Child and Family Services Ballarat chief executive Wendy Sturgess said accommodation built for the 2026 Commonwealth Games would be ideal for providing marginalised groups with housing after the games.

"We should be as a community asking those questions, 'what is going to happen to the housing? What is going to happen to the village? What could that mean for our young people?'" she said.

Ms Sturgess said current public housing, dated three bedroom homes, weren't suitable for young people whose biggest need is single accommodation.

If athlete accommodation is prefabricated, Ms Austin said it would provide the perfect opportunity to distribute single housing around the Central Highlands after the games.

"We'll be advocating that we consult with the community, that we use this legacy to address the needs of vulnerable people, particularly in terms of accommodation and other services, so we're asking the government to do that in an effective way," she said.

"Think about it now, and think about what legacy to leave, and think about how we can make the best use of that, not at the other end, it's now in the planning that it's so critical to do.

"Because actually, it's a pretty amazing opportunity, we could really do something good with this, and I think we need to be optimistically cautious in making the best use of this massive investment into Ballarat."

On February 13 the Victorian government unveiled a plan to build more than 130 new homes for young people across the state.

These will be built in regional communities including Wangaratta, Wodonga, Shepparton (Mooroopna), Bairnsdale and Mildura.

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Ms Sturgess said she was supportive of the initiative, but was disappointed Ballarat and the Central Highlands missed out on funding given the current rental and housing crisis in the area.

"With very, very low rates of rental availability, it really makes it hard for young people to get into the rental cycle so to speak," she said.

"[Young people] are actively discriminated against because they don't have a rental record, and they obviously aren't in the higher income bracket to be able to afford to negotiate higher rents."

Ballarat is ranked among the highest for unmet housing need in regional Victoria, and Adam Liversage of Uniting Ballarat told The Courier this year has seen record numbers for those in need of affordable accommodation.

Minister for housing Colin Brooks was contacted for comment but didn't respond in time for publication.

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