“ABS data has again shown a collapse in housing approvals in December 2025. Today, governments are approving fewer homes than they were a decade ago, despite Australia’s population being 15 per cent higher, underlining the failure of the National Housing Accord,” said Dr Kevin You, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs.
Today, new Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Building Approvals data for the month of December 2025 reveal:
- Between November and December 2025, housing approvals declined by roughly 15 per cent, from 18,255 to 15,542.
- This was 4,458 fewer than the minimum monthly target of 20,000 homes needed to meet the National Housing Accord’s objective of building 1.2 million new well-located homes between July 2024 and June 2029.
- Only 287,173 housing units have been approved since July 2024, which is approximately 20 per cent below the 360,000 minimum required for the Accord to be on track as of December 2025 (a cumulative shortfall of 72,827 housing units).
- In 2025, housing approvals for the calendar year totalled 194,971.
- This was 19 per cent fewer than the number of approvals granted ten years ago in 2015, despite Australia’s population having increased by more than 15 per cent over the last decade.
“The National Housing Accord is one of the greatest policy failures of the past 25 years. At a time when demand for housing has been ramped up off the back of the rapid, mass migration-fuelled population increase, not enough has been done by governments to help lift supply,” Dr You said.
Annual housing approvals by calendar year
“Onerous and over the top energy efficiency regulations, as well as environmental red tape are exacerbating Australia’s housing crisis from the supply side, while mass migration is directly adding demand-side pressures on the housing market. Combined, they create a perfect storm of housing unaffordability in Australia,” Dr You said.
Cumulative housing approval shortfalls to the National Housing Accord target
“Despite being in operation for just 18 months, the National Housing Accord’s approvals deficit has exceeded 72,000 homes. And homes that have received approvals are taking longer and becoming more expensive to build,” Dr You said.
“It is clear that the federal housing minister is incapable of resuscitating this failing program and should be sacked. But at the end of the day the Prime Minister has no one to blame but himself as he has broken his promise on new homes, while presiding over an out-of-control mass migration program.”
To download previous IPA research click here.
