Regional caravan parks are stepping in to help as they receive calls from people with nowhere else to turn.
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Ballan Caravan Park management committee member and Moorabool councillor Paul Tatchell said the park was getting calls everyday with people needing crisis accommodation.
He said people in the area had limited options if they wanted to stay close to the region they know.
"The fact is rentals are ridiculously high and people can not afford it," he said.
The caravan park has 34 sites, with 15 available for "permanent short stays" where residents can rent for 59 days at a time.
Federal Liberal senator Jane Hume has been visiting the regions to discuss with residents how different factors like groceries, housing and energy have been impacted over the last year.
![Federal opposition spokesperson for finance Jane Hume visiting Ballan caravan park with Committee of Management member and Moorabool councillor Paul Tatchell. Picture by Adam Trafford Federal opposition spokesperson for finance Jane Hume visiting Ballan caravan park with Committee of Management member and Moorabool councillor Paul Tatchell. Picture by Adam Trafford](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/173106531/08a03425-b89d-4086-a0a0-10c5986c2908.jpg/r0_0_4579_3048_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Ms Hume chairs the Select Committee on Cost of Living, which will be handing down a report in November.
She has delivered an interim report that found more supply in the energy and housing sectors was needed to help alleviate costs.
It also found reforms to policy would be needed to assess community and social housing.
Senator Hume said it can be "a bit like a waterbed" when deciding which financial lever to pull - when you push on one part another part rises.
She said they are looking to find which "incentives and the punitive measures can potentially be changed to create better outcomes".
This could include ideas like food donations being tax deductible to help places like Foodbank.
"The big supermarkets told us that there's been a 20 per cent increase in the demand for donated foods, giving them an incentive to do that they might be able to donate even more without it costing their shareholders," Ms Hume said.
She said changes to policies like negative gearing could have the opposite effect, with property owners putting up rent if they do not receive their tax deduction.
Victorian Labor Senator Jana Stewart, a member of the select committee, blamed the opposition and Greens on delaying an affordable housing package, and noted investments in bulk-billing doctors and energy bill rebates.
"I grew up in Swan Hill and I know Victoria's regional communities are feeling the brunt of the housing crisis," she said in a statement.
"We want to deliver the biggest Federal Government investment in social and affordable housing in more than a decade.
"We've supported more than 11,500 Victorians into home ownership by expanding the Home Guarantee Scheme for Australians living in regional areas.
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