Department of Families, Fairness and Housing - VIC

Amplifying the local music scene. 🎵

Jam Sandwich is a spontaneous group of Horsham-based youth bands. Their music sessions are an initiative which has only grown in popularity.

Jam Sandwich is one of our Amplify-funded programs, recently highlighted in local media.

📰 | The Weekly Advertiser

Read more at

Jam Sandwich drumming up band success - The Weekly Advertiser By Bronwyn Hastings Jam Sandwich a spontaneous group of Horsham-based youth bands has increased in popularity and will likely continue under the guidance of musician and teacher Tim Williams Enabled with a State Government Amplify program grant obtained by Horsham Rural City Council the second round...

Great news! A total of $1.45 million will be shared among 29 community projects through the Victorian Aboriginal Community Initiatives Fund.

The funding will support projects that:

🔸 create new ways to prevent and respond to family violence

🔸 provide culturally safe and respectful support to end family violence

🔸 bring long-term benefits for Aboriginal communities

🔸 support the goals of the 11 Dhelk Dja Action Groups.

👉 You can learn more about the recipients and their projects at https://www.vic.gov.au/aboriginal-cif

Fear not, you still have time to enter the Pets At Our Place calendar competition! 🐾 📅

We have extended the closing date to Friday 19 June. 🐹

If you or someone you know lives in community or public housing and has a pet to celebrate, it’s time to apply!

Twelve lucky entrants will:
🐔 win a professional photography session
🐠 feature in the 2027 Pets At Our Place calendar
🐍 receive a gift voucher and a print of the photo portrait.

Visit the Pets At Our Place website to find out more: https://www.housing.vic.gov.au/pets-our-place-calendar

Nosying into June with Nora June. 🐕⚽
Think your pet is cuter? PROVE IT.

Apply for the Pets At Our Place 2027 calendar competition. Open to all social housing tenants in Victoria!

Samantha and her sons, Braylen and Edgar, love their lives with Nora the Mini Poodle puppy in Brunswick West. She guides us into, you guessed it, June on our Pets At Our Place 2026 calendar. 🗓️

It’s now mid-year, but it won’t be a ‘mid’ month with Nora by our side.

Visit the Pets At Our Place website to find out more and apply and apply: https://www.housing.vic.gov.au/pets-our-place-calendar

New public artwork unlocked!

This gathering circle invites us to celebrate the story and spirit of iconic Aunty Dot Peters. 🖤💛❤️

Binak Ngarrgu, Basket of Knowledge, was created by artist Simone Thomson Art (Wurundjeri, Yorta-Yorta, Wiradjuri). Simone worked closely with Weston Rumbold Art Projects Weston Rumbold Art Projects and Aunty Dot’s family.

It is a public space to connect with each other, the land we are on and the incredible women who added bricks to the pathway of equality.

🖤💛❤️

Aunty Dot used her role as an activist, educator, author and Elder to raise awareness for injustices faced by First Nations people. Born in 1930, she spent most of her childhood in the Healesville region.

Aunty Dot's father was a Yorta Yorta man who fought and died in the Second World War. Like many Aboriginal service people at the time, his sacrifice was not properly recognised, and his family did not receive the same acknowledgement or support afforded to others.

The injustice of this experience fuelled Aunty Dot to dedicate herself to ensuring that the contributions and sacrifices of First Peoples during wartime would not be overlooked.

Passionate about protecting and sharing cultural practices and knowledge, Aunty Dot was also an Aboriginal Educator, devoting herself to passing these traditions on to future generations.

This artwork is just one of the many being unveiled from the second round of the Victorian Women’s Public Art Program. This innovative program seeks to balance the scales for the visibility of women.

🖤💛❤️

- Blind Creek Reserve in Boronia, City of Knox on Wurundjeri country.

Learn more about Aunty Dot’s story: Aunty Dorothy Peters | vic.gov.au

Time to be inspired by success close to home. 🙌

Cecilia Xu is raising the standards of what it means to stand out from the crowd.

It wasn’t just academics that got her offers from prestigious universities. From music to languages to learning experiences, she gave it her all.

Amongst all her other activities, Cecilia also credits winning a Premier’s Spirit of Anzac Prize as part of her success with her university offers.

Cecilia spoke at the Premier’s Anniversary of Anzac Day State Luncheon earlier this year. She is an illustrious speaker, making it clear to all that her success is well-deserved.

Congratulations, Cecilia! 🎉

[🔒 Paywalled] Learn more about Cecilia’s story: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/cecilia-got-into-six-top-us-universities-this-is-how-she-did-it-20260520-p5zz6t.html

🗞️ | The Age

The early bird gets the ticket! 🐦🎟️

Early bird tickets for the Complex Needs Conference 2026 are now available.

📅 30 September – 2 October 2026
📍 Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC)

Join us, ACSO and Ermha we unite to explore our shared goal of improving outcomes for people with complex needs.

Get your tickets now: www.complexneedsconference.com.au

It can be hard to have conversations with young people about challenging topics like po*******hy.

We are making this easier with a new program:

⭐ Parental Guidance Required: Initiating conversations with young people about po*******hy. ⭐

Delivered through Sexual Health Victoria, the program responds to research showing nearly half of Victorian young people surveyed have seen po*******hy before the age of 12. This can have a harmful impact on their understanding of consent, s*x and relationships.

Through new resources, workshops and an education campaign, the program will:

☑️️ Raise awareness of the harmful impacts of po*******hy on children and young people

☑️️ Help parents and carers to have age-appropriate conversations with the children and young people in their lives about these risks.

Awww, look at those eyes! 🥹

Al the Cavalier King Charles shares a delightful bond with owner Narelle and we can see why! 🐶

Al was one of the Pets At Our Place competition winners last year and features in the 2026 calendar.

Narelle says one of their favourite things to do together is going to the drive through. Al gets up on her lap and puts his head out of the window to say hello to the staff. What a charmer! ❤️

Entries to next year’s Pets At Our Place calendar competition are now open! If you’re a proud pet parent living in social housing, you can apply to have a pro photo shoot with your pet and be featured in the 2027 edition of the calendar! 🗓️

The 2027 nominations close on Friday 5 June. Visit the Pets At Our Place website to apply: https://www.housing.vic.gov.au/pets-our-place-calendar

🤝 | Homes Victoria

Food waste + Donations = A good news story! 🍎

We’re proud to have played a part in funding this awesome program.

Up to one tonne of unsold fresh fruit and vegetables from Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market will go every day to people struggling with food insecurity.

The City of Melbourne, aided by the Community Food Relief Program, is working with Queen Vic Market's stall holders and SecondBite to deliver the program. The daily efforts will rescue unsold produce, reducing waste.

The result? Food waste that’s diverted from landfill and direct to the tables of those who need it.

🗞️ | ABC News

Find out how the program is helping people in Melbourne experiencing food insecurity. 👇

Victoria market to redirect 800 tonnes of food waste to hungry Melburnians A new program at Melbourne's Queen Victoria Market is tackling the massive amount of food wasted, while helping the rising number of people struggling to put food on the table.