The Property Council of Australia has welcomed the announcement today of NSW Budget investment in Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), with a new local manufacturing facility set to be a gamechanger in lifting productivity and accelerating housing delivery.
Property Council NSW Executive Director Katie Stevenson said NSW cannot meet its housing targets without fundamentally changing how homes are built.
“NSW needs more homes, faster, and that means embracing new construction methods that can deliver at scale,” Ms Stevenson said.
“One of the biggest challenges holding back MMC has been reliance on offshore manufacturing, so this investment is a welcome practical solution.’
Tuesday’s NSW Budget will include new measures to support MMC, including investment in prefabrication and initiatives to streamline delivery, alongside broader reforms to integrate modular construction into planning and procurement systems.
“These are important steps toward modernising the construction sector and improving productivity, which has been a persistent constraint on housing supply,” Ms Stevenson said.
The Property Council’s 2026-27 Pre-Budget Submission identified MMC as a critical opportunity to address rising construction costs, labour shortages and slowing productivity, all of which are holding back housing delivery in NSW.
The Property Council is also an active member of the NSW Government’s MMC Taskforce and has been working with industry and government to remove barriers to using MMC more widely.
“We’ve consistently made it clear that without a step change in productivity, NSW will continue to fall short of its housing targets. Today’s announcement demonstrates the Government’s commitment to partnering with industry on innovative solutions that can help unlock supply,” Ms Stevenson said.
Ms Stevenson said the announcement gave further impetus for the NSW Parliament to prioritise finalisation of the Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026, when it resumes next week.
“This Bill tackles some of the biggest barriers to MMC – unclear approvals pathways, inconsistent decision-making, and limited confidence in new construction methods. Fixing these issues is critical to unlocking faster, more productive housing delivery,” she said.
There is also strong momentum across the sector, with industry leaders coming together at the Property Council’s NSW Housing Summit earlier this month to examine how innovation can help close the productivity gap and accelerate delivery.
“Modular and prefabricated construction can cut build times by up to 50 per cent, reduce waste, lower emissions and improve quality – it’s exactly the kind of innovation we need to build more homes and deliver them faster,” Ms Stevenson said.
“If we get this right, we can unlock the productivity gains needed to deliver more homes, restore project feasibility and get NSW back on track to meet its housing targets,” she said.
