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Several key housing policy functions have been reallocated and now fall under a single portfolio within the federal government.
Responsibility for housing policy has shifted to the Treasury portfolio, with several key functions related to housing also moving as part of the federal government’s administrative arrangement order (AAO).
Issued 13 May 2025, the AAO formally allocates executive responsibility among the elected minister, outlining the department or portfolio responsible for certain matters and legislative applications.
Under the new order, housing, rental, and homelessness policy have become a matter for the Treasury, headed by federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers, having previously been in the Social Services portfolio.
Land and planning policy as well as city and urban policy now also fall under the Treasury’s remit, according to the order, having been transferred from the portfolio for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts (ITRDCSA).
The order also sees construction industry policy and regulation shift from the Industry, Science and Resources portfolio to Treasury.
‘Long overdue step forward’: HIA
Advocacy body the Housing Industry Association (HIA) welcomed the federal government’s announcement, with managing director Jocelyn Martin describing it as a “significant and long overdue step forward to deliver a nationally coordinated approach to housing”.
“The decision to put housing, infrastructure, planning, industry policy and the ABCB under the Treasury portfolio is a move the housing industry has long advocated for,” Martin said.
“It’s HIA’s strong belief this action will help cut red tape, lift productivity and ultimately improve housing outcomes for Australians by removing the current siloed and disjointed approach to addressing the major impediments to greater housing supply.”
Martin also said this reallocation would enable the government to take a “genuinely integrated view” across planning, financing, infrastructure, and building regulation.
“With one million homes needing to be delivered in the next five years, we don’t have time to waste. Creating the correct policy machinery is the first step and HIA also calls for housing productivity to be a first-order priority for the strengthened housing super portfolio,” Martin said.
“We urge the government to act swiftly on the recommendations of the Productivity Commission’s ‘Can we fix it?’ report. It provides a clear roadmap to boost productivity and reduce delays in the delivery of new homes.”
Where responsibility for housing policy should sit has been a point of contention in recent debates on housing affordability and accessibility.
A recent report from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) – Fine-tuning the machine: Evaluating machinery of government for housing policy administration – found that having responsibility for smaller aspects of housing policy spread across multiple departments and agencies made housing vulnerable to government changes, “often causing service disruptions and reduced policy capacity”.
The research institute also recommended the need for central co-ordination to effectively address the main housing issues.
“This can be difficult in today’s environment of networked providers partnering across public, private and not-for-profit sectors,” the report said.
“A Cabinet-level Department of Housing with a Cabinet-level Minister is the best way to advance public policy objectives. This will ensure housing gets the resources needed to address urgent issues.”
Housing affordability and accessibility continue to be an issue, with research released last week showing the supply of new homes was around its lowest point in a decade in 2024.
[Related: Housing crisis deepens amid affordability woes and supply shortfall]
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