It shouldn’t take this long to build an apartment or home

Master Builders Australia has today released a new analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics data which shows detached home and apartment building times continue to blow out. 

Fifteen years ago, building a stand-alone house took an average of 9 months. Fast forward to today, it takes 12.7 months – an increase of over 40 per cent. It’s even more grim for apartment buildings. An average of 18.5 months from approval to completion has now turned to a whopping 33.3 months – an increase of 80 per cent.

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said these extended construction timeframes are impacting the industry’s ability to meet housing demand and tackle the housing crisis.

“With advancements in technology and construction methods, we should be building homes faster, not slower," she says.

“There are a range of contributing factors including labour shortages, declining productivity, union pattern agreements, supply chain disruptions, complex regulatory requirements, occupational certificate backlogs, and critical infrastructure delays. 

“As a result, we’ve seen productivity decline by 18 per cent over the last decade.

“Productivity is more than an economic buzzword.

"This data proves what happens in a construction environment without meaningful reform."

Master Builders is calling for action to address these bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the construction process.

“Streamlining regulatory approval processes, encouraging adoption of digital solutions, introducing incentives to grow the workforce through domestic and international means, and strengthening the domestic supply chain are just some examples,” Ms Wawn concluded.

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