The nation’s biggest home builder said the latest budget had fallen short of addressing what should be “the number one issue at this year’s election”.
A $54m budget injection to fix the nation’s floundering efforts to build 1.2 million homes as part of a key Albanese government policy has been slammed as too little.
The country’s biggest home builder has warned it is not builders falling short, but state governments and a “war time response” that would punish states falling short on efforts to get more homes should have been implemented by treasurer Jim Chalmers.
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The 2025 federal budget included $54m to support the wider use of prefabricated and modular homes nationwide, with claims it would cut the time needed to build a home by up to half — and support a National Housing Accord goal of building 1.2 million new homes by 2029.
The budget shows that $49.3m of those funds will support state and territory governments in bringing the technology online.
The budget included $54m to support the use of prefabricated and modular homes — which are built in factories — that could help boost the nation’s housing supply. Picture: Supplied
The remaining $4.7m will go towards certifying offsite construction and streamlining approvals in the sector.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil labelled the announcement part of an effort to back new technologies as they sought more housing construction.
“We’ve got a big goal to build 1.2 million new homes in five years and to reach that we need to build homes in new ways – using methods like prefab we can build homes up to 50 per cent faster,” Ms O’Neil said.
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However, recent Property Council of Australia figures show the nation is on track to fall 462,000 homes short of its 1.2 million home goal.
Housing Industry Association figures from earlier in the year suggest it will be missed by more than 224,000.
However, the boss of Australia’s biggest home builder has slammed the budget, warning it is not building speed that is slowing the nation’s home builders, but state planning and regulatory systems that were taking too long to be streamlined and expedited.
Recent Property Council of Australia figures show Australia is set to fall 462,000 homes short of the government’s 1.2 million home goal. (Photo by Roni Bintang/Getty Images)
Metricon chief executive Brad Duggan said while the federal government were a long way from state authorities, they were “the ones with the stick and the carrot” — and that it was time for the stick to be used on housing.
“Rather than providing additional funding, they could withhold payment if that government didn’t get the work done,” Mr Duggan said.
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He added the Albanese government’s latest budget had fallen short of addressing what should be “the number one issue at this year’s election”.
“We need a war-time response, I don’t feel like we have really tackled this like the crisis it really is,” Mr Duggan said.
Metricon chief executive Brad Duggan (left) and chief financial officer Jon Robson.
“When we look back on the last three years, or this budget, I don’t think we could say we have had that response.
“Withholding payments doesn’t feel like that significant of a step, given the nature of this crisis.”
While the federal government has touted faster building timelines from modular homes, many of the nation’s major lenders are yet to support loans for prefabricated builds — with the Commonwealth Bank the first to announce plans to do so earlier this year.
Mr Duggan noted that a typical single-storey home could now be built in the span of 60 days, while a double storey could be completed in about three months.
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