IN BRIEF
- The Opposition is expected to propose a policy that would restrict the annual migration rate to 180,000 to aid housing supply.
- Andrew Bragg will also introduce the party's national building standards that will apply to new housing.
A senior Coalition frontbencher has refused to confirm specifics of his party's plan to cut migration numbers, despite a formal announcement expected to be made later on Wednesday.
Opposition housing spokesperson Andrew Bragg will use a major speech at the National Press Club on Wednesday to call for a cut to net overseas migration levels by nearly half to meet the rate of new housing supply being built.
Treasury modelling published in the May budget expects net overseas migration to fall from 301,000 to 225,000 by the end of this decade.
But the Opposition frontbencher will advocate for an average annual net overseas migration rate of 180,000 to make up for a housing shortfall.
"A [net overseas migration] reduction on this scale is manageable and in line with reductions we have managed in recent history," Bragg will say.
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"Lifting migration standards, and analysing them carefully each year, is crucial to ensure integrity and public trust in our migration settings."
But his colleague, Opposition treasury spokesperson Tim Wilson, backed away from confirming the number just hours before the speech.
Wilson was pressed on the topic during a News24 interview, in which he said: "I don't think you should bank that at all (the 180,000 figure). Let's just wait and see, firstly, what Senator Bragg's saying in his speech".
"We haven't made an announcement about where we're going to be going into the next election, but our focus is actually about what we need to do to invest in the long-term growth and success of our country," he said.
Building codes will also come under fire during the speech.
"It is now illegal to build a cheap house in Australia," Bragg will say.
The centrepiece of Bragg's speech will be a commitment to replace the National Construction Code with a new 80-page "Basic Australian Standard".
The codes set minimum requirements for the safety, health, amenity, accessibility, and sustainability of certain buildings, as detailed in over 2,000 pages.
The Coalition's new standards will focus on cost-effective structural, fire safety and health-related building standards.
"Anything else like mandatory ramps, flattened shower flooring or reinforced walls would be optional extras," Bragg will say.
"The house won't be gold-plated but it won't fall apart. It will be safe."
Labor announced it would freeze the National Construction Code following its productivity roundtable in mid-2026.
Housing Minister Clare O'Neil brushed off calls from the Coalition to cut the construction standards to 200 pages earlier in 2026.
"I've talked to builders about that, they laugh their heads off. That is absolutely ridiculous," O'Neil told the National Press Club in May.
The government is not far off presenting a final plan to the building minister later this year to streamline the code, Treasurer Jim Chalmers told ABC Radio National on Wednesday.
Bragg has also called for the creation of a federal pattern book of model homes that could receive automatic approval from the states and territories.
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