The Australian Dream: Inquiry into housing affordability and supply in Australia

It is evident that there are serious and large-scale issues in Australia’s housing market.

In many parts of the country, an increasing number of Australians are struggling to buy a home, find an affordable rental property that meets their needs, and afford housing costs. Meanwhile, home ownership rates continue to fall. This situation has severe implications for us now and future generations.

Parliamentary Inquiry

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue released this report following a seven-month parliamentary inquiry in which the Committee heard from the Australian Federal Government, state and local governments, industry groups, peak bodies, think tanks, academics, economists, unions, and the general public.

In its report, the Committee makes sixteen recommendations to improve housing supply and affordability across the country.

Housing Supply

Many of these recommendations focus on increasing housing supply. By recommending the Australian Government implement policies which financially incentivise state and local governments to adopt better planning and property administration practices, upwards pressure on supply will be mitigated. Further, incentivising state and local governments to directly tie taxes and levies to actual and meaningful infrastructure improvements will also serve to mitigate this upward pressure.

Report

Read The Australian Dream: Inquiry into housing affordability and supply in Australia.