Housing Delivery in Australia: Why Targets Fail Before the First Brick Is Laid
Australia’s housing delivery system is under real strain. Despite bold federal commitments to build 1.2 million new homes, approvals and commencements are falling fast — revealing a deeper problem in housing delivery across Australia.
This article explores why housing targets continue to fail, where supply leaks out of the system, and how connected visibility could help turn planning promises into real homes on the ground.
Australia’s Housing Delivery Problem Starts Before Construction
The Federal Government’s goal of 1.2 million new homes by 2029 is ambitious — but the delivery pipeline is already faltering.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, dwelling approvals fell 6% in August 2025, following an 8.2% drop in July. Apartment and townhouse approvals fell fastest.
Tasmania, for example, approved just 2,339 homes in the past year — its lowest level since 2014 (Herald Sun).
These numbers reveal that the housing delivery system in Australia is struggling well before construction begins.
“Supply isn’t a static target — it’s a process,” says Toby Loft, Co-Founder of BuiltGrid.
“Every delay, every approval backlog, every missing supplier is a leak in the delivery pipeline.”
The Leaky Pipeline: Where Housing Supply Disappears
Each housing project passes through the same four stages:
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Policy and Funding – targets and grants create intent.
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Planning and Approvals – developments queue for assessment.
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Commencements – only a portion actually start construction.
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Completions – fewer still reach handover on time and budget.
At every stage, projects are lost to friction. The approval-to-delivery yield keeps shrinking, and housing delivery efficiency in Australia continues to decline.
The Productivity Commission found that housing construction productivity has fallen by over 50% in 30 years — meaning we now build half as many homes per labour hour as in the 1990s.
Approvals Aren’t Outcomes — Delivery Is What Matters
Approvals are easy to count but don’t measure outcomes.
Without visibility into how approvals convert into starts and completions, Australia’s governments are essentially flying blind.
Infrastructure readiness, workforce shortages, and supply chain delays all undermine the system’s housing delivery performance.
“Approvals are a promise, not a product,” says Loft.
“We need to track how long it takes from approval to site start, where delays occur, and how many projects actually finish.”
What Other Countries Get Right About Housing Delivery
Other nations are rethinking how they measure and manage housing delivery:
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Singapore’s CORENET X digitises design and approval workflows.
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The UK’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority publishes quarterly delivery performance data.
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New Zealand’s Construction Pipeline Report forecasts real completions, not just approvals.
Australia’s fragmented planning ecosystem — 537 different authorities using inconsistent systems — makes this level of insight impossible.
That’s why improving digital visibility in housing delivery is essential to hitting national targets.
Australia’s Housing Delivery Deficit by the Numbers
| Metric | 1994 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes completed per labour hour | 1.00 | 0.47 | ▼ 53 % |
| Average build time (detached) | 8.5 months | 12.7 months | ▲ 49 % |
| Cost per m² (real terms) | 100 | 138 | ▲ 38 % |
| Projects commencing post-approval | ≈ 80 % | ≈ 60 % | ▼ 20 pts |
Source: Productivity Commission 2025; ABS Building Activity Data
Why Visibility Matters in Australia’s Housing Delivery System
The problem isn’t just capital or policy — it’s the lack of connected visibility.
When builders, suppliers, and regulators can’t see the same data, projects slow down or stop altogether.
That’s why BuiltGrid’s Connected Procurement platform links builders, trades, and suppliers in a single workflow — giving every stakeholder real-time insight into the status of projects, materials, and compliance.
“You can’t manage what you can’t see,” Loft adds.
“If we had live visibility from approval to completion, we’d fix bottlenecks before they become systemic.”
Fixing the Delivery Deficit: From Policy Promise to Project Reality
Australia’s housing challenge isn’t just about numbers — it’s about measurement.
To fix housing delivery in Australia, we need to:
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Measure throughput — track homes per labour-hour and approval-to-start time.
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Digitise workflows — connect councils, builders, and suppliers.
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Share data — create a national delivery index visible to all.
“Housing targets don’t fail in the budget papers,” Loft says.
“They fail in the blind spots between approval and delivery.”
The Way Forward: From Visibility to Velocity
To meet the 1.2 million-home target, Australia must rebuild productivity from the ground up:
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Measure throughput — Homes per labour-hour, approval-to-start time, completion variance.
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Digitise the workflow — Connect councils, builders, suppliers, and regulators in real time.
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Share the data — Create a national delivery index showing progress by region and typology.
Because you can’t accelerate what you can’t see.
So, what next?
Australia doesn’t just need more homes — it needs a system that can deliver them.
See how BuiltGrid helps builders, suppliers, and policymakers close the delivery gap through connected procurement, real-time visibility, and measurable productivity.