The residential building industry has claimed it is heading into a recession, and has warned the government to act to stave off job losses.
The Housing Industry Association's managing director Shane Goodwin has made the claim at the group's National Policy Congress. He called on the government to halt the "spectre of even further declines".
"The Australian housing industry is facing its worst conditions in decades. New home building has collapsed and jobs are being shed right across the country," Goodwin said.
Goodwin commented that the home building industry had suffered eight years of declining activity, placing it on the "brink of recession".
"What the Australian economy needs now is a revitalisation of the housing industry through tax relief and an injection of investment and funding into the new housing sector. Such an injection will provide a profound economic dividend to the broader economy," he said.
Goodwin warned that, should the housing industry enter recession, it could drag the rest of the Australian economy with it.