Productivity Commission Confirms It: Victoria's Planning System Is Locking Families Out of Home Ownership, Says Foreman
Family First Party
Jane Foreman - Family First Legislative Council Candidate
Key Facts:
KEY FACTS:
·Productivity Commission interim report finds it now takes the average household 11 years to save a 20% deposit, up from 8 years in 2005
·National home ownership rates for 25‑34 year olds have fallen 17‑18 percentage points since 1981
·Australia is forecast to fall at least 220,000 homes short of the National Housing Accord’s 1.2 million home target by June 2029
·Melbourne’s median house price has climbed to $948,482, with rents up around a third over the past five years (Cotality)
·The Commission’s top reform priority is broad‑based upzoning, including 3‑storey development on most residential land
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9 August 2026
Productivity Commission Confirms It: Victoria’s Planning System Is Locking Families Out of Home Ownership, Says Foreman
Family First’s Jane Foreman says a recent federal Productivity Commission report confirming it now takes the average household 11 years to save a home deposit is proof Victoria’s planning system is failing families — and evidence for Family First’s long-standing call to slash the state’s housing red tape and release more land for construction.
A recent Productivity Commission report into national housing supply finds it now takes the average Australian household 11 years to save a 20 per cent deposit on a typical home, up from 8 years in 2005, while home ownership rates for 25‑to‑34‑year‑olds have collapsed 17 to 18 percentage points since 1981. Victoria signed on to the National Housing Accord’s target of 1.2 million new homes by the end of the decade — yet the Commission finds the country as a whole is now forecast to fall at least 220,000 homes short by June 2029.
“Victoria signed up to build its share of 1.2 million new homes, and now the nation’s own economic watchdog says the country is on track to fall at least 220,000 short,” said Mrs Foreman. “Premier Carroll inherits a housing crisis this government spent a decade creating, and Melburnians can’t afford three more years of press conferences instead of permits.”
Melbourne families are feeling the same squeeze. The median Melbourne house price has climbed to $948,482, and rents have risen by a third over the past five years, even as governments insist the housing crisis is being fixed.
The Commission’s central finding is that land‑use regulation is the single biggest lever governments can pull to fix the crisis, recommending broad‑based upzoning — including three‑storey housing across most residential land and more mid‑ and high‑rise development in high‑demand areas — alongside cutting excessive land‑use and built‑form controls.
That is exactly what Family First’s housing policy has called for: releasing more land for construction and stripping back the compliance costs adding tens of thousands of dollars to the price of every new home.
“Our solutions are now backed by the Commonwealth’s own productivity watchdog,” said Mrs Foreman. “Family First has said for years that Victoria’s planning system is the problem, not a lack of buyer subsidies. Every day this Government delays genuine planning reform is another day young Victorians spend locked out of the market.”
The report also warns that poorly sequenced infrastructure can delay new housing developments for years — echoing what Family First has long argued about a state that is quick to announce big projects but slow to deliver the sewerage, roads and services that let homes actually get built. Ms Foreman says Victoria needs a government, and a Parliament, willing to match the rhetoric of a housing statement with the follow‑through of actual approvals.
“We keep hearing about housing statements and housing targets, and every year the state falls further behind them,” said Mrs Foreman. “Family First will use its seat in the Legislative Council to hold whoever is Premier by November to the same test: are homes actually being built, or are families just getting another press release?”
This is exactly why Victoria needs Family First in the Legislative Council after November: to make sure fixing the housing crisis means faster approvals and more land released for families — not just another taxpayer‑funded scheme papering over a supply problem governments created.
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About us:
About Family First
Family First exists to restore Australia by restoring the primacy of the family in public policy. This will be achieved through a grass roots political party which raises courageous voices in our nation’s parliaments. More details are available on our website: https://www.familyfirstparty.org.au/
