Just over 2000 new dwellings have been approved by the ACT Government for the 2024-25 financial year. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
The Property Council ACT has slammed the Territory’s building approvals rate, with ABS data showing the government is still far behind what’s needed to meet the National Housing Accord.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) building approvals data showed 107 new dwellings were approved in the ACT for May.
Property Council ACT & Capital Region executive director Ashlee Berry said, with only June’s numbers left to be released, the total approvals for 2024-25 sat at 2036.
“The last time annual approvals fell this low was in 2005-06, the alarm bells should be deafening,” she said.
“We are looking down the barrel of a serious housing pipeline problem.
“Approvals are falling off a cliff, projects are being shelved and we’re on track for the lowest housing delivery in 20 years.”
About 350 approvals are needed each month to meet the ACT’s National Housing Accord target.
Ms Berry said the ACT had the right ingredients on the table but confidence was being undermined.
The latest Property Council/Procore quarterly snapshot showed overall confidence in the economy had declined from +120 to +111, but remained the highest in the country.
Staffing and forward work expectations dropped while debt finance availability and residential capital growth expectations both rose.
Overall confidence in the ACT’s ability to manage growth fell, from -28 to -32, the lowest score recorded across any jurisdiction.
Ms Berry said this revealed growing strain within the system, despite continued optimism about the ACT economy and market fundamentals.
“This is a capable, solutions-focused industry. But the planning system isn’t keeping pace and the cost of getting projects to market is making delivery harder,” she said.
“There’s strong demand for housing and investment – but our pipeline is shrinking. When costs go up and planning delays persist, it becomes harder for projects to stack up.
“The ACT Government made the right calls on zoning and housing diversity, but delivery still lags. A Housing Delivery Taskforce, styled on the successful NSW model, would be a smart next step to turn approvals into homes.”
The Canberra Liberals pointed out the 2036 dwellings approved thus far this financial year was in stark contrast to 4547 building approvals for 2023-24.
Opposition leader Leanne Castley described the comparison as “appalling”.
“In the pre-Budget good-news stories, Labor tried to convince people they had a plan to help deal with the housing crisis through more approvals,” she said.
“But now the Budget has dropped, it was nothing more than a cynical ploy to garner good news and distract from their ‘health tax’, their payroll tax hikes and the other range of tax hikes that will make the challenge of meeting household costs even worse.”
An ACT Government spokesperson defended the number of homes being approved, stating the number of development applications made by the construction industry was driven by market factors such as the cost of materials and interest rates.
“The ACT Government is making significant planning reforms to support more housing and releasing land for around 26,000 homes over the next five years, but ultimately it is the market that will determine the number of approvals put forward,” they said.
“The ACT Territory Planning Authority assessed 85 per cent of development applications on time in May 2025, with 235 DAs currently active.”
The ABS numbers came as the ACT Government and Commonwealth finalised funding for the latest round of Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) funding.
The money will go towards building an additional 85 homes for social housing in the Inner North, Inner South and Gungahlin areas.
Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry said these extra homes would have a “huge impact”.
“It means more Canberrans will have a safe and secure place to call home,” she said.
“These homes contribute to our local commitment to deliver 5000 additional public, community and affordable rental homes by the end of 2030.”
