The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has ranked South Australia as the top-performing state for housing policy announcements, with Western Australia close behind.
HIA Senior Economist Matt King highlighted the challenge of distinguishing genuine housing supply policies from those introducing new taxes. “South Australia and Western Australia have shown the strongest commitment to tackling housing supply issues through decisive planning reforms, streamlined approvals, and land release initiatives,” he said.
Despite this progress, neither state is on track to meet their share of the federal government’s 1.2 million homes target. The HIA Housing Policy Scoreboard assessed each state and territory against ten key housing supply policies. The ACT and Northern Territory scored the lowest, with 4/10 and 5/10, respectively.
Mr King emphasised the need for faster planning approvals to reduce costs and improve housing affordability. “The delays in bringing land to market significantly add to the cost of new homes and apartments,” he concluded.
