Housing minister, roundtable keen to take red pen to 3000-page building code
As the government scrambles to meet its housing targets, Housing Minister Clare O'Neil briefed the productivity roundtable on day two and won support for simplifying the National Construction Code. She described the code as 'ridiculous' in its complexity to this masthead last week.
Attendees agreed on the need to pause any additions to the code, according to business lobbyists Innes Willox and Andrew Mackellar. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher confirmed the roundtable was discussing the idea of totally rewriting the code.
Federal officials in charge of the construction rules are currently weighing up a suite of additions to the code in a triennial review, but the government could hit pause on any such changes.
The government's is estimated to be 260,000 dwellings short of its target of building 1.2 million homes by the end of the decade, spurring demands to simplify building standards.
The move, aimed at reducing the time it takes to build a home, mirrors a policy taken to the last election by the Peter Dutton-led opposition that Labor claimed at the time would lead to poorer quality homes.
Boosting housing supply was a key debate during the last election when the opposition promised a $5 billion fund for the roads, sewerage and power needed for new housing developments, while Labor said it would pay for first home buyers' 5 per cent deposits.
Another regulation that O'Neil and builders argue has proved a roadblock for construction is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Labor failed to streamline the act last term, but roundtable participants lent their support to simplifying the green laws to speed up the building of housing and energy facilities.
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