English News Brief
Summary
The Australian building industry is experiencing a rise in home approvals and sales, signaling potential recovery. However, significant challenges including planning delays, severe skilled labor shortages, and rising land prices are hindering the sector’s ability to meet the national target of 1.2 million new homes in five years.
Key Points
- Positive Indicators: A 12% rise in dwelling approvals (September) and a 20% increase in new home sales compared to last year.
- Major Obstacles:
- Skilled Labor Shortage: Critical shortages of bricklayers, tilers, carpenters, and roofers. A decline in apprenticeships exacerbates the problem. Workforce shortages are identified as a key inflationary pressure.
- Land Crisis: Rapidly increasing land prices make many potential housing projects financially unviable.
- Planning Delays: Complex and inconsistent planning rules across different councils slow down development.
- Proposed Solutions:
- Planning Reforms: Relaxing density controls to allow more mid-rise housing, especially near transit hubs. Recent reforms in NSW and Victoria could unlock millions of potential new homes.
- Workforce Investment: Increased funding for TAFE, training, and incentives for employers to hire apprentices. Tapping into the underutilized female workforce is also highlighted.
- Regulatory Simplification: Advocating for “one house, one approval” to reduce duplication and a pause on changes to the National Construction Code to provide certainty.
- National Target: Only 176,000 homes were built in the first year of the National Housing Accord, leaving one million more to be completed by mid-2029 to reach the goal.
中文新闻简报
总结
澳大利亚建筑行业正经历住房审批和销售的增长，显示出复苏的迹象。然而，规划审批延迟、严重的熟练劳动力短缺以及不断上涨的土地价格等重大挑战，阻碍了该行业实现五年内建造120万套新住房的国家目标。
关键点
- 积极指标：住房审批量增长12%（9月份），新房销售量较去年同期增长20%。
- 主要障碍：
- 熟练劳动力短缺：砌砖工、瓷砖工、木工和屋顶工严重短缺。学徒数量下降加剧了这一问题。劳动力短缺被确定为关键的通胀压力来源。
- 土地危机：土地价格快速上涨，使得许多潜在的住房项目在经济上不可行。
- 规划审批延迟：不同地方政府的规划规则复杂且不一致，拖慢了开发进度。
- 建议解决方案：
- 规划改革：放宽密度控制，允许建造更多中层住房，特别是在交通枢纽附近。新南威尔士州和维多利亚州近期的改革可能释放数百万套潜在新房。
- 劳动力投资：增加对TAFE（职业技术教育学院）和培训的资助，激励雇主雇佣学徒。充分利用未充分开发的女性劳动力也被强调。
- 法规简化：倡导”一房一审批”以减少重复审批，并暂停对国家建筑规范的修改以提供确定性。
- 国家目标：《国家住房协议》第一年仅建造了17.6万套住房，这意味着到2029年中期还需完成100万套才能实现目标。
Original Article Link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-06/builders-how-to-solve-housing-crisis-construction-industry/105950578