Keep our doors open: Why Neighbourhood Houses matter

Walk past Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre on any weekday morning and you’ll see what community looks like …

Adult English language students chatting over tea, volunteers tending the community garden, and neighbours dropping off food waste or asking how they can help. It’s a little hub of life and learning that quietly keeps our community connected.

There are 401 Neighbourhood Houses across Victoria, welcoming more than 183,000 people every week. Each one is different and shaped by its local people. Together they form our state’s social infrastructure, as essential as roads, bridges or trams. Those help us move through our cities; Neighbourhood Houses help us move through life.

But unlike physical infrastructure, our social infrastructure has been underfunded for years. Rising costs and growing need mean that almost half of all Neighbourhood Houses are now running at a loss. Some have permanently closed their doors. Many managers and staff work unpaid hours on already modest wages. This is predominantly women’s work, and its undervaluation only deepens the gender pay gap in Australia.

At Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre, we see daily how much trust our participants place in us. People share stories of hardship or family violence because they know they’ll be met with care, not judgment. We offer food relief that restores dignity and connection. These are small acts with big ripples, the kind that build stronger, safer communities.

We are also seeing first-hand what happens when funding runs out. Our satellite office, Open Door, operated three days a week at the bottom of the Carlton public housing towers, supporting more than 3000 residents. Despite repeated requests for government support, we were forced to close it last year because we simply couldn’t sustain it without funding. The loss of that trusted, on-site presence has left a real gap for residents who relied on local help.

That is why we have joined the Neighbourhood Houses Victoria statewide campaign for fair funding, Keep Our Doors Open. We are calling for a 25 per cent increase in core funding in the 2026 Victorian State Budget, about $11.7 million a year. That is a tiny fraction of Victoria’s $100-plus billion budget, but enough to keep our doors open and our communities thriving. Without sustainable funding, more doors will close, and communities will lose the trusted, safe and inclusive spaces they rely on every day.

You can help. Pop into CNLC Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and sign a postcard to the Minister, Ros Spence MP. We will hand over all postcards to local MPs in mid-December. If you can’t visit in person, you can sign online at cnlc.org.au/keep-our-doors-open.

Neighbourhood Houses deliver enormous value to our communities, more than $11 in benefit for every $1 invested. But more importantly, they deliver hope, connection and belonging. Let’s make sure those doors stay open.

For more information, visit nhvic.org.au/2026-campaign. •