Australia is falling short of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s goal to build 1.2 million homes by mid-2029, with only 355,817 dwellings completed in the first two years since the National Housing Accord was initiated in July 2024. The country needs to build approximately 70,000 new homes per quarter but has been building fewer than that recently. While housing starts increased by seven percent in the latest quarter, industry groups predict a shortfall of up to 262,000 homes due to rising interest rates and changes in property investor tax breaks, making it unlikely for Albanese’s target to be met.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Anthony Albanese's government is facing criticism over its National Housing Accord, which aims to build 1.2 million homes across Australia within five years. Despite the target being set in July 2024, the country has only completed 355,817 dwellings by the end of June 2026, falling short of the required pace. Industry experts warn that this ambitious goal is unlikely to be met, potentially adding another broken promise to Albanese's list. In the most recent quarter ending in June, Australia built 47,168 homes, a slight improvement from the previous quarter but still below the needed rate of approximately 70,000 per quarter. Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Housing Minister Clare O'Neil acknowledged these numbers as encouraging yet noted that more work remains to be done, highlighting the ongoing challenge in addressing Australia's housing crisis.
Written for “Australian Housing Crisis Promises” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 62565: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-07
Australia's goal of building 1.2 million homes in five years has fallen further out of reach, despite the housing pipeline swelling to a record high.
asserted
pipeline → build → high
The nation completed 355,817 dwellings in the first two years of Anthony Albanese's National Housing Accord, which was started in July 2024 to fix the country's housing shortage.
asserted
which → complete → shortage
By the end of June 2026, Australia needed to have built 480,000 new homes to be on track to hit the target by mid-2029, meaning the sector is short 124,183 homes.
asserted
sector → need → mid-2029
Industry groups have warned the target is very unlikely to be met and will be relegated to the PMs list of broken promises, along with changes to the tax system he previously vowed not to introduce before backflipping.
asserted
he → warn → backflipping
The industry is picking up pace, at least.
asserted
industry → pick → pace
The Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday reported 47,168 homes were built in the June quarter.
asserted
homes → report → quarter
While that's below the required run rate of about 70,000, it's better than the 44,592 dwellings completed in the three months ended March.
asserted
it → require → months
The total number of dwellings commenced in the quarter also rose.
asserted
number → commence → quarter
New housing starts were up seven per cent to 52,201, driven by an 11.6 per cent jump in detached houses, while apartments and townhouses were basically unchanged.
asserted
apartments → drive → houses
Total dwellings under construction climbed to 248,733 - the highest number on record.
asserted
dwellings → climb → record
Anthony Albanese is pictured on the beach at a pre-COP31 meeting in Fiji this week
Australia new house build numbers are rising, but won't hit the National Housing Accord target of 1.2million homes in five years
Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Housing Minister Clare O'Neil said the strengthening building activity figures contrasted with falling commencements and completions when Labor came to office in 2022.
'These are encouraging numbers but we know they can bounce around from quarter to quarter and that there's more work to do,' they said in a statement.
asserted
they → picture → statement
But falling house prices, driven by rising interest rates and changes to property investor tax breaks, would likely cause growth in dwelling investment to soften, CBA associate economist Lucinda Jerogin said.
asserted
Jerogin → fall → investment
Master Builders Australia forecasts Australia would fall short of the housing accord target by 262,000 homes.
asserted
Australia → forecast → homes
More recent housing indicators suggested conditions had deteriorated since the end of June and the outlook for new projects was becoming increasingly challenging, Master Builders chief executive Denita Wawn said.
'Recent policy decisions have been death by a thousand cuts for small building businesses at exactly the time Australia needs them delivering more homes and critical infrastructure,' she said.
uncertain
she → suggest → homes
Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn told ABC radio he did not expect the housing market to bottom out until well into 2027.
asserted
market → tell → 2027
With data centre investment also fuelling a surge in non-residential construction, the total value of work done climbed to $45.8 billion in the quarter - 10 per cent higher than the June quarter 2025.
asserted
value → fuel → quarter
Australia's already strained construction industry is also now dealing with demand for data centres that will sap labour and material resources away from house builds (pictured is a Lane Cove proposed data centre that would become the sixth one there if approved)
asserted
that → strain → builds
The data centre project pipeline grew by 20.1 per cent in the June quarter, following a 62.6 per cent surge in the first quarter, Ms Jerogin said.
asserted
Jerogin → grow → quarter
'(It) places the pipeline at almost four times its size compared to a year ago.
asserted
It → place → size
The data centre building pipeline is now more than twice as large as that of office buildings,' she said
'
asserted
she → say → buildings
As a share of GDP, data centre projects have risen from just 0.4 per cent two years ago to now account for 2.5 per cent.
asserted
projects → rise → cent
'
Combined with purchases of IT equipment to fit out the data centres - which is a much larger share of total investment - the total feasible pipeline is estimated to be about $220 billion.
But the data centre build-out has heightened competition for in-demand construction workers and made it harder for home builders to find the skills they need.
asserted
they → combine → skills
The Housing Industry Association and the National Electrical and Communications Association recently warned data centres were placing unprecedented pressure on an stretched construction workforce.
asserted
centres → warn → workforce
They called on the government to increase investment in apprenticeships and accelerate skilled migration pathways for priority occupations.
asserted
They → call → occupations
The federal coalition announced on Tuesday it would lift Australia's skilled migrant intake and prioritise construction trades, while slashing the overall stock of temporary migrants by 650,000 over four years, if it won the next election.
asserted
it → announce → election
The Aporia
