Australia’s government is planning a series of measures to speed up the construction of homes as the country continues to grapple with a national housing crisis.
Among measures enforced immediately are fast-tracking the assessment of more than 26,000 new homes and freezing further changes to construction laws to escalate housing approvals, according to a statement Saturday. It plans to use artificial intelligence to help implement the changes.
“It’s too hard to build a home in this country,” Minister for Housing Clare O’Neil said in the statement. “In the middle of a housing crisis a generation in the making, we want builders building good quality homes of the future – not figuring out how to incorporate another set of rules.”
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The government also plans to cut barriers to more investment in housing by the country’s pension funds, which industry forecasts show could potentially unlock more than A$8 billion ($5.2 billion) of spending on homes, according to the statement.
The proposals were flagged at a three-day economic roundtable this month that sought solutions for boosting Australia’s productivity, which is trailing much of the developed world. Treasurer Jim Chalmers convened the gathering of business leaders, labor unions, government officials and other experts to generate ideas to help reverse that trend.
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A series of factors have combined to curb supply in Australia’s housing market, including a post-pandemic lull in pipelines and soaring construction costs that put thousands of builders out of business. Home prices climbed for a sixth straight month in July, while national rental vacancy rates are holding close to historic lows, at just 1.7 percent.
“Today’s announcements will help unlock tens of thousands of new homes across the country,” Property Council Chief Executive Mike Zorbas said in a statement. “This is a win-win roadmap to better housing supply.”
