“Always hamstrung”: Monash set to leave eastern Melbourne affordable housing advocacy body, leaving only three councils left

The council will officially leave the coalition on June 30.

Matthew Sims
June 01, 2026

Monash Council will quit the Eastern Affordable Housing Alliance by June 30, leaving the 16-year-old advocacy group with just three of its original seven member councils after Maroondah and Whitehorse also departed in recent months.

✍️ What happened? Launched in 2010, the Eastern Affordable Housing Alliance (EAHA) included seven councils advocating for improved housing affordability across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. Now, it will only consist of three: Knox, Manningham and Yarra Ranges.

On Tuesday May 26, Monash councillors voted to leave the EAHA after their current membership ends on June 30.

🤫 A weaker voice: EAHA chair Rebecca Paterson moved the motion, citing the recent departure of Maroondah and Whitehorse and the inclusion of affordable housing within the planning systems as another knock to any potential impact it could have as an advocacy platform.

🗣️ “We were always hamstrung,” Paterson told the gallery. “As local governments, you have very limited levers to work with.”

Rents jump by 58 percent in Box Hill as city struggles to meet affordable housing targets

An outlook has estimated there will be more than 2,000 residents requiring low-income accommodation support by 2041.

🫩 Strained systems: Acting as the council representative since 2016 and chairperson for the last five years, Paterson said she made the decision to leave “with a heavy heart”, but it was time, with the current affordable housing system a “very different environment” to the networks in place in 2010.

🗣️ “It’s very difficult to reach an agreement on a strategy to manage this issue,” said Paterson.

Olinda, Sassafras and The Basin top the list of eastern Melbourne rent increases over the last two years

People looking to lease in parts of the Dandenong Ranges have to dig out an extra $200 a week compared to two years ago.

⏭️ What’s next? As part of the motion, Monash Council will retain the $15,000 that was allocated towards a new EAHA membership in the 2026/27 draft budget.

The council will instead use the funds towards achieving affordable housing outcomes locally, including appropriate recommendations outlined within the Monash Affordable Housing Strategy.

Adopted in September 2023, the council has so far acted on a number of strategies, including advocating for a six percent affordable housing contribution in residential development applications of 20 or more dwellings.