“The announcement reflects a key recommendation in HIA’s Housing the Regions report and puts the focus on one of the biggest barriers holding back new housing supply,” HIA Managing Director Jocelyn Martin said today. 

“HIA has consistently argued that Australia does not have a shortage of demand for new homes – we have a shortage of shovel-ready land connected to the infrastructure needed to support it.

“Ring-fencing funding for regional, rural and remote Australia recognises that these communities face distinct housing challenges and cannot simply be treated as an extension of our capital cities.

“HIA’s Housing the Regions report identified access to shovel-ready land, inadequate enabling infrastructure and workforce shortages as three of the biggest barriers to delivering more homes across regional Australia.

“Today’s announcement directly addresses one of those barriers and is a welcome contribution to the housing debate.

“Too often regional housing projects that could move forward are held up because the roads, water, sewerage, electricity and other essential services simply aren’t there.

“HIA also welcomes the broader focus on reducing regulatory barriers and improving the National Construction Code (NCC).

“The current NCC pause and modernisation work provides an important opportunity to reset the way building regulations are developed and ensure future changes are proportionate, evidence-based and properly consider housing affordability and productivity.

“HIA is not calling for existing safety standards to be stripped away, but we cannot continue adding layers of regulation and cost to every new home without considering the cumulative impact on affordability and supply.

“The discussion around migration must similarly recognise the relationship between population growth and Australia's capacity to deliver housing, while acknowledging that skilled migration is also part of the solution.

“Residential construction remains critically short of skilled trades. Australia needs targeted migration pathways that bring in the workers we need to build the homes required by a growing population.

“There is no single lever that will solve Australia's housing shortage. We need more shovel-ready land, infrastructure delivered earlier, faster approvals, a larger skilled workforce and a regulatory system that enables rather than frustrates housing delivery.

“HIA welcomes policies from all sides of politics that recognise those fundamentals and put increasing housing supply at the centre of the national housing debate,” Ms Martin concluded.

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