🏘 Homelessness

Mayor and CEO Slept Rough Last Night — and the State Still Hasn't Answered

Last night, Frankston City Mayor Cr Sue Baker and CEO Tennille Bradley swapped a warm bed for a sleeping bag and a patch of cold ground, joining hundreds of business and community leaders at the national Vinnies CEO Sleepout. For Sue Baker and Tennille Bradley, it was more than a fundraiser. It was a statement.

Frankston's rough sleeping count is at its highest point in four years. The Frankston Zero initiative — a Council-led partnership with Launch Housing and a range of local support services — has the coordination, the street-level knowledge, and the data. What it has consistently lacked is enough housing to place people into. That requires state government funding, and Council has been asking for $2.5 million to expand local homelessness outreach. So far, no response.

This is the third consecutive issue of The Frankston Local where homelessness has featured as a major story — because it keeps being the story. The count keeps rising, the ask keeps going unanswered, and the people sleeping rough in Frankston's streets and parks aren't going anywhere. Last night's sleepout was about making that impossible to ignore.

Victorian state election is in November 2026. Not one candidate has publicly committed to Frankston City First's $19 million advocacy ask. That includes homelessness. We'll keep tracking it. (frankston.vic.gov.au · ceosleepout.org.au)

🏥 Community Care

New Provider Confirmed for Home Care Program from 30 June

Frankston City Council has announced the Brotherhood of St Laurence as the new provider delivering the Home and Community Care Program for Younger People (HACC PYP) — the in-home support program for Frankston residents under 65 living with disability. The transition takes effect from 30 June 2026, when Council exits direct service delivery. BSL already has a Frankston presence at 38 Playne Street and supports residents across both Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula. If you or someone you know relies on these services, the transition should be seamless — but it's worth knowing the provider is changing. (frankston.vic.gov.au)

🏪 Local Business

Council Reviews Trader Support After Businesses Raise Safety Concerns

Frankston City Council has committed to reviewing its trader support program following concerns raised by local businesses about anti-social behaviour, staff safety, and business confidence in the CBD. The Frankston Business Chamber has welcomed the review, which will look at de-escalation training, clearer referral pathways, and what practical support is available to operators on the ground. No outcomes yet — but the conversation is happening. (STPL News)

📍 This week: Karingal

The Suburb That Gets On With It

Karingal doesn't make a lot of noise. It sits in the eastern part of Frankston City — bordered by Frankston to the west, Langwarrin to the east — and it tends to get lumped in with everywhere else. It's not a beachside suburb, it's not particularly flashy, and it doesn't appear in many tourism brochures. But if you ask the people who live there, they'll tell you it's exactly the kind of place they want to live.

The suburb is built around Karingal Hub — one of the larger shopping centres in the area, which has quietly become a community anchor. There's a Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, TK Max, a food court, and the kind of mix of specialty retailers that means most residents can go a week without needing to leave the suburb for essentials. Peninsula Private Hospital sits nearby on Frankston-Flinders Road, making Karingal the medical heart of the local government area — a fact that tends to be underappreciated.

The housing stock is mostly fibro and brick veneer from the 1960s and 70s, with the kind of established gardens that take decades to grow. Streets are quiet. There are parks — Jubilee Park is the big one — and the suburb has a reasonable share of sporting ovals and community facilities without being oversupplied with them.

It's a suburb where people raise families, stay for decades, and don't feel the need to explain why. That's not nothing. Karingal doesn't need a glow-up. It just needs to be acknowledged.

"Put out the hard rubbish. Got a notice on the door saying it wasn't tied correctly — wrong string, wrong dimensions. They said they'd have to charge me to come back once I'd fixed it properly. I thought, fair enough, I'll sort it. Then I rang a private bloke who came around and mulched the whole lot in under five minutes. Gone. Problem solved. I'm still trying to work out why council can't just do that at the kerb rather than make people buy specific string and measure their bundles to spec."

— Garry, Frankston

Hard rubbish rules exist for good reasons — safe loading, vehicle fit, that sort of thing. But there's a real question in here about whether a five-minute mulch at the kerb might be a more practical service than a compliance notice and a re-collection fee. If you've had a similar experience, I'd like to hear from you.

Got something worth saying? Hit reply or send to [email protected] — include your suburb.

"Watched a bloke stand in a parking spot to hold it for his mate. Lady in a car didn't accept that as a legal parking system — understandably — and pulled in anyway. He was not happy about this. Apparently the disagreement escalated from there and involved his hand and her car. It's been reported to police. Only in Frankston."

— Jenny, Frankston

For the record: standing in a car park does not reserve it. This is not a system. It has never been a system. And yet, here we are.

Got a moment that could only happen in Frankston? Send it to [email protected]

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