All the latest news from Women's Property Initiatives
WPI Update July 2026
At the close of another Financial Year, on behalf of the team at WPI, I would like to thank everyone who has supported WPI and helped us provide more homes for women and children experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity.
We opened the doors to more than 40 new homes (owned and managed) across the year, changing the lives of the women and the 22 children who moved into them.
A short time ago we announced a new goal - securing funding to provide our next 100 homes for women. Our recent Giving Day, which you can read more about in this update, was a huge success and has given us a very solid start to securing the funding for the first 15 of these homes.
WPI currently has homes under construction or in the pipeline, within exciting projects across metro Melbourne and Regional Victoria. We will continue to share progress on these in the coming months.
As the task that we face in providing women and children with stable and secure homes only becomes greater, we support the sector's call for more funding for social and affordable housing in the lead up to the State election.
We remain inspired by the stories of some of our renters and the way they seize the opportunities afforded by a secure home. Women like Emma, and you can read more about what a safe and affordable home means to her.
Warm Regards
Roberta Buchanan
CEO, Women's Property Initiatives
New Homes for Women
Central Victoria
There is exciting progress being made on our latest pipeline project in Central Victoria, with a planning application submitted and funding discussions now underway. The site will be developed with four 2-bedroom and one 1-bedroom homes.
We're thrilled to have partnered with Tandem to develop the planning documentation - designing homes specifically for women with a strong focus on thoughtful floor plans, natural light, accessibility and environmentally sustainable design.
WPI will soon be consulting with builder partners and is thrilled to be moving this one forward and expanding our presence in the Central Highlands. We look forward to sharing more as the project progresses.
South Eastern Melbourne
Frames are up for two family homes in Melbourne's outer South Eastern growth corridor. With construction by SJD Homes, WPI is once again incredibly grateful to the Victorian Homeless Fund, who have raised the funds and are delivering these two homes for women and children who have experienced family violence. These well located, family friendly homes will provide a stable foundation to heal and rebuild.
Mornington Peninsula
It was great to visit Arkit - Advanced Prefabricated Architecture with members of our team, and representatives from TEN Women, Homes for Homes and Maddocks - key supporters of our Mornington Peninsula project. We were thrilled to see the modular construction in progress for this 7 home development. This exciting modular technology will provide valuable time savings, leading to the delivery of these homes more quickly and efficiently.
The modules are scheduled to be transported to site in November.
GLM2 Site in Prahran
Our buildings in Prahran and South Yarra, delivered as part of the Building Even Better Communities Ground Lease Model 2 (GLM2) consortium, are entering their final stages, with the WPI team recently walking through the finished apartments.
Seeing these beautiful homes come to life has been a wonderful milestone, and we are excited to welcome two new team members to WPI who will join us to support the delivery of the project and future residents.
We are looking forward to seeing women move into this thriving new community.
Giving Day 2026
WPI's A Home for Her Life Giving Day was a huge success and we were delighted that our networks helped us deliver another stunning result - raising more than $1 million to fund new homes.
This was our fourth Giving Day and we have seen substantial year on year growth, with the final result for 2026 being $1,011,032!
The funds will be directed towards securing the first 15 homes of our 100 new homes goal. It is thanks to all of you that we have moved much closer to delivering these first 15 homes in projects across Metro Melbourne and Regional Victoria.
We are incredibly grateful to our Matching Partners, the Edward Wilson Trust, Hupert Family Foundation, Equality Media and Marketing, the Wood Foundation and Woodbridge Capital.
The enthusiasm and effort put in by our Corporate Teams on the day was also a really important factor in this result - thank you.
Thank you to ever donor and everyone who spread the word. We couldn't have done it without you.
Emma's Story
For Emma, home is about more than having a roof over her head.
After years of family violence, homelessness and uncertainty, having a safe place where her eight children can simply be children is something she never takes for granted.
Emma was in a relationship with her children’s father for 16 years. During the last three years, the relationship became increasingly abusive.
“It was a very difficult time,” she says. “Everything fell on me. I was trying to protect the children and keep life as normal as possible.”
When she left the relationship, she was focused on creating a safer future for her family. But what followed was months of instability. Emma and her children moved between crisis accommodation and temporary housing, often with little notice about where they would be staying next.
After finding their WPI home, provided to us from the Victorian Homeless Fund, the future is much more positive. The stability has seen the kids all settled in school or kinder, pursuing their interests and establishing ties in their community. Read more about Emma and her family
