Property Council ACT & Capital Region Executive Director Ashlee Berry said while welcome reforms commencing today – including stamp duty abolition for first home buyers and for new unit titled properties, new missing middle planning rules and a halving of the Lease Variation Charge (LVC) – were a step in the right direction, they would not be enough on their own to materially increase supply.
“Today’s changes show the Government understands the challenge, but today’s approvals data makes it clear we are still not shifting the dial fast enough,” Ms Berry said.
The latest ABS Building Approvals data for May shows the total number of dwelling approvals at 211, up from 127 in the previous month. The 12 months to May, saw a total of 4,437 dwelling approvals, up only slightly from 4,343 in the 12 months to April.
“Canberra needs a sustained pipeline of new homes, and right now that pipeline remains too thin,” Ms Berry said.
“Measures such as stamp duty abolition for first home buyers and planning reform to enable more ‘missing middle’ housing will help, but the industry is still grappling with feasibility constraints that are holding projects back.
“Improving access to home ownership is important, but homes can’t be bought if they’re not being built,” she said.
“The key issue remains the cost of delivering new housing in the ACT is still too high relative to market conditions, and that’s keeping approvals low.”
While the Property Council welcomed the halving of the Lease Variation Charge (LVC) for some developments, Ms Berry warned that incremental changes and ongoing tinkering with the LVC would not be enough to unlock supply at the scale required.
“We need a more fundamental reset to get projects moving,” Ms Berry said.
“Reducing charges in targeted areas is helpful, but broader tax settings, charges and regulatory costs continue to weigh heavily on new housing delivery.”
Ms Berry said the recent ACT Budget contained some positive signals, including support for housing diversity and measures aimed at easing cost of living pressures, but it stopped short of the more significant interventions needed to restore confidence and accelerate supply.
“The Budget acknowledged the importance of housing delivery, but it didn’t yet deliver the step-change needed to boost feasibility and approvals across the board,” she said.
“If we are serious about meeting our Housing Accord commitments, every lever must be pulling in the same direction – planning, tax, infrastructure and charges.”
The Property Council is calling for a renewed focus on feasibility, including a holistic review of taxes and charges impacting new housing, faster approvals pathways, and stronger alignment between planning reforms and infrastructure delivery.
“We should be doing everything we can right now to get more homes approved and under construction,” Ms Berry said.
“Without a stronger pipeline, affordability pressures will persist, rental supply will tighten further, and the Territory will fall short of its housing targets.”
