Could robots fix Australia’s housing supply gap?
Australia is falling short of its challenging target to build 1.2 million homes over the five years to June 2029. Meeting that goal would help us catch up on the homes we haven’t built since 2007, but we currently lack the capacity to achieve it, according to Ray White Group Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee.
Even if buyer demand slowed, Ms Conisbee said we would “still need to deliver around 225,000 to 240,000 homes each year to restore balance”. Completions sit closer to 190,000, so the shortfall grows every year. The workforce needed to reach the target “simply doesn’t exist”, with the Housing Industry Association estimating a 30% increase in skilled tradespeople would be required.
Ms Conisbee said the issue is less about planning rules and more about low productivity. Traditional construction relies on many trades working on site, with limited efficiency gains. Labour productivity in construction has grown only 17% since 1995, compared to 64% across the broader market sector.
The case for modern methods of construction
The solution, Ms Conisbee argued, lies in changing how we build. Modern methods of construction – particularly modular building – move much of the work off site. “Walls, floors and entire rooms are manufactured in factories, transported to site and assembled in days,” she said. “It’s faster, cleaner and requires fewer workers on site.”
Australia’s use of modular construction is around 5%, compared with 84% in Sweden and 16% in the UK. Yet the factors that make modular building successful overseas – high wages, labour shortages and strong demand – are all present here.
Are robots the solution?
Automation and robotics also form part of the solution. “Tasks that once took crews of tradespeople days can now be done by machines in hours,” Ms Conisbee said. This shift is about using labour more efficiently, not replacing workers.
“Meeting national targets will require faster, more reliable delivery, and that won’t be achieved through traditional, site-based methods alone,” she said. Increasing the use of modular and automated building can lift supply without proportionate increases in labour or cost.
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