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“Stamp duty is an inefficient and ineffective tax that drives up the cost of housing, and a reduction in this burden is a step in the right direction to boost housing supply,” added Mr Ryan.
“This announcement follows an expansion of ‘activity centres’ where state-led planning controls will make it easier for planning approvals to be granted for medium density housing.
“Expanding these activity centres to more areas will make it easier for developers to identify suitable locations for projects and plan out approaches to precinct designs closer to consumers’ existing homes, workplaces and family members.
“HIA broadly supports these measures, though the government needs to ensure these policies support the delivery of all forms of housing and not just high-rise towers.
“Last year the Victorian government released its Housing Statement with a target of building 800,000 homes in ten years. To achieve this target all types of housing are needed including medium density and greenfield housing.
“The industry continues to face a number of significant challenges in boosting housing supply. This includes the costs and time associated with delivering the key ‘last mile’ enabling infrastructure to get projects shovel ready faster, the continuing raft of cascading regulatory changes, outdated home building contract laws and increasing costs and decreasing availability of insurance.
“Today’s announcement of planning and tax reform is an important step forward to increase housing supply, though further targeted reforms are needed to ensure builders can deliver these much-needed homes for Victorians,” concluded Mr Ryan.
Workplace laws are set for more changes in 2026.
Australia’s residential building industry has entered the new year with confidence still on shaky ground for small businesses as rising costs and policy uncertainty continue to cloud the outlook.
Tasmania’s housing market slowed in November, with building approvals falling sharply compared to October. Approvals for new homes dropped almost 20 per cent, and even after seasonal adjustment, the decline was 5.8 per cent.
Australia’s home building industry is expected to strengthen through 2026, supported by gradually improving building approvals and a recovery in demand, but the pace of growth will ultimately depend on how quickly interest rates can fall further, according to the Housing Industry Association.