PCA CEO urges for housing action at Senate hearing

He offered vehement support for several federal government housing promises, including advocating for the passage of the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF), which aims to build 30,000 social and affordable homes in its first five years, and the National Housing Affordability and Supply Council.

An interim board for the Council, tasked with operating until it was ratified in legislation, was announced at the end of last year.

Mr Zorbas insisted any federal government action on housing, including the National Housing Accord announced by Federal treasurer Jim Chalmers in last year’s budget, “will only meet its aims if we address the growing national deficit of properly zoned land for housing.”

He noted Australia’s “more than 160,000 homes behind the national starting line over the next day,” though he acknowledged the data, provided by the government, was “conservative.”

“The slowness and costliness of state planning systems in producing new homes, and property assets of any kind adds significantly to the upwards cost pressure on housing across the spectrum, whether to buy, to rent, or key worker or social housing,” he said.

Moreover, he explained Australia will fall short of addressing the housing gap unless a level investment playing field for build-to-rent (BTR) housing, which has attracted $3.5 billion in investment since 2021, purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), and retirement living communities are unlocked.

Mr Zorbas believes the current “30 per cent Australian government withholding tax rate on overseas investment by pension and public and private funds in build-to-rent housing, double the rate of tax on other property types like offices and logistics assets,” is untenable and needs alteration.

He suggested a “15 per cent managed investment trust (MIT) withholding tax rate would be comparable with the rate paid by our domestic superfunds who invest in [the] US, UK, and Canadian real estate markets.”

In his estimation, the government should swiftly legislate the HAFF in order to build on the good research and housing initiatives of the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation.

“We’ve consistently supported the expertise of the incoming National Housing Supply and Affordability Council,” he said.

“We hope this will be the body that initiates an annual housing scorecard and incentive framework to improve planning and housing targets and delivery for each state and territory,” Mr Zorbas concluded.