Press Release
25 April 2025

Many of our supporters and partners will have recently seen media coverage and a public announcement from Hancock Prospecting regarding a $200 million commitment to support housing outcomes for veterans.

We genuinely welcome any substantial investment aimed at improving the lives of veterans and addressing housing insecurity across Australia. The scale of need in this area is significant, and increased attention and resources are always valuable.

However, it is important for us to clearly and respectfully clarify that Veteran Housing Australia (VHA) is not a recipient of this funding. We have not been involved in discussions regarding the donation and, to the best of our knowledge, will not be a stakeholder in the initiative announced.

We are sharing this clarification because some recent conversations—both in person and online—suggest an understandable assumption that VHA may have received part of this funding. We are concerned that this misunderstanding could unintentionally lead some of our valued donors, partners, advocates, and supporters to believe that our work is now fully resourced, or that ongoing support is no longer required.

Unfortunately, that is not the case.

VHA remains predominantly self-funded, and reliant on the continued support of our community to deliver the frontline services that veterans depend on. We are deeply grateful for the support we receive, and it has been instrumental in helping veterans for generations.

Since our establishment in 1932, VHA has maintained a long and uninterrupted commitment to addressing housing need among veterans. Today, we are proud to be:
• The only registered community housing provider in Australia focused exclusively on veterans
• The only organisation providing dedicated veteran crisis accommodation on a national basis
• An organisation whose constitution restricts all charitable activity solely to veteran-focused outcomes

VHA is also one of the few charities in Australia operating under a Housing First model. This means we prioritise those in greatest need, and also most importantly provide access to housing without preconditions. Veterans are not homeless because they are “chronically homeless”; they are homeless because of complex, often service-related or transition-related challenges. Addressing this requires not only the housing stock, but an understanding of these wide ranging and complex challenges.

Stable housing for veterans is not a simple problem to solve, and it cannot be addressed through one-size-fits-all approaches. It requires long-term commitment, specialist knowledge, and a willingness to work with veterans whose needs may sit outside conventional service models.

VHA will continue this work, as we have for many decades, alongside all those genuinely committed to improving housing outcomes for veterans. We welcome continued collaboration across the sector and remain hopeful that future initiatives—public and private alike—will recognise and support the full diversity of veteran housing needs in Australia.

Most importantly, we thank our supporters for standing with us. Your support remains essential, and it continues to make a tangible difference in the lives of veterans who have served our country.

Rob Miller MBA, CPA
Chief Executive Officer
25 April 2025