The ACT has fallen more than 2000 homes short of targets in the first year of the National Housing Accord, according to the latest building activity data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

“We now know that the ACT has fallen well short of its target during the Housing Accord’s first year, delivering only 2077 new homes. This is less than half of what we need to build to stay on track with the accord,” said Master Builders ACT CEO, Anna Neelagama.

“It is difficult to see how the ACT Labor government’s even more ambitious target is anything more than a pipe dream on these figures,” said Neelagama.

“The building and construction industry is ready to deliver, however government needs to hand them the tools to lift productivity.”

The Housing Accord set a national target of 240,000 new homes every year, to ensure the construction of 1.2 million over the next five years. The ACT share of the national target was 21,000 homes by 2028-29, which equates to 4200 homes a year, when the ACT government signed on to the accord.

“This significant shortfall means we now need to deliver an average of 4738 new homes per year over the remaining four years of the Accord. This is a much higher bar than before,” said Neelagama.

“New home building finished 2024-25 on a weak note, with only 568 commencements in the ACT in the June 2025 quarter, a 53.8 per cent decline compared with the previous year.”

“It was encouraging to see an increase of 29.4 per cent compared with the March 2025 quarter, but there’s a long way to go before we catch up,” said Ms Neelagama.

“We continue to call on the ACT government to fast-track reforms that cut red tape and boost housing supply, instead of introducing additional regulation that will not improve building quality.”

“Canberra is continuing to grow, and we will not be able to meet the ACT government’s ambitious housing targets or infrastructure program without investment in construction sector productivity.

“Accelerating approvals, streamlining regulation, addressing skill shortages, and supporting private investment will give local industry the certainty to get projects moving.”