Mildura Rural City Council is spending more than $121,000 on a study looking at whether the region needs more short-stay budget accommodation.
And it’s not just aimed at tourists.
The Short Stay Budget Accommodation Strategy is looking at accommodation for tourists, rural workers and seasonal workers across the Mildura municipality.
Council awarded the $121,808.50 contract to SGS Economics and Planning in December 2025, after first calling for consultants to carry out the work late last year.
The study comes at a time when finding affordable accommodation in Mildura can be difficult, particularly during major events, harvest periods and other times when temporary workers arrive in the region.
Council’s latest housing advocacy material gives another clue as to where the study could be heading.
It lists the short-stay budget accommodation study as part of its push for more housing and says affordable accommodation options are needed to support healthcare workers, key industries and seasonal labour.
That potentially takes the issue well beyond backpacker-style accommodation.
With Sunraysia relying heavily on seasonal horticultural workers, while also trying to attract healthcare and other essential workers to the region, having somewhere affordable to stay can become part of the workforce problem.
There’s also the tourism side.
Mildura attracts large numbers of visitors for events, sport, the Murray River and as a stopping point for travellers heading through north-west Victoria. Budget options can disappear quickly during busy periods.
Exactly what the study will recommend has not yet been made public.
It could look at existing motels, caravan parks and worker accommodation, or potentially identify opportunities for completely new forms of low-cost accommodation.
For now, the interesting part is that Council clearly believes the issue is significant enough to spend more than $121,000 investigating it.
The question will be what comes next — and whether the study eventually results in more affordable places to stay around Mildura.
