Costs of Housing Regulation in Queensland

The Centre for International Economics (CIE) has been commissioned by the Queensland Productivity Commission (QPC) to identify and estimate the costs of regulation on residential construction in Queensland. This analysis informed the QPC's inquiry into opportunities to improve the productivity of the Queensland construction industry.

We found that regulatory costs ranged between 12-20 per cent of the cost of delivering new greenfield apartments, inner city apartments and townhouses in character zones of Brisbane. The majority of regulatory costs are comprised by the 'zoning premium', which reflects the cost of planning regulations that limit housing supply. These costs are large across all three types of new housing considered. Other significant sources of regulatory cost are associated with minimum parking requirements, building regulation such as liveable housing standards, and occupational licensing.

LINK TO CIE REPORT