Our Plan to Unlock 500,000 New Homes Through Housing Infrastructure

The Coalition has announced new policies to get our country back on track and restore the Australian dream of home ownership.

Over the past two years, the Coalition has consulted with hundreds of local councils across the nation to discuss new housing supply constraints and practical ways to overcome these challenges. This consultation has made clear that one of the major impediments to new housing projects is the lack of funding for critical enabling infrastructure.

Therefore, the Coalition will invest in shovel-ready infrastructure, the lack of which is hindering the development of new housing, through a new Housing Infrastructure Programme (HIP).

Under the HIP we will unlock up to 500,000 new homes by investing $5 billion to fund essential infrastructure like water, power, and sewerage at housing development sites.

And to further address supply constraints, the Coalition will freeze any further changes to the National Construction Code for 10 years.

At a time of high inflation, Labor has increased the compliance burden for new housing projects, adding up to $60,000 to the price of a new home.

Our freeze on red tape will provide certainty and let builders get on with the job of building more homes for Australians.

These new measures add to the policies we have already announced to deliver more housing, including:

• A balanced migration program – reducing permanent migration over four years. This would free up almost 40,000 additional homes in the first year and well over 100,000 homes in the next five years.

• Implementing a two-year ban on foreign investors and temporary residents purchasing existing homes.

• Allowing Australians to access up to $50,000 from their super to buy their first home. And we will extend this policy to separated women – to help them restart their lives.

• Tackling union corruption that has contributed to driving up the costs of building by 30 per cent.

The Labor Government’s housing crisis is failing Australians. Labor’s promise to build 1.2 million homes over five years has already failed, with industry leaders confirming a likely shortfall of more than 400,000 homes. We’ve had 12 interest rate rises and the highest increase in rents on record.

Under the Labor Government, building approvals have fallen to their lowest level in over a decade, dropping 8.8 per cent to just 158,690 new starts in 2023-24. Simultaneously, the Government has brought in more than one million migrants in their first two years in office, while only 350,000 homes have been constructed in that time.

That’s why the Coalition’s Housing Infrastructure Programme is essential to getting Australia back on track. It will have a significant impact in unlocking new projects or bringing forward projects that might otherwise be delayed for years.

Only a Coalition Government can restore the great Australian dream of home ownership.