In its Federal Pre-Budget Submission 2026-27, the Property Council backs a pro-investment road map that rewards delivery, clears post-permit blockages, and modernises the regulatory pipeline to enable more projects to move from approval to completion.
Property Council Chief Executive Mike Zorbas said Australia was competing for global capital in a tougher, more uncertain world, and current settings were making investment harder, slower and less competitive.
"This Budget will be judged on improving investment settings, incentivising state housing performance and boosting construction productivity, including through skilled migration," Mr Zorbas said.
"These are the factors that turn ambition into the supply of the commercial, industrial and housing assets our cities are crying out for.
"The best parts of our cities cannot and will not be built by governments over the next decade. All levels of government are carrying too much unproductive debt.
"Australia needs to lay out the welcome mat for long-term capital partners of Australian businesses.
"We should reward states that deliver serviced, development-ready land, and strip avoidable delay out of the national property pipeline.
We should prioritise getting the skills mix right to ease critical shortages in key sectors like construction and the care economy," he said.
On tax and investment, the Property Council says the Budget must make Australia a more competitive destination for long-term capital.
"That starts with fixing RG 97's distortionary stamp duty disclosure treatment and ensuring the 5% Deposit Scheme includes off-the-plan apartments which are allegedly a policy priority for most state governments," Mr Zorbas said.
"These two changes matter. Fixing RG 97 could support up to 35,000 additional homes over five years, while expanding the 5% Deposit Scheme to off-the-plan apartments could unlock up to 25,000 more homes by the end of the Housing Accord period," he said.
The Property Council argues planning delivery incentives need to land earlier, be larger, and tied to real state and territory plans that turn zoned land into serviced, development-ready land.
"Incentives should focus on post-permit delays and last-mile bottlenecks, including utilities connections and engineering approvals. Zoning announcements are the beginning - the ultimate test is clearing the blockages after a permit is issued to speed up completion of new homes," Mr Zorbas said.
The submission also reiterates the Property Council's call for housing targets to count every home type Australians live in, including land lease communities, residential aged care, co-living and purpose-built student accommodation.
"It makes no sense to count some homes towards our ambitious targets but to ignore others that add to the overall supply equation. We're short-changing ourselves and distorting policy by leaving out these vital city assets," Mr Zorbas said.
With productivity a major focus for Government and industry, the submission calls for a more consistent, predictable national regulatory pipeline.
"Productivity is the difference between targets and delivery - we need clearer rules, consistent regulation, and approvals that move at the pace our urgent housing need requires," he said.
Mr Zorbas said building faster and better will require a workforce strategy that matched the scale of the task.
"If we want to build more homes and the infrastructure that supports them, we need the migration and training settings to deliver the workforce to do it," Mr Zorbas said.
"Skilled migration settings that reflect the reality that construction trades made up under 2 per cent of permanent skilled migrants over the past two decades. That mix needs to shift if we're to meet the housing and infrastructure goals of a growing nation into the 2030s," he said.
