Over the course of March and April, HIA leaders from across the country met twice – first in Adelaide and then on the Gold Coast – to confront the growing challenges facing Australia’s residential building industry and to shape a strong, unified policy agenda.

While each meeting served a different purpose, the message that emerged was consistent: without regulatory stability, investment confidence and productivity focused policy settings, Australia will continue to fall short of its housing targets.

March: HIA Committees meet in Adelaide

In mid-March, HIA’s National Board, Regional Committee Chairs and senior leaders came together in Adelaide for the National Service Committees (NSC) meeting. Their aim: to assess the intensifying impact of government regulation, political uncertainty and ongoing policy change on residential construction.

Each year, the NSC meetings bring together Chairs from HIA’s Regional Committees across building policy, industrial relations and legal, planning, compliance, safety, training and skills, kitchens and bathrooms, and membership. They are joined by the National Manufacturers Council, and our newly formed HIA’s NextGen

Leaders Network, the National Board and senior staff. This structure ensures HIA’s advocacy strategy remains firmly grounded in on-the-ground experience, technical expertise and member priorities – strengthening HIA’s voice and influence at every level of government.

The timing of the meeting was significant, held against the backdrop of an impending South Australian election and with Victoria heading to the polls later this year. Leaders expressed growing concern about the state of federal and state politics, describing an environment marked by instability, short-term policymaking and mounting global pressures.

A strong theme emerged from the discussion: members feel increasingly let down by governments across the country. Despite sustained advocacy from HIA, no state or territory is currently meeting its housing targets, while successive layers of regulation continue to add cost and complexity to home building.

There was recognition that last year’s Economic Reform (Productivity) Roundtable offered some early optimism. However, industry leaders warned that governments are now undermining those initial ‘green shoots’ with their policy ‘own goals’. 

Renewed debate around changing residential taxation settings, further amendments to the National Construction Code (NCC), and another round of silica-related reforms were singled out as examples of measures that risk sapping productivity and increasing costs. 

Despite the pressure, leaders reinforced that the industry remains resilient and capable of delivering more homes — but only if given the opportunity to do so.

The message from Adelaide was clear across all of HIA’s National Services Committees: the industry needs a pause on further regulatory change so businesses can focus on building homes rather than navigating ever-expanding compliance requirements.

April: National Policy Congress meets on the Gold Coast

That unified leadership position was reinforced just one month later when HIA’s National Policy Congress (NPC) met on the Gold Coast for its annual meeting in April.

The NPC brings together elected representatives from regions across Australia, along with Chairs of HIA’s eight specialist committees.

Through this forum, the residential building industry delivered a clear warning: housing supply will continue to suffer unless governments remove barriers to construction and avoid policy settings that undermine investment.

Congress recognised that housing delivery is under pressure from all sides — rising costs, global uncertainty, workforce shortages and an increasingly complex regulatory environment. The industry was united in its view that the only sustainable solution to Australia’s housing crisis is to build more homes, supported by policies that drive productivity and confidence.

The NPC reaffirmed concerns that ongoing international conflict continues to filter through to Australian construction activity and market uncertainty. With many builders operating under fixed-price contracts, unexpected cost shocks place significant pressure on businesses and their supply chains.

Key national policy priorities

• Taxation and investment settings Congress strongly restated opposition to any taxation changes that would disincentivise investment in new housing. More than 40 per cent of new homes are financed by investors, and independent research shows that proposed increases to capital gains tax applied to new housing would reduce supply – not increase it.
• NCC reform and regulatory fatigue The NPC agreed that the National Construction Code has become overly complex and is no longer fit for purpose. Industry leaders called for a once-in-a-generation overhaul to restore the NCC as a world-leading, practical code. In the meantime, governments were urged to allow industry room to breathe, with no further changes – including silica exposure standards – before at least 1 May 2027.
• Innovation, values and sustainability Congress recognised the productivity potential of artificial intelligence across residential construction, while cautioning against over-regulation that could stifle innovation. Members also unanimously adopted a Values Statement for the industry, establishing a shared framework for ethical conduct, professionalism, safety and trust.
• Circular economy considerations While acknowledging the role of circular economy principles in environmental policy, the Congress opposed mandatory requirements that could compromise safety, affordability or housing supply. Flexibility, material choice and regional considerations must remain central to any future framework.

A consistent message to government

Taken together, the Adelaide leadership meeting and the Gold Coast National Policy Congress delivered a consistent, united message: the residential building industry is ready to deliver the homes Australia needs, but it cannot do so under constant regulatory change and policy uncertainty.

HIA will continue to advocate strongly for stability, productivity-focused reform and confidence-building policy settings, ensuring members’ voices are heard and the industry is positioned to meet Australia’s housing challenge.

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