Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared housing productivity a national priority, as he called for urgent reforms to speed up building approvals and cutting red tape.
Speaking at the National Press Club, Mr Albanese said reducing regulations was important to lowering costs.
“If we can cut through on some of the red tape, then that will reduce costs.”
The Housing Industry Association welcomed the Prime Minister’s comments, saying the focus on housing supply and affordability was long overdue.
“HIA is pleased to hear the Prime Minister acknowledge the challenges with increasing housing supply and addressing housing affordability in Australia,” stated HIA Managing Director Jocelyn Martin.
The government’s second-term agenda, the Prime Minister said, would centre on economic growth, and productivity.
That includes faster approvals for housing, energy and infrastructure, and investment in skills and innovation.
He announced that the Treasurer will host a roundtable with industry leaders in August.
Ms Martin urged the governments to “include housing front and centre in the discussion as part of shaping future economic growth and productivity.”
She noted the government’s election pledge to support first-home buyers with a five per cent deposit, policy long supported by HIA. But she warned that tackling affordability would take more than deposit schemes.
“But this in itself will not deliver more homes and boost supply and in order to do so, governments need to help lower the cost of delivering new homes,” she said.
“The process of home building in itself is quick and efficient. Government red tape and excessive regulation have been the key reasons why it is so difficult to increase supply.”
Ms Martin referenced the Productivity ‘Commission’s Can We Fix It?’ report, which urged governments to “eliminate bottlenecks in the system and provide certainty to the residential building industry.”
She also cited findings from HIA’s 2025 ‘Report on the Taxation of the Housing Sector’, which found that “almost half of the cost of a new home are taxes, fees and regulatory charges.”
“While housing policy is largely influenced at a state and local level, this does not mean that the Australian Government can shy away from ambitious housing policies and reforms,” she said.
“This should include policies that would help deliver more land to market to meet demand, attract more workers into the industry and to ease the taxes and unnecessary regulations imposed on building a new home,” Ms Martin added.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil echoed the concerns, stating over the weekend: “It’s just too hard to build a house in this country.”
She said the crisis stemmed from “40 years of unceasing new regulation across three levels of government.”
Mr Albanese backed that view in his address, reinforcing the need for national action to fix the system.
