Slow start to 1.2 million homes target sparks calls for urgent government action

Australia has fallen more than 15,000 homes short of its national housing target just three months into the 1.2 million homes by 2029 goal.
To stay on track with the National Housing Accord’s target, 60,000 new homes need to be built each quarter. However, data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that only 44,884 homes were constructed during the September quarter, the first three months since the accord officially began on July 1, 2024.
The Northern Territory reported the largest shortfall, delivering 78.6% fewer homes than its quarterly target of 571. Victoria, meanwhile, narrowly missed its target of 15,316 homes by 0.1%.
The number of new homes built during the September quarter also marked a 0.9% decline compared to the preceding June quarter, underscoring a slow start to the ambitious housing push.
Matthew Kandelaars (pictured above), group executive for policy and advocacy at the Property Council of Australia, said the early shortfall was a concerning sign, though not entirely unexpected.
“Few expected we’d be meeting our welcome and ambitious housing target from day one, but it’s doing its job by providing transparency about who is lagging and by how much,” Kandelaars said.
He warned that failing to gain momentum now would make it increasingly difficult to meet the 2029 target.
“If we don’t start as we intend to finish, we’ll be kicking into a gale at the final break – making the job near impossible,” Kandelaars said. “There’s no time to waste and we can’t afford to slip any further behind.”
“Our new home target is much more than an arbitrary number. It is what’s needed to close the national housing supply shortage. It represents hard hats, steel caps and getting Australian families into the homes they deserve.”
Kandelaars also called for immediate action from governments to address challenges hindering progress, including affordability issues, bureaucratic delays and shortages of skilled labour.
“The most urgent priorities are for states and territories to address affordability – killing taxes on new homes, cut red tape to boost productivity and address critical shortages of skilled labour,” he said.
Despite the slower-than-expected start, there were some positive signs in the ABS data. New housing commencements rose 4.6% from the June quarter, while commencements of apartments and townhouses grew 3.8% over the past year.
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