Housing approval figures fall, reflecting national trend

With a housing crisis persisting, the number of private homes approved in Tasmania fell, ABS figures show. The state government has rejected criticism from Labor over the stat.

Carpenter working at construction site.

The number of private homes approved in Tasmania fell by 6.9 per cent in the 12 months to the end of November, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show.

There were 2356 new houses and home units built during the period, down from 2497 the year before.

It is the lowest figure in five years: private home building is down 42 per cent since 2022.

There were 48 public housing dwellings built in the past year for which figures are available.

Labor’s shadow treasurer Josh Willie said the figures revealed efforts to fix the long-running housing crisis were not having an impact.

Labor member for Clark Josh Willie in Parliament. Picture: Linda Higginson

“The latest ABS building approvals data is more proof that urgent reform is needed to fix Tasmania’s planning scheme that has become utterly broken after 10 years of Liberal neglect,” he said.

“Just 213 total dwelling units were approved for the month of November. In the past year, there have been 430 fewer home building approvals than in the previous twelve months – a 15 per cent reduction.”

ABS head of construction statistics Daniel Rossi said the figures nationally were down in November, but up for the year.

The total number of dwellings approved fell 3.6 per cent in November to 14,998, following a 5.2 per cent rise in October in seasonally adjusted terms.

“Despite the fall, approvals for total dwellings remain 3.2 per cent higher than November 2023,” he said.

Shadow treasurer Josh Willie said Tasmania’s housing approvals have slumped to historic lows.

“It’s been close to 10 years since the Liberals promised to make planning fairer, faster, cheaper and simpler with a singular statewide scheme. Instead, nothing has happened, except the system becoming more complicated, inefficient, and out of touch with the needs of Tasmanians,” he said.

“Premier Rockliff’s minority government has failed to deliver for Tasmanians looking to access affordable rentals or get a foot in the door of home ownership, and the Liberals have failed to support safe, secure, well-paying jobs in the building and construction industry.

“Instead of trying to get around their own broken planning scheme, and failing, with Band-Aid solutions like their failed DAPs legislation, we need to get to the core of the problem and actually fix Tasmania’s planning scheme in 2025.

“The only thing this Liberal minority government is good at building is its track record of failing to deliver.”

Minister Felix Ellis. Launch of firefighter aircraft for the Summer in Tasmania. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Minister for Housing, Planning, and Consumer Affairs Felix Ellis rejected the criticism.

“It’s new year, same negativity from this Labor Party with no plan for Tasmania,” he said.

“The Tasmanian Government has been driving the delivery of key initiatives to unlock the dream of homeownership and put more roofs over the heads of Tasmanians who need them.

“We have expanded our highly successful MyHome Shared Equity Program, stamped out stamp duty for first home buyers on properties up to $750,000, and we’re on track to deliver on our target of 10,000 social and affordable homes by 2032, hitting the 4,000-home milestone ahead of schedule.

“Our government has listened to the concerns of home builders, and for the first time in Australia’s history, we will be deferring proposed changes to the National Construction Code (NCC), significantly reducing red tape and construction prices for the sector.

“And we’ll be bringing our DAPs legislation back to Parliament, because ensuring people who meet the planning rules can get a fair go is fundamental to building more homes and growing businesses.”

Originally published as Housing approval figures fall, reflecting national trend