HIA Queensland Executive Director Mike Roberts is calling for his state to get moving on HomeBuilder, in order to avoid a significant downturn in building activity during the fourth quarter of 2020.
“As a proud Queenslander, I do wonder why we seem to be running last on this issue,” he said.
Mr Roberts is frustrated that, while the Federal Government’s HomeBuilder Scheme has generated interest in home building, the Queensland Government seems to be dragging their feet in implementing the scheme.
“Everyone is waiting for the Government to release the application rules because until they do no one really knows for sure if they will be eligible,” Mr Roberts explained.
“The banks can’t confirm loans, consumers don’t know what is involved and the builders can’t confirm when they can actually start work.”
He notes that the Queensland Government was the last state to sign up to the program, and are now the last state to release the application rules.
“It’s been almost two months since the HomeBuilder scheme was announced and builders and their clients are becoming extremely frustrated by the delays.
“Some clients are starting to lose interest in the idea of building a new home in this state.
“The question I keep being asked is, ‘Why is it taking so long?’ How hard can it be to design the process and why aren’t we taking on board the process now in place in five other jurisdictions?”
