You can't fix housing affordability without fixing productivity [AU]Friday 21 Aug 2026
HIA Managing Director Jocelyn Martin said the report recognises that Australia's housing challenges can no longer be viewed solely through a housing policy lens. "The committee has recognised a reality that has become impossible to ignore: you can't fix housing affordability without fixing productivity, and you can't fix productivity without fixing regulation," Ms Martin said. "Housing affordability and supply are fundamentally productivity challenges and must be viewed through that prism." Ms Martin said HIA was encouraged by the report's conclusion that housing affordability is a structural determinant of productivity performance. "Housing is no longer simply a single policy issue. It increasingly shapes labour mobility, workforce participation, business investment and national competitiveness." She said Australia's housing shortage had become a significant economic constraint. "Australia's housing shortage is now a persistent macroeconomic constraint rather than a cyclical sectoral issue," said Ms Martin. The report's recommendations on housing finance, macroprudential regulation, National Construction Code reform, pattern books, planning and environmental approvals, infrastructure delivery, EPBC approvals and WHS accreditation recognise the need to address regulatory barriers that are constraining housing supply and economic growth. Ms Martin said the Productivity Commission had already highlighted the scale of the challenge. "The Productivity Commission has found that the number of homes completed per hour worked has fallen by 53 per cent. That should concern every government in Australia because we are delivering fewer homes relative to the resources being committed." More >> Source: Housing Industry Association (HIA) | ||
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