News
19 October, 2025
Calls for action on regional housing
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has called for a dedicated housing strategy to address the growing needs of regional Australia, warning that current policies are too focused on metropolitan areas.
Speaking at the HIA Regional Housing Roundtable in Bendigo, Victoria, HIA Chief Executive of Industry and Policy Simon Croft said that housing policies must better reflect the realities and opportunities of regional life. “Housing policies need to deliver for regional Australia and not just be an adjunct of inner-city policies set in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra,” he said.
The HIA released a 20-point blueprint aimed at guiding policymakers in tackling housing challenges and supporting population growth outside major cities. The report, ‘Housing the Regions’, seeks to spark national discussion on how to ease pressure on capital city housing markets by investing in regional areas.
Mr Croft highlighted that 8.5 million people now live in regional Australia. Rising house prices and cost-of-living pressures are driving many to consider regional areas for the lifestyle and employment opportunities they offer, without the challenges of big-city living.
He identified several key obstacles to regional housing development, including limited access to build-ready land, insufficient investment in enabling infrastructure for new housing estates, and worker shortages in essential construction roles—from onsite trades to regional council staff handling planning approvals. Environmental approvals were also noted as a major challenge.
“Builders are acutely aware of the massive pent-up demand for new housing in these areas. They need the systems around them that facilitate delivery of more homes working for them – currently the opposite is true,” Mr Croft concluded.
