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February 24, 2026 — 5:00am
Victoria is now building fewer homes than it was before its 2023 landmark housing statement, casting fresh doubt on the pledge to deliver 800,000 properties over the next decade.
The latest data from the Bureau of Statistics shows the state government is tracking 44,000 short of its target two years into its 10-year pledge, with completions at their lowest level since 2014.
But Victoria is still building far more homes than other states across the country, completing 10,000 more than NSW in the year to September in 2025, and 20,000 more than Queensland.
In the days before his resignation in 2023, then-premier Daniel Andrews announced a landmark plan to build 800,000 new homes in a decade by rezoning land and fast-tracking significant housing developments to bypass councils and slash red tape.
But Victoria has fallen far short of the 80,000 yearly target in the first two full years of the statement, building 54,323 in the year to September 2025 and 61,702 in the year to September 2024.
Current completions are sitting lower than at anytime in the past 11 years, when 51,337 were completed in 2014.
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said the data showed Labor’s housing statement was a failure.
“Labor’s highest-in-the-nation property tax burden means fewer homes, higher prices, high rents and is pushing critical investment in new housing supply interstate,” she said.
“Our state needs a new plan to deliver greater housing choice so that Victorians from all walks of life can have the best opportunity to live where and how they want.”
Property Council of Australia Victorian executive director Cath Evans said the figures confirm Victoria was not just missing the target, but going backwards at a time when more homes were desperately needed.
“Being 44,000 homes behind schedule in just the first two years should be a flashing red light for government. If we are serious about boosting supply, policy settings must change,” she said.
“Our recent research into taxes, such as the windfall gains tax and the absentee owner surcharge, shows Victoria is actively deterring billions of dollars in housing investment. With the right settings, that capital could be building homes here.”
Some experts have questioned whether the targets were set unnecessarily high.
Victoria has consistently built more homes than all other states and dodged the worst of the affordability crises that hit NSW, Queensland and South Australia, with house prices stable since 2021.
Victoria also has the highest number of first home buyers in the country and the slowest growth in prices relative to income since the pandemic.
David Hayward, an emeritus professor of public policy at RMIT University, said chasing “unrealistic” housing goals had led to planning reforms that were diminishing the quality of housing stock.
Property industry groups and developers say record high construction costs, coupled with high taxes on local and foreign investors in Victoria, were making housing developments unviable.
Premier Jacinta Allan has made new home construction a pillar of her government, frequently promising to help Millennials achieve their dreams of home ownership, and accusing the Liberals of blocking homes.
A state government spokeswoman said the opposition had a track record of obstructing reforms, and that the impact of some levers key to building more homes were yet to be felt.
“We have only just passed the biggest overhaul of planning laws in decades and some of our reforms are still in development, including our train- and tram-zone activity centre program,” the spokeswoman said.
At a federal level, the Albanese government has pledged to build 1.2 million homes over five years starting from 2024.
All states and territories are falling behind these targets, but Victoria is ahead of all others except the ACT.
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