victorian Government’s Big Housing Build. Another 42 new apartments and townhouses will be built on the site by January 2028, replacing 30 independent aged-living units built by St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria in 1979, to provide affordable housing to the Bendigo community.

The event commemorated with a time capsule filled with significant memorabilia and photos from residents and the community and will be displayed in the shared community centre on site when works are complete in January 2028. 

Residents of the new homes include 26 individuals who have called the site home for years, and now they get to move into an upgraded modern home while staying physically connected to their community. St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria has provided these residents with access to affordable permanent housing and a community to belong to, helping them to build the later part of their lives with dignity and stability.  The remaining new residents have been selected from the Victorian Housing Register priority list.

At completion, the new development will provide more modern, purpose-built homes with access to wraparound support services for residents designed to help them stay independent and connected to the community they already call home.

Older Victorians – particularly females - are one of the fastest-growing groups facing housing insecurity in Australia and Victoria has the highest number, across the entire country, of people aged 55+ seeking support for homelessness . For regional communities like Bendigo, where rents have climbed sharply, secure and affordable housing built specifically for seniors is becoming an urgent local issue rather than a distant statewide one. 

St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria has supported people doing it tough in the Bendigo region for well over a century, through its network of local conferences and volunteers. The Kennington redevelopment continues that legacy on a site that has provided older Bendigo locals with a place to belong for close to 50 years.

St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria Group CEO, Charlie Spendlove, said the milestone was about far more than the completion of a building. 

"This isn't about opening a development. It's about giving older Bendigo residents the security of knowing they have a home for the rest of their lives. This is about providing people with the dignity, stability and security they deserve; while helping them remain connected to the community they call home,” she said. 

“We’re proud to partner with the Victorian Government to deliver high quality, energy-efficient homes that meet the needs of older Victorians. 

"We've been part of the Bendigo community for generations, and this project is our commitment to the next one by making sure older locals aren't left behind by the housing crisis but are given the dignity and security they've earned,” Charlie said.

The redevelopment has also supported the local economy, with Bendigo-based architecture firm plus e+ architecture and Bendigo builder Fairbrother delivering the project.

The Kennington development is one of three major community housing projects VincentCare Community Housing and St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria are delivering in partnership with Homes Victoria under the Big Housing Build, providing 185 new homes across Bendigo, Footscray and Wollert. 

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MEDIA ENQUIRIES:    Libby Woolnough
                                      libby.woolnough@svdp-vic.org.au  | 0421 004 044
                                     

The St Vincent de Paul Society and its wide network of members and volunteers provide practical frontline support, advocacy and friendship for the most vulnerable members of our community. Key services include home visitation; Vinnies Shops; youth programs; soup vans; assistance for asylum seekers and refugees; education and tutoring; and professional accommodation and health services through VincentCare. The St Vincent de Paul Society in Victoria has more than 10,500+ members and volunteers, and more than 60,000 across Australia. Internationally, the Society operates in 149 countries and more than 950,000 members. To find out more visit www.vinnies.org.au/vic.   

ABOUT VINCENTCARE COMMUNITY HOUSING

VincentCare Community Housing (VCCH) is a registered Housing Provider managing a number of properties and provides tenancy support to clients on behalf of government and VincentCare Victoria. These include transitional properties, independent living units and head leased properties. VCCH works in conjunction with VincentCare Victoria and other community organisations in the provision of housing support to people facing disadvantage. 

To find out more visit: VincentCare Community Housing | VincentCare