The Australian government’s plan to have one million homes in the pipeline within five years will be sufficient to ensure that the acute shortage of housing supply does not deteriorate further, but it will not address the long-term undersupply, HIA has announced in its newly released Federal pre-budget submission. Source: Timberbiz
“Maintaining a healthy supply of new housing in Australia is key to helping solve the affordability problem,” Jocelyn Martin, HIA Deputy Managing Director – Policy & Industry, said.
In its 2023 submission, HIA has urged the government to explore the policy solutions recommended, to try and solve issues that encroach on supply, such as land supply, migration, skills, and taxes just to name a few.
“Land supply is fundamental to ensuring consistent housing supply and land supply data is crucial to a national knowledge base and to future national policy initiatives. A national data bank to keep track of this information would help substantially,” Ms Martin said.
The submission also talks to the ongoing demand and chronic shortage of trades people coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic. HIA is calling for the development and implementation of a well-rounded and integrated immigration policy, focusing on skills, as part of an overall population policy.
“The Government should consult with industry to develop a visa that will enable the residential building industry to alleviate trade shortages through skilled migration,” Ms Martin said.
“But migration is not the sole answer to the skills shortage, migration policies should also be complimented with schemes that focus on attracting and retaining apprentices. Highlighting career opportunities though trades and mentoring programs are needed.
“Lastly, excessive tax on housing still hinders growth in the market and housing affordability. Taxes such as stamp duty tax are a huge barrier for first homebuyers, and HIA notes, some state governments are preparing to transition away from stamp duty tax.
“HIA would like the Federal government to take a leadership role, working with the state and territory governments, to establish a dialogue through the National Cabinet to investigate measures that would support state and territory governments to remove stamp duty,” she said.
“Supply of new housing is crucial not only in ensuring that Australians can have an opportunity to buy or rent an affordable home, but also so that Australia’s economy can grow and prosper.”
The full submission can be read on the HIA website https://hia.com.au/
