Sadly, the state of debate on housing remains dismal. Politicians have been repeatedly called out for peddling policies that exacerbate the problem, driven by short-term electoral gain.
The OECD has 22 recommended policies to make housing more efficient, more inclusive and more sustainable. ⭐ items are the remit of the state government. Governments have run out of excuses.
1. Taxation
- Mortgage interest deductibility: Reforming or removing these tax breaks to reduce distortions in housing demand.
- Transaction taxes: Evaluating taxes on property transfers which can hinder residential mobility.
- ⭐ Lower or abolish stamp duty
- Carbon taxes: Implementing taxes on carbon to encourage energy-efficient housing.
- Split land and building taxes: Using different tax rates for land versus improvements to incentivise efficient land use.
- ⭐ Revisit the state schedule of Land taxes and check the impact of Council rates
2. Spending
- Social housing: Investing in and managing public or non-profit housing for low-income groups.
- ⭐ Stop undermining public housing and invest. The Federal Government has provided funding here, Victoria has no excuse not to deliver
- Subsidies: Providing financial support for housing construction or renovation.
- ⭐ Stamp duty concessions, First Home Owners Grant, and benefits for sustainability features
- Housing allowances: Targeted financial assistance to help vulnerable households afford rent.
3. Regulation
- Loan-to-value (LTV) caps: Limiting the size of a mortgage relative to the property’s value to ensure financial stability.
- Banking regulation: Oversight of financial institutions to manage housing market risks.
- Rent control: Regulating rent increases to protect tenants, while balancing supply incentives.
- ⭐ Victoria is second only to ACT in renters rights
- Landlord-tenant regulation: Balancing the legal rights and responsibilities of both parties.
- ⭐ Victoria is second only to ACT in renters rights
- Building codes: Setting standards for safety, quality, and energy efficiency.
- ⭐ Australia has a highly regulated sector where the balance between quality and price is a significant tension
- Benchmarking: Comparing housing performance metrics across different regions or countries.
- ⭐ The state government should do more to publish transparent rental prices to benefit the consumer, not drive the industry per Realestate.com.au, Domain, Core Logic, etc.
4. Urban Planning
- Urban development: Strategic planning for city growth and renewal.
- ⭐ Love it or loathe it, the Activity Centre framework is designed to deliver more housing.
- Build heights: Regulating the height of buildings to manage density and light.
- ⭐ Controversial but highly regulated
- Development rights: Managing the legal rights to build on specific parcels of land.
- ⭐ Highly regulated under existing frameworks
- Public land: Utilising government-owned land for housing objectives.
- ⭐ Massive public policy fail both Federally and State in achieving targeted objectives, although pretty much 100% of public land sales end up privately developed and owned dwellings
- Land-use governance: Streamlining how land use is planned and regulated across government levels.
- ⭐ Highly regulated under existing frameworks. The degree and cost of this regulation have led to widespread cut in requirements.
- Vehicle access: Planning how cars and other vehicles interact with residential areas.
- ⭐ Highly regulated under existing frameworks
- Road pricing: Using fees to manage traffic congestion and its impact on housing locations.
- ⭐ Under-explored in Australia’s wide open spaces
- Public transport: Integrating housing with transit networks to reduce car dependency.
- ⭐ Another huge policy fail between housing and transport planning
- Alternative fuels: Supporting the infrastructure for low-emission energy in residential planning.
- ⭐ Local councils have done the heavy lifting here using car parks and street parks for vehicle share and “free” charging stations. Nationally the RACV and it’s allied organisations are leading with ChargeFox
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/chris-richardson-bad-policy-refuse-to-die-20250930-p5mz11
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-15/housing-policy-election-supply-labor-liberal/105176200
Mel Yuan for Brunswick 
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