Master Builders Victoria calling for major reforms to tender processes and state taxes in State Budget submission to stimulate building
Major changes to tender processes and property taxes are critical to delivering significant increases in social and affordable housing, according to Master Builders Victoria’s (MBV) 2025 State Pre-Budget submission.
MBV argues that despite a number of recent, positive Government initiatives aimed at improving the regulatory environment and enhancing industry practices, persistent challenges remain which continue to impact the industry’s capacity to meet demand.
MBV CEO Michaela Lihou says if Victoria is to meet the Government’s target of building 80,000 new homes annually, more changes are required to enable the industry to deliver on that target.
“As a signatory to the Victorian Affordability Partnership, we remain committed to supporting that target, but we clearly need to do more to make it a reality,” she says.
“We believe now is the time to do more to incentivise private investment, alongside State investment, to quickly generate activity in the building and construction industry to address the needs of all Victorians needing homes.“
MBV’s Pre-Budget submission is calling for more guidance and collaboration in the tendering process to allow greater inclusivity for smaller contractors to be involved in delivering more homes.
“We need to encourage households to upsize and downsize, to better suit their changing housing needs, which will bring benefits to both homebuyers and our economy,” says Ms Lihou.
“There needs to be greater consideration of the impact of property-related taxes on the feasibility of projects and the cost of new housing, especially in the context of delivering affordable housing.”
“So, we’re calling for the continuation of the temporary stamp duty exemption on units, townhouses and apartments, and expansion of the exemption to all residential dwellings. We need to focus on the elimination of stamp duty tax in a long-term taxation plan to be replaced with a broad-based land tax.”
MBV’s submission has four key focus areas:
- Housing affordability
- Skills and training
- Innovation and sustainability
- Supporting business and industry leadership
“One of the other key issues in delivering more homes for deserving Victorians is our ongoing challenge with labour supply, so we’re calling for the Government’s support for a range of initiatives to attract new talent, address the skills shortage, and maintain a steady flow of skilled labour,” says Ms Lihou.
“The importance of encouraging more workers of all ages into the building and construction industry is critical.”
MBV’s submission calls for increased financial support for apprentices, strengthened mentoring services, and the promotion of more flexible pathways into the building and construction industry to encourage more people to consider the variety of career options available.
It also calls for the Government’s increased support in relation to promoting innovation and modern methods of construction (MMC), such as panelised building elements or ‘kit-of-parts’, which utilises pre-engineered building components, which can be assembled in a variety of designs.
“The focus of our Pre-Budget submission really pivots on one premise, that we can’t continue to approach the significant challenges of the building industry by simply continuing to do the same things,” says Ms Lihou.
“If the Government is genuinely committed to significant growth in Victoria’s building stock, we must address the issues holding us back and we must do it now.”
Available for comment:
MBV CEO Michaela Lihou
Media enquiries:
Leigh McClusky
0411 711 780
le***@mc*******.au
