Treasurers to drive housing supply 

As the nation’s Treasurers gather in Canberra for their last meeting of the year, housing affordability and planning reform will be front and centre on their agenda.

In October, Treasurer Scott Morrison announced his intention to propose an incentives approach to encourage states and territories to reform their planning systems, drive supply and help affordability.

At their meeting this Friday, the Treasurer will be asking his state and territory counterparts for support for the policy.

Morrison’s proposed approach mirrors the reform model put forward by the Property Council in April this year, based on research undertaken by the Residential Development Council.

The research by Deloitte Access Economics assessed how National Competition Policy style incentive payments could be used to facilitate planning reforms and deliver housing supply over the cycle. It found that competition payments that delivered planning reform and increased housing supply could also boost the economy by around $3 billion per year.

The Property Council warmly welcomed the Treasurer’s announcement, and we continue to engage with governments at all levels on this reform model.

A copy of the Treasurer’s speech is available here.

The Property Council’s research can be downloaded here.