30 September 2026

The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) welcomes the opportunity to provide further input to the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry into Housing Supply Regulation following publication of its Interim Report.

ASBEC welcomes the overall direction of the Interim Report. In particular, we support the Commission’s recognition that increasing housing supply requires attention to the housing delivery system as a whole, rather than a narrow focus on reducing planning approval timeframes.

We particularly welcome the Commission’s conclusion that reform of land-use controls and better coordination of housing-enabling infrastructure are likely to have a greater impact on housing supply than improvements to approval processes alone.

ASBEC supports the broad direction of the Commission’s proposed reforms and recommends that the final report:

1. Maintains a whole-of-system approach to housing delivery, focused on converting planned and approved capacity into completed homes
2. Strengthens the integration of housing, infrastructure and energy planning, with particular attention to electricity network capacity and last-mile infrastructure
3. Make efficient electrification the default for new development, including making all-electric development the default for new housing precincts to avoid unnecessary infrastructure duplication and future retrofit costs
4. Supports efficient, risk-based and coordinated planning and approval systems while maintaining appropriate environmental, resilience and community safeguards
5. Ensures housing reform supports well-located, resilient development and avoids creating long-term productivity, insurance and fiscal costs
6. Provides a clear implementation framework, including responsibilities, sequencing, capability, accountability and measures of progress.

Read the full submission here