High Court to hear public housing tower demolition challenge

The long-running legal battle over Victoria’s public housing tower demolition program is heading to the nation’s highest court, in a major development for residents in North Melbourne and Kensington fighting to stop the destruction of their homes.

Inner Melbourne Community Legal (IMCL), which is acting for local residents in the class action against the state government, announced that the High Court of Australia had granted special leave to appeal the earlier Victorian court decisions that allowed the demolition and redevelopment program to proceed.

The case centres on the first three towers slated for demolition under the Victorian Government’s broader plan to redevelop 44 public housing towers across Melbourne by 2051. These include 33 Alfred St in North Melbourne, and the Racecourse Rd towers in Flemington.

IMCL argues that Homes Victoria failed to afford procedural fairness to residents before announcing the demolitions, and before deciding not to rebuild any public housing on at least some of the affected estates.

In a statement, IMCL managing lawyer for housing and tenancy Louisa Bassini said the legal service welcomed the High Court’s decision to hear the matter later this year.

“We are very pleased that the High Court has agreed to hear an appeal against the Victorian Supreme Court decision finding the demolition program proposed for the North Melbourne and Flemington public housing towers to be lawful,” she said.

We look forward to the opportunity to present this case to the High Court to argue that public housing residents should have been consulted with before a decision of this kind that has so deeply affected them and their communities.

The High Court move keeps the challenge alive after IMCL’s original case was dismissed in May 2025 and an appeal failed in December.

In the meantime, residents who remain in the first three towers can continue living there for now. IMCL said an injunction granted by the Victorian Court of Appeal remains in place, preventing Homes Victoria from issuing notices to vacate until the legal proceedings are finalised.

That injunction has provided an important reprieve for the remaining “hold-out” households, some of whom had refused to leave their flats while the legal fight continued.

Ms Bassini said the stakes extended well beyond the three towers currently protected by the injunction.

“The communities that have been built on these public housing estates over many decades are being torn apart by these demolitions and the refusal to rebuild public housing,” she said.

“Many who have been moved already tell us that they want to come back.”

She also called on Homes Victoria to halt plans affecting seven more towers across Melbourne while the legal uncertainty remains unresolved.

“This has created fear and uncertainty for hundreds of residents who face having to move out of their homes and communities at a stage in their lives when they should have stability about their accommodation,” she said.

The case is significant not only because of what it may mean for the remaining residents in North Melbourne and Flemington, but also because it now places the broader demolition program under renewed scrutiny.

As previously reported by North West City News, critics of the government’s redevelopment plan argue that the issue is not simply the towers themselves, but the loss of secure public housing in a city already facing an acute housing crisis.

The High Court appeal is expected to be heard later this year. •