Improving intergenerational housing equity means more housing supply

15 June 2026

At today’s hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intergenerational Housing Inequity, Master Builders Australia made the case that the most effective way to make housing more affordable is by increasing the supply of homes across all types, including owner-occupied, rental, social and affordable housing.

Master Builders Australia National Director Darren Disney said in his opening statement that the housing challenge reflects a combination of rising construction costs, labour shortages, infrastructure constraints, planning and regulatory burdens, and taxation settings.

“The construction workforce is hundreds of thousands short, the regulatory burden can reach $320,000 per new house and the cost to build in the first place is almost 50 per cent more expensive than it was before the pandemic.

“Builders stand ready to deliver the homes Australia needs. However, to do so, governments must focus on the practical barriers that prevent projects from proceeding and increase the cost of delivering new housing. It’s clear what parts are broken, what we need now is carefully targeted action,” said Mr Disney.

Master Builders Australia Chief Economist Shane Garrett says better policy settings for the industry can make it less expensive to buy a home and help dilute rental market pressures.

“Every policy initiative needs to meet two tests. It must result in more new homes getting built and it must help reduce the cost of creating new homes.

“The restrictions on negative gearing and capital gains tax announced in the budget fail both tests. In isolation, these tax changes are expected to result in 14,000 fewer homes being built over the next four years. Even when additional infrastructure funding is taken into account, independent modelling still indicates a net reduction of 8,700 new homes,” Mr Garrett said.

Master Builders Australia is calling for the Government be far more focused on achieving their Housing Accord targets.

• The regulatory burden on builders needs to be reduced, while maintaining standards in safety and quality. The work underway to modernise the National Construction Code is a welcomed first step
• Tax settings need to incentivise investment and project feasibility. We need a holistic approach taken to tax reform that leads to a turbocharging of new housing supply, instead of the ad hoc changes we have seen in this year’s budget
• Our workforce shortage requires a better targeted uplift in skilled apprenticeships, supported by a better targeted skilled migration program to fill the gap
• Enabling infrastructure funding needs a further significant uplift to unlock new developments
• We need to continue to invest in the regulatory agencies that support the building and construction if we are to support the industry’s growth and productivity – while working to reduce red tape.

Media contact: Dylan Hafey, Media Advisor

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