CONCERNS are mounting in the building community with building approvals hitting their lowest levels since April 2012, impacting Australia’s ability to meet its housing targets, according to Master Builders Australia acting CEO, Shaun Schmitke.

“According to the ABS, new home building approvals sank by 8.1 percent over the month with a total of 11,594 dwellings approved in seasonally adjusted terms," Mr Schmitke said.

“The reverses in new home building approvals come in the aftermath of 12 months of rising interest rates and inflation at its highest in over 30 years.

“The data reflects the cautious approach being taken by developers and consumers in the face of economic uncertainty and high building costs," he said.

“The biggest drops were in higher density home building approvals and home renovations falling 16.9 percent and 26.6 percent respectively.

“Although demand for medium and high-density housing is surging, the pipeline of new stock is rapidly diminishing.

“The fall in new builds will exacerbate pressures in the rental market at the worst possible time with media reports today showing the portion of income needed to pay rent lifting to the highest level since June 2014.^[1]

“Builders recognise the importance of a healthy and vibrant building and construction sector in supporting economic growth and addressing the housing needs of a growing population.

“To ensure we continue to supply enough homes to house all Australians, governments need to look at what impact their regulations and policies have on the cost of building homes and on the cost of building social infrastructure," Mr Schmitke said.

“The upcoming planning ministers meeting provides an opportunity to address these challenges."

Master Builders has published its priorities for delivering Australia’s housing needs which can be read here.

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Reference [1] https://www.afr.com/property/residential/worsening-affordability-hits-poorer-renters-hard-20230526-p5dbid

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THE Defence Subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade will conduct its second public hearing in support of its inquiry into the Department of Defence Annual Report 2021–22 on May 30.

The Subcommittee will hear evidence from an academic panel on the inquiry’s second focus item: Space Command and capability. Witnesses will also be invited to contribute to Defence workforce recruiting and retention issues.

Chair of the Subcommittee, Julian Hill MP, said, "Space is now a contested domain. Defence must be able to rapidly adapt to the ever-changing operating environment as well as ready itself for future competition and conflict.

“Leading experts will publicly share their views on Australian Space Command’s relationship and interoperability with coalition partners, its evolving mandate, space-based operations, and its approach towards capability realisation in light of the Defence Strategic Review.”

Further information is available on the inquiry webpage.

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BUILDING approvals in April 2023 remained at their lowest level in over a decade, with declines continuing for both houses and multi-units, according to Housing Industry Association (HIA) senior economist Tom Devitt.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics today released its monthly building approvals data for April for detached houses and multi-units covering all states and territories.

“Detached house approvals declined by 3.6 percent in the month of April and multi-units fell by 16.9 percent,” Mr Devitt said.

“On a quarterly basis, this leaves detached house approvals 15.4 percent lower than the same time the previous year, and multi-units down by 38.9 per cent.

“This continues the long-lagged response of Australian homebuyers to the RBA’s interest rate hiking cycle, with further declines expected in the coming months," he said.

“The combination of construction cost blowouts, labour uncertainties, increased compliance costs and taxes on investors has seen approvals for multi-units fall.

“These disappointing approvals numbers are occurring as population growth surges with the return of overseas migrants, students and tourists.

“This imbalance will see the affordability and rental crisis deteriorate further,” Mr Devitt said.

Total building approvals were down across all the jurisdictions in the three months to April 2023 compared to the same period last year. In seasonally adjusted terms, decreases were led by Victoria (-35.3 percent), followed by New South Wales (-28.7 percent), Western Australia (-14.6 percent), South Australia (-12.1 percent), Queensland (-4.2 percent), and Tasmania (-2.2 per ent). In original terms, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory saw declines of 49.8 percent and 27.3 percent respectively.

www.hia.com.au

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THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training has launched an inquiry into the use of generative artificial intelligence in the Australian education system.

Chair of the committee, Lisa Chesters MP, said, "Artificial technologies are increasingly available in education settings, presenting both opportunities and challenges. This inquiry will examine the ways in which these technologies may impact education outcomes for students in the Australian education system.

"We will have a particular focus on the emergence of generative AI technologies, and the benefits and the risks they may hold for the Australian education system, now and into the future," Ms Chesters said.

"The committee encourages submissions from stakeholders in this field, including industry experts, researchers, educators and others interested in the issue."

More information on the inquiry, including the full terms of reference and details on making a submission, can be found on the committee website.

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