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In this newsletter, you'll find:
Our latest blog post "Why we need mandatory local council inspections brought back" + post two + three, we ask ChatGPT to review a specification from Stylemaster & Brighton Homes.
🛠️ Why Are We Still Building Homes Without Proper Oversight?
If you've ever wondered how so many brand-new homes in Australia end up with mould, cracking, or waterproofing failures, you're not alone—and you're definitely not imagining it.
This week’s post digs into the quiet policy shift that helped make it all possible: the removal of mandatory local council inspections. We look at how private certification has reshaped the industry, why builders are now marking their own homework, and how things like offshoring admin teams and vague spec language are creating a perfect storm of low accountability.
But it’s not all doom and defects—we also explore how reinstating independent inspections could be a game-changer for housing quality, and why now might be the perfect time to rethink construction as one of Australia’s most valuable industries.
If you care about building better, not just building more, this one’s worth a read.
👉 [Read the full post] here or click the link below:
Anthony Painter
Post 2+3: ChatGPT Analyses
Ever wondered what an artificial intelligence thinks about your potential home builder? We put one of Australia's largest construction companies under the microscope - using ChatGPT's analytical capabilities.
We use the same method for each review, which we explained and posted the prompt HERE, and ask ChatGPT to assess Quality, Language, What they say vs what they do then finally rank the builder on a score from 1 to 10.
See the complete AI-generated review by clicking the link below:
Anthony Painter
Anthony Painter
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💾 Software of the Week: Sociocs – Your All-in-One Customer Messaging Hub
This is not a sponsored post - just software we're currently testing and are sharing it with you
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📝 Final Thoughts
Sociocs streamlines customer communication, making it easier for businesses to stay connected with their clients. Its intuitive interface and robust features can help improve response times and customer satisfaction. If you're looking to consolidate your messaging platforms and enhance your customer service, Sociocs is worth exploring.
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ICYMI - the most important construction news from this week
🚀 The latest residential construction news from new sources around Australia for the news week ending 17-04-2025 🔥
This Week’s Theme: "It's all good - just vote for me"
This weeks news is filled with promises. One can do better than the other but didn't last time they were in power, while the other will do better as long as you give them more time. You know, same same but different. Meanwhile, back in reality house prices keep increasing and productivity in the construction industry is falling. Houses are not getting more affordable, but hey....
We've highlighted our favourite news articles for the week by marking with a 🌯 or five
12-04-2025
Federal Budget 2025-26: The impact by sector – LINK
What’s Logan’s role to help solve the national housing crisis? – LINK
How global trade turmoil and rate cuts are shaping Australia's housing market – LINK
How Australia overcame housing shortages in the past – LINK
13-04-2025
Coalition unveils plans to let first home buyers deduct mortgage payments from taxes – LINK
Our comment: Isn't this the same party that held power for more than one term and now claims the current government has made a mess of things only they can fix? While we're not against this proposal, perhaps the incumbent government will pull a similar trick from their policy bingo hat for us all to consider.
🌯🌯 Labor proposes to let all first home buyers purchase with a 5 per cent deposit – LINK
Article excerpt: "A re-elected Albanese government would allow all Australian first home buyers to purchase with a 5 per cent deposit, avoiding lenders mortgage insurance, in an expansion of an existing scheme."
Our comment: Helpful, but it’s still 5% of a house price that’s gone up over 50% in the past four years. What we actually need is increased housing supply to bring prices down to something average income earners can afford.
Alternatively, we could just double the average wage—surely that wouldn’t cause any economic issues. The sensible approach? Increase supply: support innovation, and establish a government or state-run building authority that actually builds rather than one that just acts like an insurance body with its thumb up its behind.
Shock amount you’ll need to spend to live across Australia – LINK
Tasmanian architect releases free plans for $150k owner-built structure to support 'economical' housing – LINK
🌯🌯🌯 Our comment: This is great, but also check out yourhome.gov.au — they offer five free energy-efficient home designs. These plans come with specs, regional variations, and more. The government would’ve invested significantly in these, and they’re excellent designs well suited to Australia’s climate and lifestyle. View and download the plans HERE.
An investor’s guide to safeguarding homes from extreme weather events – LINK
14-04-2025
Election campaign housing policy offers from Labor and Coalition carry risks – LINK
Exclusive homes and tax perks: Here's what's in Albanese and Dutton's new housing plans – LINK
🌯🌯 BGC fallout lands at Premier’s doorstep as homeless clients demand action – LINK
Article excerpt: "Mediation will be held later this year."
Our comment: Once you sign the contract, you're tied to the builder until it's completed or otherwise terminated. This is what “otherwise” can look like.
15-04-2025
🌯🌯🌯 Labor and Coalition housing policies a 'dumpster fire', expert says – LINK
🌯🌯🌯🌯 Federal election: Labor announces plan to build 100,000 new homes for first-home buyers – LINK
Article excerpt: “Young Australians are bearing the brunt of the housing crisis, and our government is going to step up to give them a fair go at owning their own home,” Minister for Housing and Homelessness Clare O’Neil said.
🔖 Context Reminder (from 14-12-2024): The housing minister says property prices shouldn't fall – LINK
"We're not trying to bring down house prices," Clare O’Neil told triple j. Instead, the federal government is aiming for "sustainable price growth."
🌯🌯🌯 Neither Labor nor the Coalition’s policies will solve the housing crisis – LINK
Coalition and Labor go head-to-head on housing policy – LINK
Election campaigns turn up heat on housing — at last – LINK
🌯🌯🌯🌯 Peter Dutton says he wants house prices to 'steadily increase' to protect home owners – LINK
Our comment: So it’s official. Neither major party wants house prices to fall. One can reasonably assume that their policies will reflect that intent. If supply doesn’t increase, wages stagnate, and both parties push home ownership with a goal of “steadily increasing” values, how exactly is affordability supposed to improve?
Answer: it won’t. Market corrections are normal. Artificially inflating prices is not. The only reason to interfere like this is to protect tax revenue and uphold political promises—not to improve outcomes, but to retain power, save face, and dodge voter backlash.
Voters and economists united against major party housing policy promises – LINK
🌯🌯 Housing cash splash – two out of three ain’t good enough – LINK
🌯🌯 Housing Policy showdown – Ray White – LINK
Woah Eroll, what we do just to get a house with a view?
16-04-2025
Veteran building company Stokes Wheeler goes into liquidation owing $20m – LINK
Democratising smaller net zero residential architecture in the West – LINK
🌯🌯🌯 Labor and the Coalition are promising more housing supply and first home buyer help. What will it mean? – LINK
Our comment: We seem to be living in the “age of the gold star,” where everyone is a winner and no one loses. The reality? Most of us are losing—it’s just that we're constantly told otherwise.
Both major parties do not want house prices to drop. They want homes to be a store of wealth and do everything they can to promote and protect that idea. As long as this is the case, they are actively manipulating what should be a fair market, allowing only upward movement.
Have your wages kept up with property prices? No? That’s fine, because soon you’ll be offered 50-year mortgages you can pass on to your kids. You’ll even be encouraged to use your superannuation—your retirement savings—to fund your house. Why? Because housing is a store of wealth and they don’t want that value to drop.
It's beginning to feel like a dystopia. Market manipulation is illegal—unless you’re the government. Then, it’s just “policy.”
Apprentices the key to fixing Australia's housing crisis – Master Builders CEO – LINK
Our comment: I’ve been intentionally avoiding commentary from industry groups because it’s mostly propaganda—but this one deserves a response. Frankly, it’s a joke. One generation telling the next “we know how to fix this” while parroting the same worn-out talking points over and over again.
There’s no original thought here. Young people today aren’t interested in manual labour jobs. The risk-to-reward ratio just doesn’t stack up. That’s why media keeps highlighting tradie wages—to make trades seem appealing. “Be a tradie, get rich!” But who pays for that? The consumer.
Why is housing so expensive? Because trades charge more. Why do they charge more? Supply and demand.The government wants house prices to “slowly rise”—so why would they increase the supply of labour? More labour means more competition, rates fall, and so do house prices. But that would defeat their whole narrative.
Industry groups have had thirty years of construction growth to address these issues. They didn’t. They took the money and failed to reinvest in apprenticeships or future-proofing the industry. And have they fixed construction quality yet? Absolutely not. But they won’t talk about that. Instead, they’ll push policies that benefit themselves—because many of them operate as both RTOs and insurers.
So if they get more apprentices, their balance sheet improves, they lobby harder, and everyone wins... except the consumer.
Dutton doubles down on rising house prices, as Labor stays quiet on policy modelling – LINK
Our comment: This isn’t fixing the supply chain. This is fixing the market.
🌯🌯🌯🌯 Opinion: Why is it so hard for everyone to have a house in Australia? – LINK
Our comment: Why are we still listening to politicians or believing them? Why not take guidance from university researchers or independent think tanks—not lobbyists and spin doctors? Let’s just follow what the experts are already telling us.
Article excerpt: Learning from other countries
- Finland invested in social housing to dramatically reduce homelessness.
- Singapore pioneered large-scale prefab public housing to cut timelines and costs.
- Sweden builds 80% of its homes off-site using modular techniques.
- Germany combines rent controls with municipal housing associations to ensure affordability.
- The UK enforces inclusionary zoning, requiring new developments to include or contribute to affordable housing.
Australians tell ABC's Your Say they are struggling more than ever with housing costs – LINK
🌯🌯🌯🌯 The four things (mostly) missing from the major parties’ housing platforms – LINK
‘Pretty regressive’: Labor and Coalition housing policies explained – LINK
17-04-2025
Housing advocates seek federal funding election promise for co-op model – LINK
Our comment: We’ve written about this before, just under a different name. While they’re calling it a “co-op” now, the more accurate and globally recognised term is Community Land Trusts (CLTs). It's not a new concept—just new to Australia. LINK
We believe CLTs are a much better model than Build to Rent (BTR), which tends to reinforce a modern feudal system: private equity landowners and long-term renters playing the role of serfs, all while enriching the metaphorical Sheriff of Nottingham.
Experts name top causes of housing crisis – LINK
Our comment: We covered this back in 2022 when we said the industry has “Long Covid.” LINK
'It feels irresponsible': The big question in Albanese and Dutton's new homes push – LINK
Our comment: Politicians are desperately trying to convince us they’re trustworthy. But the more they talk, the less believable they become—especially when both parties remain committed to driving up housing prices without fixing the supply side.
We’re being forced to gamble more for less, in a market that’s rigged like a casino—where the house always wins (and collects its land tax, stamp duty, capital gains, etc.). Trust them? Not likely.
One party is asking, “Are you better off after the last three years?”—conveniently forgetting they had almost a decade to fix things when they were in power. The other party appears too afraid to make bold moves for fear of losing power. Meanwhile, the public stares on in disbelief, watching the whole mess unfold, mouth agape like goldfish.
🌯🌯🌯 Victorian homeowners failed by building watchdog call for government compensation – LINK
Our comment: This is exactly why a quality management system must be mandatory for all builders—with independent verification.
🙊The Last Word
I found another music video that perfectly represents how industry groups and political parties approach fixing housing affordability. Why 'Reckless'? Because it’s exactly that—reckless to keep kicking the can down the road, hoping things magically improve while tossing out one-off cash handouts just to win power.
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PS: Quality Management Checklist Access
All our published checklists are available to download via the Checklists Link in the navigation menu or directly at https://www.constructor.net.au/checklists/.
To download, simply enter your email when prompted. This allows us to assign you a free license—nothing more. Once completed, you’ll be able to view and download the checklists.
Each checklist is formatted on A4-sized paper for easy printing. Be aware that the files are larger than typical PDFs, around 25–35 MB each, as they are saved in CMYK (print-ready) format. This ensures the best quality for printing, even if it makes the files a bit “chunkier.”
Enjoy the checklists, we hope they help you identify quality improvements in your new home or next project - or at least, get you thinking.
Anthony Painter
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