Building for the future without fuelling climate change

Australia’s housing crisis was the central issue for both major parties in the lead-up to last month’s election. Now, with a strong mandate and a second term ahead of him, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has the chance to transform the way Australia thinks about and delivers housing that can meet the challenges of today and the future. Here, Shay Singh, GBCA’s Senior Policy Manager, and Katy Dean, Senior Policy Adviser, give us an overview of where we’re at and where we need to go to ensure housing supply is sufficient, sustainable and affordable for all.

Ambition meets reality

Under the National Housing Accord, the federal government aims to construct 1.2 million new homes over five years from mid-2024 to address the shortfall of housing and affordability. It’s an ambitious target that needs to be attacked from multiple angles and with many strategies, as our CEO Davina Rooney recently wrote, “What we have is a ‘wicked problem’, one where every cause is tangled with every consequence, and no simple solution will serve us.”

We are seeing the first flutters of action; financial incentives for states and territories are now in place to build more homes faster, further incentives are on offer for build to rent developments, modern methods of construction are being embraced like never before, and financial assistance to help buyers purchase their first home is increasingly accessible.

But just last week The state of the housing system 2025 report provided an unsettling update, stating “the supply of new housing is near its lowest level in a decade” and that 938,000 dwellings are forecast to be completed during the Housing Accord period, falling short of the 1.2 million target.

At the crossroads of climate and housing crises

To compound supply issues, our current housing stock is not efficient, comfortable or resilient enough to face climate change, while the carbon created in the construction of new homes contributes to it:

·       A huge 5.6 million homes, almost half of all properties, are at risk of bushfire while 952,000 homes face a flood risk.

·       Over 650,000 homes are already uninsurable because of climate risk and this grows each year.

·       Lower-income households, already under severe cost-of-living pressure, pay almost twice as much on energy as wealthier households as a proportion of their income.

·       Our homes are poorly insulated, making us colder in winter and warmer in summer. Around 70% of Australia’s 11 million homes have a NatHERS energy rating of just 3 stars or less.

While these points highlight the operational and resilience inefficiencies of the current housing stock, a study we released last week revealed the true carbon cost of constructing new homes.

The report, Our homes weigh a tonne – of upfront carbon, finds that before a single appliance is switched on in an average Australia all-electric home, through construction it has already emitted more than seven times the carbon it will produce over its operational lifetime. In most cases that's the same as driving a petrol car around Australia 185 times.

Finding the balance between affordable and sustainable housing

These aren’t problems that come with a clear, quick or easy fix. As housing Minister Clare O’Neill has said, “It takes time to turn the tide on a housing crisis a generation in the making.” Australia has a choice: keep repeating the mistakes of the past, or build homes for all Australians, that stand the test of time.

GBCA has worked with federal governments from both sides on the recommendations outlined in Every Building Counts – our policy roadmap for a zero-carbon-ready built environment, first released in 2019 and updated  in 2023. We commend the Albanese government for taking action on nearly half of these recommendations in the 2023 version so far.

Over the next term we look forward to working with the government on several initiatives including:

• finalising a built environment sector plan, with targets for both operational and upfront carbon for homes and buildings
• a nationally consistent building regulation that supports increased productivity in the sector while continuing to improve building quality, resilience and alignment with climate goals. fully funding NABERS and the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) to maintain progress and avoid regulatory fragmentation,
• introducing a national rating and mandatory disclosure for existing home energy performance,
• embedding circular economy principles into procurement and construction to support low-carbon materials and local manufacturing,
• investment in a future-ready workforce to meet growing demand for a decarbonised built environment.

A call to action

The 2025 election result speaks for itself - Australians want a government willing to address housing without compromising long-term affordability and action on climate change, and the research shows that many are taking action themselves. Domain’s Sustainability in property report 2025 this week heralded that “Green homes have gone mainstream”, and that features like solar, insulation, and passive design are valued by homebuyers more each year.

Moving forward, government, industry, and communities must work together to deliver housing that is sustainable and meets the needs of both homeowners and renters, ensuring everyone can enjoy safe, comfortable, and efficient homes. GBCA looks forward to working with the Albanese Government to advance the next phase of policy reform.