February’s building approvals strengthen, but trend falls short

1 April 2026

New ABS data released today shows good results for home building, with February’s approvals surging by 29.7 per cent on January, however the trend is still far from meeting the National Housing Accord targets, Master Builders Chief Economist Shane Garrett explained.

“Higher density approvals almost doubled (+93.2 per cent) during February and recorded their strongest result in almost 8 years. However, detached house building approvals dipped (-0.2 per cent) and the value of non-residential building approvals also fell (-4.4 per cent) during the month.

“Despite February’s strong gains, over the last year 196,491 new homes received approval, which is 58,509 homes below the yearly National Housing Accord target underscoring the need for major policy reform. Global events over the past month are making it even more difficult,” said Mr. Garrett.

Master Builders CEO Denita Wawn commented that the story behind this data is that builders, particularly those operating small businesses, continue to drown in unnecessary red tape and compliance burdens.

“According to the Productivity Commission (PC), the estimated regulatory cost burden on housing is as high as $47.5 billion per year, that’s up to $320,000 per new house.

“Australia cannot afford further setbacks in its civil, residential or non-residential pipeline and needs decisive action to curb the sheer volume of regulatory overload that the PC identified as one of the main culprits behind our industry’s poor productivity performance.

“We’re also concerned that February’s strong uptick will evaporate due to the rapid cost escalation and potential supply restrictions caused by the Middle East conflict. Many builders are in fixed price contracts without rise and fall provisions and have tight completion deadlines.

“The events of recent weeks reinforces the need to get the federal budget right including the policy measures advocated in our Pre-Budget Submission,” said Ms Wawn.

Master Builders Australia’s Pre-Budget Submission advocates for an overhaul of the regulatory environment including:

• Simpler Rules, Better Buildings: The review and modernisation of the National Construction Code must be completed and appropriately resourced into the future to ensure the document remains fit for purpose.
• Improve Transparency: Laws that builders must follow should not be behind a paywall. Regulated Australian Standards must be freely available, and their usability in concert with a modernised NCC, must be improved.
• A Reduction in Unnecessary Red Tape: Australia must have commitment to reducing red tape by at least 25 per cent by 2030 including undertaking an economy-wide regulatory stocktake. This has also been called for by the Business Alliance.

“Its time to end seven years of building and construction productivity decline to improve affordability and to fight inflation. Every $1 spent in our industry contributes to $2.5 across the economy,” said Ms Wawn.

Media contact: Dylan Hafey, Media Advisor

0497 330 064 | dylan.hafey@masterbuilders.com.au