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{{propApi.successMessage}} {{region}} Change locationVision for housing in 2024/25 ACT budget falls short
Vision for housing in 2024/25 ACT budget falls short
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“Additional expenditure for the Affordable Housing Project Fund is good news, as is earmarking additional funding for public housing dwellings and renewal,” said Greg Weller, HIA Executive Director ACT/Sthn NSW.
“However, rather than just spend more public money on housing, we encourage the ACT government to look at what policy decisions it is making that contribute to the cost and shortage of housing in the Territory.
“Much vaunted changes to the planning system have so far failed to meet expectations to kickstart new building, while changes to building laws and red tape have seen significant escalations in build costs and times for projects to be completed.
“The Indicative Land Release Program (ILRP) promises much each year but is light on detail of residential dwelling type and measurement of performance.
“If the ACT improved the cost and speed of housing delivery through reducing red and green tape, while increasing land supply, there would be less pressure on public and affordable housing programs.
“We expect housing to be a central issue in this year’s Territory election, and HIA will be looking closely at the policies of all parties and candidates and how they stack up on delivering more housing for Canberrans.”
Some immediate changes that could improve housing outcomes include:
- Remove the Lease Variation Charge (LVC) tax on dual occupancy on small low rise residential developments.
- Bring greater accountability to the government’s Indicative Land Release Program by reporting against performance each year and increasing its timeframe.
- Decrease development approval (DA) times, with last year’s budget revealing only 65% of DA decisions were made in the statutory timeframe.
“The number of detached houses approved in the ACT over the quarter to April this year was only 141, which is a fall of 38% since the same period last year and the lowest quarter in over 15 years. Loans for the construction of a new dwelling for the year to March 2024 sit at 58% less than the previous year.
“The ACT has a looming housing disaster, which will not be addressed without meaningful reform to support housing delivery in private and public markets,” concluded Mr Weller.
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Detached house approvals picking up
“There were 9,490 detached homes approved in the month of April 2025, up by 3.3 per cent compared to the previous month,” stated HIA Senior Economist Maurice Tapang.
State Budget is a missed opportunity to stimulate housing
The Treasurer has handed down the 2025/26 Tasmanian Budget. The Budget focuses on alleviating cost of living pressures, health, education and infrastructure, while mapping out a path to a fiscal balance surplus in 2032/2033.
HIA supports bipartisan approach to planning reform NSW
“The NSW planning system has failed to deliver the number of homes we desperately need and we fully support removing the politics from housing, to address this growing crisis,” said Brad Armitage, HIA Executive Director NSW.
Opposition pledge to remove stamp duty for first home buyers welcomed (Vic)
The Victorian Opposition’s announcement that it would remove stamp duty for first-home buyers spending up to $1 million on a new or existing home if elected at next year’s state election, is a positive step towards improving home affordability,” says Steven Wojtkiw, HIA Victoria Deputy Executive Director.