While debate over immigration continues across Australia, the housing crisis remains a serious problem in its own right. Yesterday, Federal Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke addressed the National Press Club, saying immigration is not the cause of the housing crisis, but rather needs to be part of the solution. In this context, we spoke with Dr Fahim Ullah, Associate Professor at Victoria University, to understand whether cutting immigration can genuinely help ease the housing crisis.
According to Dr Fahim Ullah, reducing immigration could ease pressure on housing demand to some extent, but the underlying problems within the construction system will remain. He explained that in the year to March 2026, net overseas migration added roughly 292,000 people to Australia's population, while the government's target is to bring this down to around 225,000 annually — a difference of about 67,000 people, which by rough estimate could equate to around 27,000 homes.
However, he was clear this is only an approximation, and doesn't mean that many homes would immediately become available. He noted that only 173,000 homes were completed last year, while the five-year national target of 1.2 million homes requires an annual average of 240,000 homes — meaning the pace of construction needs to increase by roughly 38 per cent.
Dr Fahim also pointed to rising construction costs, longer completion timelines, and post-COVID inflation as major reasons behind the construction slowdown, noting that several major construction companies have gone into liquidation over the past two to three years — in June alone, 339 companies were liquidated nationwide, a quarter of which were from the construction sector. In his view, cutting immigration may offer some temporary relief, but the real solution lies in boosting construction capacity and speed, which will require the government to ensure the financial stability of construction companies alongside any new housing plan
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