How to resolve AdBlock issue? Senate Inquiry must focus on delivering more housing, not more reports says HIA
THE Housing Industry Association (HIA) has welcomed the establishment of the Senate Economics References Committee Inquiry into social housing, describing it as an important opportunity to identify the reforms needed to deliver more housing of all forms at scale and address the bottlenecks holding back housing supply broadly.
HIA said the inquiry comes at a critical time with governments struggling to meet housing supply targets and the mismatch between supply and demand continues to grow.
"The critical question for this inquiry is not whether Australia needs more social housing. The question is how governments can remove the barriers preventing enough housing of all types from being built," HIA managing director, Jocelyn Martin said.
"The inquiry should focus on practical reforms that deliver more housing across the continuum rather than simply expanding existing programs or producing another report identifying the problems without delivering concrete solutions industry has called for across multiple Inquiries and reports.
"A key area for consideration should be improvements on the operation of the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF), including whether current delivery models are maximising the capacity of the broader residential building industry," she said.
“Australia's detached housing sector has extensive experience delivering large volumes of housing across metropolitan, regional and growth areas.
"We should be looking at how to bring more of these detached home builders into the system, create greater competition and deliver more homes for every dollar invested,” Ms Martin said.
“The inquiry should also recognise that social housing outcomes cannot be improved without addressing the broader constraints affecting the entire housing system.
"Whether it is social housing, affordable housing or private housing, we are building with the same planning systems, the same infrastructure networks and the same workforce.
"If governments want more social housing, they must also tackle planning delays, infrastructure bottlenecks, workforce shortages and rising construction costs that are constraining housing delivery across the board,” Ms Martin said.
"The residential building industry continues to face substantial workforce shortages, limiting the sector's ability to increase supply at the scale required.
"HIA will use the inquiry to advocate for reforms that increase housing supply across all tenures while ensuring social housing forms part of a balanced national housing strategy.
"The long-term solution to Australia's housing challenges is increasing housing supply across the spectrum.
"We need more social housing, more affordable housing and more private housing.
"This Inquiry provides an opportunity to ensure government investment is delivering the maximum number of homes possible and making use of the full capacity of Australia's residential building industry,” Ms Martin said.
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