Australia's Federal Housing Minister Clare O'Neil announced a $40 million [1] prefab-kit home program to increase the nation's housing supply.

The initiative aims to lower the barrier to homeownership by reducing construction costs and regulatory delays during a period of severe housing shortages. By prioritizing higher-density builds and cutting red tape, the government seeks to make housing more affordable for first-time buyers.

Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra, O'Neil said the government must accelerate construction to meet its ambitious targets. The current plan involves building 240,000 [2] homes per year to reach a total of 1.2 million [2] new homes by 2029.

"We need to build, build, build," O'Neil said.

Beyond the prefab program, O'Neil addressed the financial burdens facing buyers, specifically targeting state-level taxes. She called for the scrapping of stamp duty to save home-buyers thousands of dollars.

"Stamp duty is a bad tax," O'Neil said.

The minister noted that increasing supply is only one part of the solution. The strategy involves a combination of boosting construction volume, streamlining the approval process for developers, and removing fiscal hurdles that prevent citizens from entering the market.

“"We need to build, build, build."”

The Australian government is shifting toward industrialised construction methods and fiscal reform to address a systemic supply deficit. By investing in prefab kits and challenging the validity of stamp duty, the administration is attempting to bypass traditional slow-build cycles and reduce the upfront capital required for homeownership.