Business plan for housing targets
Business leaders are calling for Australia to adopt new house construction targets tied to population growth, speed up approval times and support more “build-to-rent” homes to make long-term renting viable amid the nation’s housing crisis.
With the Coalition and Greens threatening to derail the federal government’s $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund in the Senate, paralysing Labor’s plan to build more than 30,000 social and affordable homes, the Business Council of Australia will on Monday release a new paper proposing how to fix housing affordability and access.
BCA chief Jennifer Westacott said “well managed migration” was good for the economy, but there needed to be a “clear plan” for building new homes and infrastructure that is aligned with population growth.
“We know there is simply not enough new homes being built to meet demand at a time when housing affordability is declining,” she said.
The report recommended the federal government set national “net-additional” dwelling targets over 10 years tied to population growth and be linked to “financial incentives and penalties”.
Areas with existing infrastructure, transport and services should be considered for “upzoning” to allow for more housing supply, while more nationally consistent approaches should be adopted to facilitate faster “low impact medium density” housing development.
The BCA report also recommended tax settings be focused to help drive new housing supply, with governments urged to “progressively remove stamp duty” and replace it with land tax.
It comes as Treasurer Jim Chalmers prepares a travelling blitz to spruik Labor’s budget, starting in Sydney on Monday followed by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia.