Community
26 June, 2026
Years on and family still awaits housing
AFTER years of uncertainty, instability and stress, Doug Bowen is still fighting for permanent housing for his young family.
The Weekly first reported the Bowen’s plight in March 2024 – four years after his search for a permanent home began.
Back then, Doug and his children Archie and Nova (who has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair) were living in a Warrnambool motel and preparing to move into a house that had been generously offered by a local resident.
However, that too was only a temporary solution and today, Doug and his young family are still no closer to finding a permanent place to call home.
Doug’s story began back in 2019 shortly after his partner Corrie passed away, leaving him to not only grieve but also take care of their two young children.
Nova’s needs also meant Doug had to give up his job and become her full-time carer.
He applied for government housing and was placed on a waiting list and told it would be “around 10 months” before a house would become available – but he still waits today.
Earlier this month, Member for South West Coast Roma Britnell described the state government’s silence in response to her repeated requests regarding public housing for Doug and his family as shameful, heartless and indefensible.
“The government’s ongoing inaction is the latest devastating blow to a family who have already endured years of uncertainty and distress,” Ms Britnell said.
“For more than two years I have been raising this case and pleading with the government to find a safe, stable home for Nova and her family.
“Nova is non-verbal, wheelchair dependent and requires 24-hour care. Her father Doug has been on the public housing waiting list for six years, doing everything possible to care for his two children under extremely difficult circumstances.
“Despite repeated warnings and direct representations, the family remains without secure housing, and the government has now failed even to respond to a question raised in Parliament in March.”
Ms Britnell said the situation had been made even more frustrating by the government’s refusal to engage with practical solutions put forward.
She said she even provided the Minister with a list of locally identified vacant houses, as reported by members of the community, that could potentially be used to fast-track a housing solution for this family.
“That offer of practical help, made in good faith, has been met with deafening silence,” she said.
“The situation has now reached a heartbreaking point, with Doug expressing despair about his ability to keep his family together.
“The silence from the Minister for Housing and Building is deeply distressing and reflects a system that has lost sight of compassion.
“This is a little girl with profound disabilities who needs safety, dignity and stability. Instead, she has been met with delay, silence and indifference.”
According to Ms Britnell, in the past two years Doug has received just one phone call from the department and still has no answers.
“No parent should ever feel forced to contemplate giving up their child because the state has failed to provide basic housing,” she added.
