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“Many of the measures included in the Housing Statement released two years ago by the then Premier, Daniel Andrews, are strategic and focus on the planning system. However, a significant gap in the Housing Statement has always been the lack of recognition of the people who will build these new homes.
“This includes not only the trades such as carpenters, bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, but the builders who manage these jobs and are responsible to consumers for the building work.
“The massive shortage of labour, and especially trades, has been well recognised in recent years. We need an additional 83,000 workers in Australia just to have a chance of meeting the Australian government’s target to build 1.2 million new homes by mid-2029.
“What has not been so recognised is the growing shortage of home builders. In recent years the number of registered builders has been relatively stagnant, and the number of new builder registration applications has declined. HIA has good reason to believe that about two thirds of currently registered builders are not actively building now.
“HIA in recent years has been contacted by many builders who have left the home building industry. They are not going broke. They are leaving because they find the task of managing a home building business too difficult and stressful.
“They are leaving because they believe that governments do not value them and their work.
“They are leaving because they expect not to be able to secure enough domestic building insurance cover to be able to maintain their existing business, let alone grow their business.
“And they are leaving because they feel that governments believe that builders being paid for their completed work is optional.
“Ultimately the ambitions of the Housing Statement can only be achieved if we have enough trades and builders to build these new homes. It is time for the government to accept that reality,” concluded Mr Ryan.
With Easter coming up it is time for an update on fuel price related cost increases, the proposed minimum financial requirements, and also some enforcement activity by WorkSafe.
Tasmania can deliver both the Macquarie Point Stadium and the homes the community urgently needs, but only if government adopts a clear and coordinated construction workforce strategy, according to the Housing Industry Association (HIA).
“New house building approvals were relatively steady in February 2026 at 9,950, the second highest monthly volume in over three years,” stated HIA Senior Economist Tom Devitt.
Proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax would worsen Australia’s rental crisis by reducing the supply of housing and putting upward pressure on weekly rents, Housing Industry Association (HIA) Managing Director Jocelyn Martin said today.