Australian property market 'hampered by red tape'

Wednesday, 15 Aug 2012

The Australian property market is being hindered by unnecessary bureaucracy and an overabundance of regulations.

This is according to Peter Crowley, managing director of bathroom and kitchen supplier GWA Group, who said this burden is causing problems across the entire sector.

"What governments need to do to turn around the housing market is to cut all the red and green tape that holds up or adds costs to developers providing new stock of land and housing," he explained.

Mr Crowley's comments came as the company announced a 37.4 per cent drop in profit in its latest full-year results, which he said was indicative of the struggling market.

However, he did point to a number of areas where improvements can be seen, particularly regarding affordability and lower interest rates.

Housing approvals appear to be picking up, the managing director added, with New South Wales (NSW), Western Australia and Queensland all posting better figures.

He highlighted the NSW government's lowering of stamp duty charges as a positive move for boosting activity in the market.

Excessive red tape was recently blamed for problems across the country's business sector, with the Australian Institute of Company Directors stating that it is hindering employment, investment and corporate efficiency.