The scheme, which will see up to 120 refugees housed in 60 empty units at St Vincent’s Care Services’ Eltham, will go ahead after being approved by Victorian Planning Minister Richard Wynne last week. 

A group of locals recently staged a protest against the plan, but proved to be outnumbered by a nearby gathering of 110 people from the ‘Welcome to Eltham’ group. The group also collected around 700 signatures of support for the scheme.

The joint project between St. Vincent’s Health Australia and CatholicCare will offer rented accommodation, mainly to women and children, for between six months and two years. The units will then be turned back into over-55s housing in 2018.

St Vincent’s bought the village in 2015 and have since invested $6M in renovations, including refurbishing the vacant units and the two existing aged care homes plus building another 56 independent living units.

“This project reflects our mission to serve the most vulnerable members of our community,” St Vincent’s Health Australia CEO Toby Hall said.

Australia has promised to take in 12,000 refugees from the Syria crisis, but so far, only around 3,500 people have been resettled.

Image: 7 News.