“HIA calls on the Housing Minister to adopt the recommendations and initiate an independent review of building regulations and how these are impairing the government from achieving their goal of building 1.2 million homes over the next 5 years,” said Shane Keating, Executive Director Building Policy.

“It’s timely to have this Report recommend reducing regulatory burden, streamlining and speeding up approval processes, supporting innovation and improving workforce flexibility to help deliver more homes in an efficient and affordable way.

“The report shows that the extent of declining productivity in the sector is the result of policy settings losing the balance between productivity and other objectives, and a lack of coordination and inconsistency between three layers of government which also discourages innovation. 

“The accumulation of slow and complex approvals, the lack of licencing consistency allowing mobility, and limited access to migrant labour are all factors that have led to this decline.  

“In October 2024, HIA Submission to the Productivity Commission provided eight detailed recommendations calling on the government to stop increasing the cost of delivering new homes, remove the regulatory barriers, increase prefabrication and land supply and improve access to skilled workers in the industry.

“Increasing rules and regulations add to the cost and time taken to build reducing the productivity of the industry.

“HIA supports the key recommendation that the government commission an independent review of building regulations and that this includes the National Construction Code’s amendment cycle, ABCB governance and the array of approvals processes across the country.  

“HIA’s pre-budget submission 2025-26 supported a moratorium on regulations that add to the cost of new housing and proposed the following to assist reducing red tape:

• A housing supply Minister to lead these reforms.
• Free access to the top 10 Australian Standards to cut costs for practitioners.
• A doubling of the funding commitment to the ABCB to create capacity to streamline the NCC and more robust impact assessment.
• A five-year amendment cycle for the national construction code to increase certainty for industry and improve education and awareness.

“It is vital that reforms are made now that can support the goal of delivering 1.2 million homes. Moving on the recommendations of this report before the election would be a valuable step forward.” 

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