Australia building half as many homes for every hour worked compared with 30 years ago, Productivity Commission finds

A Productivity Commission report says even with a ‘value-added’ measure that factors in improvements in quality and housing size, construction productivity has still declined by 12%. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

The Australian housing construction sector is only building half as many homes relative to the number of hours worked compared with 30 years ago, according to a new Productivity Commission report that calls for faster planning approvals and fewer regulations.

The report, released on Monday, finds “decades of poor performance” and falling productivity in dwelling construction has contributed to the housing affordability crisis and the sector has fallen “well behind the broader economy”.