Housing industry calls for broader approach to tackle supply crisis

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has urged the government to broaden its focus beyond social and affordable housing to address Australia’s housing supply crisis.

HIA Managing Director Jocelyn Martin said that while social and affordable housing plays a crucial role, it only represents a small part of the overall housing market in Australia.

“The majority of the government’s 1.2 million homes target will need to be homes for the private market. This is crucial to bring house prices and rentals down,” Ms Martin said.

The HIA has called on newly appointed Minister for Housing, Clare O’Neil, to reset the housing agenda to address supply shortfalls across all sectors of the market.

“All areas of housing need to be focused on and government policies cannot just focus on social housing and leave out free market housing, it is critical the balance is right if the government is to succeed in its long-term vision,” Ms Martin said.

She emphasised the interconnected nature of the housing market, noting that increased supply in the private sector can have positive flow-on effects for social housing.

“The more new homes we build the more social housing is freed up for those who really need it, and the more likely it is that ordinary Australians have a chance to buy a house at an affordable price,” Ms Martin said.

The HIA has urged Minister O’Neil and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to demonstrate strong leadership on housing policy.

“Now is the time to show strong leadership on housing. Minister Clare O’Neil together with the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese must reset the housing policy agenda to focus on increasing housing supply across all areas of housing,” Ms Martin said.

She concluded by criticising the current policy approach as too narrow, stating it “does not sufficiently go to the heart of the problem of fixing housing supply for future generations.”