NT Property Council calls for new Affordable Housing ministry as housing targets fall short

As questions grow about the government’s ambitious housing targets, developers have urged the Territory to appoint a new Affordable Housing Minister and shake up planning laws.

The peak developers’ council has warned the Territory needs 12,500 new homes by the end of the decade but currently faces the lowest building approval rate in the country.

The Property Council NT said growing international student numbers, overseas migration and natural population growth have led to “worsening infrastructure bottlenecks in the country”, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics forecasting an extra 30,000 heads by 2031.

In the NT, just 450 new dwellings were built in the year to November 2023, missing the National Housing Accord’s target of 2285.

“The high population growth experienced by the country has contributed greatly to the rental crisis,” said authors of the lobby’s new report titled Incentivising Investment in the Northern Territory.

They added that “the supply of housing in the market has not been able to keep pace with the demand created”, pointing to a migration bomb of 518,000 people between 2022-23, “the largest net overseas migration estimates since the (ABS) records began” in 1971.

The NT Property Council has said “the supply of housing in the market has not been able to keep pace with the demand created”. Picture: Che Chorley

“Unique challenges to the (NT) housing market” have steered developers elsewhere and the authors recommended a raft of policy overhauls to make development more attractive.

These include new land carve-outs and expedited releases, as well as concessional loans and rental guarantees to soften investment risk.

The report also criticised “the lack of enabling infrastructure” and said road upgrades and utility works would “improve the accessibility and liveability conditions of the Territory”, thus “attracting people, projects, and capital”.

A new Minister for Affordable Housing should be appointed to lead a department that would spearhead policy delivery, according to the report.

Property Council NT president Patrick Bellot said he believed adopting the recommendations would “allow the sector to thrive and grow to meet increasing demand”.

“Property is the number one issue in our country and should be the highest priority of government, at all levels,” Mr Bellot said.

“We look forward to working in collaboration with government to ensure the Territory is ready and competitively positioned for investment success.”

The Property Council’s report suggested a raft of measures including the creation of a new Affordable Housing portfolio in government. Picture: Che Chorley

A spokeswoman for the NT government said it acknowledged “housing and construction are important industries for the Territory and we need more homes to be built”.

She said that in 2023, the year-on-year value of building work increased from $908 million to $1.1 billion, with a $348 million increase in residential building values.

“Our land release pipeline is only getting stronger, with our commitment of nearly $200 million over three years for land development from the Top End to Central Australia,” the spokeswoman said.

“We know there are other factors impacting new home builds, such as higher interest rates and tighter bank lending, which is why government is doing our part to make accessing land easier by implementing the recommendations from the Bringing Land to Market report.”

The report was commissioned in 2021 to explore options for boosting land supply, and 12 of the 23 recommendations have been implemented so far while eight are under way.