Queensland has to finish 50,000 homes every year until 2044 to land the LNP government’s promise of one million new homes, and it isn’t close yet. Builders completed 34,627 homes in the state in the last financial year, a gap of more than 15,000 on the required run rate, while Master Builders Queensland says the state is roughly 20,000 workers short of the trade labour needed to build at that pace.
The numbers came out as the government marked two years in office, in a report by ABC News that balanced the government’s construction figures against industry and community reaction. The government has pointed to a 35 per cent rise in the rate of homes under construction in Queensland, and Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing more than 52,500 homes under construction in the June quarter.
Premier David Crisafulli called four straight quarters of growth “real momentum”, but warned that was a “buttress” and said he expects the sector to “come off the boil” because of the federal government’s housing tax changes.
The workforce is the bottleneck, not the paperwork
Master Builders Queensland deputy chief executive Michael Hopkins put the labour shortfall at the top of the list, not land or approvals.
“There are certainly lots of headwinds and lots of challenges facing the local industry at the moment,” he said.
“Finding all the skilled tradies we need to build the 50,000 homes has got to be at the top of the list at the moment.”
Hopkins said “more emphasis” was needed on attracting skilled tradies into Queensland and training up apprentices, whose pay rates rise each year of the apprenticeship. He described the target as “bold” and said government and industry had to work together on supply.
“To sustain that every year for the next 20 years is a big target,” he said. “It is the only thing that is going to turn around this housing crisis by getting that supply out of the ground.”
“It is the only thing that is going to turn around this housing crisis by getting that supply out of the ground.”
For anyone running a small crew, that 20,000-worker figure is the number that matters more than the one million headline. A shortage that size is what sits behind the subbie you can’t get back on site for three weeks, the frame-and-truss date that slides, and the rates a carpentry or plumbing contractor can hold out for. It also cuts the other way: if the premier is right and the sector comes off the boil, the order book thins before the labour pool fills.
52,500 under construction, and what that means for your diary
The ABS count of homes under construction is the useful one for planning work, because those jobs already have a slab or a frame attached to them. Almost 60,300 homes have been finished in Queensland since the December 2024 quarter, ABS building activity data shows, which gives a rough sense of how fast that pipeline is clearing.
Social and affordable housing is the slice with the clearest forward work. The government says 4,913 social and affordable homes have been delivered in its two years, with another 6,574 underway, inside a target of 53,500 by 2044.
Housing Minister Sam O’Connor isn’t shifting the target despite the federal tax changes, which he said had “shattered confidence” in the construction sector.
“It’s an ambitious target, but we are sticking by it, and it is what Queenslanders expect,” he said.
Banyo: 450 homes on a vacant Energex site
The sharp end of all this is a 6.4-hectare former Energex block at Banyo in Brisbane’s north, vacant for more than a decade. It’s slated for 207 townhouses, 64 affordable housing units and a 180-bed residential aged care facility, with construction expected to start next year.
It’s a job with two very different work packages on the one site. Townhouse product at that volume runs on repetition, the same slab, frame and roof sequence rolled out block by block, which suits a small crew that can lock in a rhythm and stay on site for a long stretch. The aged care building is a commercial ticket with a different trade mix and a different contract chain behind it.
Resident Kim Weston has moved three times within Banyo over 10 years and is leaving the suburb for good before the development goes up. She told the ABC the government’s approach had been a “failure” because it is “not listening” to community concerns, and said she doesn’t oppose development, just the fit of the plans for the site.
“I know that people need housing, but build according to the site,” she said.
The project sits under the state’s land activation program, run by Economic Development Queensland, which can fast-track developments. An EDQ spokesperson said it ran a “robust community engagement process” using a letterbox drop, email and social media so residents could have their say.
O’Connor said the land had been earmarked for housing for a long time.
“It is something we will not apologise for because there should be housing in locations like that,” he said.
“It is very close to public transport, it’s very close to services, it is very close to everything that people need for a great life.”
Affordable housing mandates: scrapped, and contested
Queensland Council of Social Service chief executive Aimee McVeigh called the government’s social housing ambition “commendable” but said a “broader vision” was needed, pointing to rising renter numbers and the decision to drop affordable housing mandates in priority developments.
“Across the board, we need to make sure we have housing that meets the needs of all Queenslanders,” she said.
“We would call on the government to reintroduce targets for affordable housing in priority development areas.”
O’Connor said the mandates were scrapped after industry feedback that they made some developments unviable.
“It’s a choice between mandates that could kill a project or getting homes out of the ground,” he said.
McVeigh said a “laser focus” on social housing would still only reach a small part of the community, because eligibility criteria haven’t changed in two decades. Almost 42,000 active households were on the social housing register at the end of August. O’Connor said he had been “really up-front” that eligibility changes aren’t on the agenda.
“While we have so many people waiting for social housing, that’s not something we can consider,” he said.
The number to watch over the next few quarters is dwellings under construction, not dwellings approved. Approvals tell you what might happen; commencements tell you when the concrete truck is booked. If that figure holds near 52,500 through the next ABS releases, the apprentice you put on this year has work in front of them. If it turns the way the premier expects, the hiring decision gets harder before the 20,000-worker gap gets any smaller.
Frequently asked questions
How far behind is Queensland on its one million homes target?
Builders completed 34,627 homes in the last financial year, more than 15,000 short of the 50,000-a-year pace needed to reach one million homes by 2044.
Why is Queensland struggling to build enough homes?
Master Builders Queensland says the state is about 20,000 trade workers short of what’s needed, with deputy chief executive Michael Hopkins calling it the industry’s top problem.
What happened to Queensland’s affordable housing mandates?
The government scrapped mandates requiring affordable housing in priority development areas after industry said they made some projects unviable, a decision the Queensland Council of Social Service has urged it to reverse.
Sourced from ABC News, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Original article.
