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29 June 2026
This week marks the second anniversary of the National Housing Accord – with new analysis by Master Builders Australia revealing that the Accord’s impact has been very mixed.
Encouragingly, the research shows that new home building has improved since the start of the Accord. However, building approvals under the Accord are still well below the Accord target as well as the ten-year average prior.
It has also been revealed that building completions since the start of the Accord are well below the ten-year average prior to the Accord.
Master Builders CEO Denita Wawn said that the analysis showed that the policy settings have not been successful in enabling the uplift required to deliver the federal and state Accord targets.
“That’s why builders were so bitterly disappointed by the Federal Budget. Not only were there broken promises, tax hikes, and cuts to apprenticeship funding, but there was a real lack of ambition in the new announcements on things like infrastructure spending and red tape reduction.
“The National Housing Accord is a joint commitment by all levels of government and industry to build 1.2 million homes in 5 years, and we need a joint effort to reach this ambitious target.
“An ambitious target necessitates ambitious government policy, and clearly the policy settings need further reform. Tinkering around the edges won’t work. It’s time for bold policy that will turbocharge the building of more homes.
“The policy reforms need to focus on workforce numbers, red tape, enabling infrastructure and tax incentives,” said Ms Wawn.
Master Builders Australia currently forecasts that over the five years of the National Housing Accord, the country will fall short of the 1.2 million new homes target by 204,000 homes.
Master Builders Australia is calling on the Federal Government to prioritise the following reforms:
- Workforce growth: Invest in all apprenticeship and training pathways and expand skilled migration
- Infrastructure investment: Boost public and private investment in housing‑enabling infrastructure
- Investment incentives: Introduce accelerated depreciation for capital works and expand the Instant Asset Write Off
- Regulatory reform: Streamline the National Construction Code and commit to reducing unnecessary red tape by at least 25 per cent.
Media contact: Dylan Hafey, Adviser, Media & Government Relations
0497 330 064 | dylan.hafey@masterbuilders.com.au