Australia’s housing approval numbers have taken a welcome step forward, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Over the 12 months to March 2025, more than 180,000 new homes were approved—a clear recovery from the prior year’s low, and a trend in the right direction welcomed by the sector.
With the re-election of the Albanese government, the National Housing Accord target of 1.2 million new homes over five years remains in place, requiring an average of 240,000 housing approvals annually starting July 1, 2024.
While the national trajectory is improving, performance varies significantly across states. Western Australia is leading, with housing approvals up 46% year-on-year in the 12 months to March 2025.
In contrast, New South Wales continues to underperform. Tom Forrest (pictured left), CEO of Urban Taskforce Australia, pointed to delays in planning reform as a core issue.
“NSW is the state dragging the chain on housing approvals,” Forrest said. “NSW has gone backwards, reflecting the time the planning system wasted with minor tinkering before Premier Chris Minns and Minister Scully announced the new Housing Delivery Authority in December 2024.”
March did bring a modest improvement, with 4,032 homes approved—up from February’s low—but still far from the 6,250 monthly approvals needed to meet the National Housing Accord target.
Katie Stevenson (pictured right), NSW executive director at the Property Council of Australia, welcomed the rise but cautioned against premature optimism.
“It’s encouraging to see approvals lift, but this is still well below the 6,250 homes we need to be approving on average each month of the five-year National Housing Accord,” Stevenson said.
In the first quarter of 2025, NSW approved just 13,503 homes, putting the state on pace to fall over 20,000 homes short of its annual goal.
The latest figures follow concerning data on completions and commencements.
In 2024, only 45,552 homes were delivered in NSW, with housing starts down nearly 10% year-on-year.
Stevenson said the current system still poses significant barriers to timely housing delivery.
“We’ve seen encouraging reform from the government, but this is a long game – and the system is still too slow, too expensive and too unpredictable for many projects to get off the ground,” she said.
With the NSW state budget approaching, the Property Council is urging the government to convert reform efforts into action. Stevenson outlined several critical measures.
“We’re calling for permanent fast-track pathways for large-scale housing projects, more funding to support timely development assessments, and continued investment in local infrastructure to unlock development-ready land,” she said.
“Unless we shift from announcements to delivery – and make housing feasible again – NSW will keep falling short of its housing goals.”
The NSW Housing Summit 2025, hosted by the Property Council on June 12, will bring together Planning Minister Paul Scully, Housing Minister Rose Jackson, and industry leaders to discuss pathways to meet housing supply targets.
More details: NSW Housing Summit 2025
