‘Like we’re being punished’: family told to move 100km to Melbourne for public housing or lose crisis accommodation

An aerial view of houses in Melbourne. A mother felt she had no choice but to uproot her family from the Mornington Peninsula and move to the city after months waiting for public housing. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP

After months spent living week-to-week in a caravan park on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Rebecca* thought the offer of a permanent home was just what she needed to get her and her two teenage children’s lives back on track.

Instead, the family felt they had little choice but to uproot from their community, change schools, and head to a home 100km away that Rebecca says she found in need of repair and proper cleaning.