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{{propApi.successMessage}} {{region}} Change locationStable migration settings crucial to boosting building activity: HIA
Stable migration settings crucial to boosting building activity: HIA
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“A strong building industry is a crucial driver of a strong economy. It creates jobs, trains apprentices, drives wider economic growth and builds communities,” said Jocelyn Martin, Deputy Managing Director – Industry and Policy.
“The building industry employs one in ten Australians and had helped pull the national economy out of its first recession in nearly 30 years.
“Today’s building activity figures confirm the market is still strong but will start trending downwards in 2023.
“Over the past two years the industry has had a roller coaster ride along with the rest of the economy. From activity stalling at the start of the pandemic, to the biggest boom on record, building activity is set to contract again during 2023 due to the rapid increase in interest rates.
“Australia’s population is ageing, and we have an acute shortage of skilled trades, also the downturn in migration has meant that the population needed to stimulate supply of housing has dropped.
“An ageing population means natural increases in Australia’s population continue to be well below a replacement or growth figure, meaning migration is critical and make up the shortfall.
“A return to stable population growth, with a focus on attracting skilled workers creates economic growth and can facilitate an improvement in productivity and participation across the economy.
“Population growth should not be used to grow the economy just simply to increase activity.
“As outlined in our pre-budget submission it is vital that governments of all levels prepare for future economic growth by increasing the supply of land, above the undersupply of the past decade, to accommodate future economic growth.
“We have seen over the past decade a number of ad-hoc cuts to immigration based on the false premise that infrastructure bottlenecks, commuter congestion and stretched education resources are somehow the fault of migration rather than poor planning.
“In its pre-budget submission, the HIA has expressed a willingness to work with all levels of government in 2023 to ensure the nation’s immigration policies deliver benefits, not detrimental impacts, to current and future generations of Australians wanting to buy their own home,” concluded Ms Martin.
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Signs of a pulse in Canberra building approvals
Building approvals for dwellings in Canberra for the year to the end of March have shown some signs that the market may be turning the corner but still remain well below government targets.
Low volume of home building but labour shortages linger
“Australia has just seen its two weakest years of new home commencements in over a decade, meaning these ongoing shortages of skilled trades are not being caused by home building activity,” stated HIA Chief Economist, Tim Reardon.
Building approvals strengthen in March quarter
“There were 48,620 new homes approved for construction in the first quarter of 2025, up by 20.8 per cent on a year earlier,” stated HIA Senior Economist Tom Devitt.
New Government must put housing as first order of business
“The Housing Industry Association (HIA) calls on the newly elected Federal Government to make housing a first-order priority from day one, any delay or political grandstanding will only deepen the nation’s housing crisis,” HIA Managing Director Jocelyn Martin said today.