Housing Pipeline at Risk as Property Sector Calls for Policy Reset
The Property Council today delivered a stark warning to the first of a series of Budget Estimates hearings over the coming weeks - industry confidence in Canberra's future risks faltering unless the ACT Government signals a reset on key areas of housing policy.
Property Council ACT & Capital Region Executive Director, Ashlee Berry, told the Select Committee on Estimates that the ACT Government must push forward at speed with planning directorate reforms, review taxes to reflect contemporary challenges, and remove third party appeals to provide much needed certainty for the industry.
"Over the next five years, nearly 90 per cent of land released for housing is slated for multi-unit development," Ms Berry said.
"While this approach supports greater density, it won't deliver unless the planning system is properly equipped, with adequate infrastructure spend in place, and that needs to start right now.
"The new City and Environment Directorate needs to get off to a running start - with housing approvals at historic lows and building activity well below targets there's simply no time to waste.
"The property sector is one of Canberra's biggest community backers, supporting everything from local sports clubs and charities to major cultural events. If we rate the sector out of business, we don't just lose jobs and investment, we lose a major force for good in our community."
Ms Berry said the ACT government's move to restrict third-party appeals against public housing and public health developments earlier this year was a welcome step but needed to go further, highlighting an escalating problem for certainty in the industry.
"To truly unlock housing supply and investment confidence, these reforms should apply to all developments, not just public housing," she said.
"We also need to work more closely with Government to address adverse impacts of the Lease Variation Charge, waiving or reducing it where developments deliver real community benefit."
Ms Berry told the Hearing that the ACT's current housing trajectory is well short of what's needed to meet its 30,000-home target by 2030.
"Total approvals to end May 2024-25 sit at just 2,036. That's not a pipeline, it's a bottleneck. The Budget missed a critical opportunity to fast-track approvals and get housing moving again.
"We're not asking for a blank cheque. We're asking for a plan that gets homes built, strengthens our community, and restores confidence that Canberra's future is still within reach," Ms Berry said.
