Community
14 August, 2025
Funds flow to revitalise historic factory
AN HISTORIC Noorat site is set for a new lease of life in a bid to bolster worker accommodation.
The Victorian Government last week announced the old Noorat butter factory will be redeveloped into a worker housing destination for workers and their family members, with 13 new dwellings to support the agriculture industry.
The century-old property hit the market in late 2023, pitched as providing limitless opportunities as a blank canvas, but will soon be transformed to bolster the region’s workforce.
The project was among 23 which Minister for Regional Development Jaclyn Symes announced were successful recipients from Round two of the Victorian Government’s Regional Worker Accommodation Fund.
“By supporting shovel ready worker housing projects, we’re enabling better access to affordable housing and accommodation across the state which is crucial for health, agriculture, tourism, hospitality and manufacturing,” she said.
“In order to maintain stable employment, you need to have affordable accommodation, which is why we’re backing worker accommodation across regional Victoria to retain workforces that will keep our regions thriving.”
The projects are part of a State Government push to deliver more affordable housing in regional Victoria in a bid to keep skilled staff in key regional industries including health, agriculture, tourism, hospitality and manufacturing.
The projects will unlock more than $120 million in public and private investment in new worker housing, delivering more than 750 bedrooms for workers across regional Victoria.
More than 40 projects are now being supported by the Regional Worker Accommodation Fund across two rounds, unlocking around $370 million in new housing investment for thousands of regional workers.
The investment forms part of more than $47 billion in support provided by the Government for rural and regional towns across Victoria in just over a decade.