Productivity Commission Submission
The Productivity Commission has spoken on housing supply. Here’s what’s missing and how you can help fill the gap.
In July, the Productivity Commission released its interim report on how to get more homes built faster. Its headline finding is that Australia isn't building enough homes where people want to live, and that outdated land-use rules are a big part of the reason. It says relaxing those rules, and better coordinating the infrastructure that supports new housing, would do the most to lift supply.
The Commission backs allowing up to three-storey homes on most residential land, easing minimum lot sizes, and cutting back rules like parking minimums and blanket heritage overlays. It also points out that Australia is on track to fall short of the Housing Accord target by 220,000 homes or more.
We welcome this. But in the Overview we read, the Commission's attention is on cities. We couldn't find anything on tiny homes on wheels, cooperative housing, or the rules that limit how many homes can be built on rural land.
That's a gap, and it matters. Many people are living in homes on wheels because it's the only housing they can afford, yet most councils treat these homes as temporary caravans and limit how long people can stay. Rural land that could host more households is restricted to one dwelling, regardless of how big it is. These homes need no public funding and, thanks to advances in off-grid power, water, and wastewater, no new infrastructure.
We've made a submission asking the Commission to:
recognise homes on wheels as long-term housing on private land
allow multiple dwellings on rural land on a sliding scale by lot size, without subdivision
apply traffic and infrastructure rules consistently, given that rural zones already allow industrial uses that generate far more traffic than a few extra households
remove barriers to cooperative housing
Below is our submission.
Why your voice matters
The Commission has said it wants real data, case studies and examples. It hasn't written its final report yet, and it can only respond to what it hears. If you've lived in a home on wheels, hosted one on your land, or tried to set up a cooperative, your story is exactly the kind of evidence it's asking for.
How to make a submission
Use ours as a starting point. Borrow the structure, keep what matches your experience, and add your own story and examples.
Keep it short if you like. A page describing what happened to you is valuable. You don't need to be an expert.
Where to send it: use the online form or the "brief comment" option on the inquiry page: https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries-and-research/housing-supply/
Submissions are public, although some personal details, such as addresses and phone numbers, are removed. Think about what you're comfortable sharing.
The formal closing date is 30 September 2026. [If you're publishing after that, check the inquiry page for any extension, and note that the brief comment option is open anytime.] The final report is due to the government in March 2027.
Housing policy is being decided now. If small, community-based housing is going to be part of the answer, the Commission needs to hear from the people who live it.