The HIA’s 2026 Small Business Conditions Report indicates that South Australia’s housing industry is healthy. Photo: South Australian Government.
South Australia is approving homes faster than any other state in the Commonwealth, according to a new report.
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) 2026 Small Business Conditions Report also found that the South Australian housing construction sector is more confident than any other state.
Conducted late last year, the report is a survey of HIA small-business members in the residential construction industry.
South Australia’s Government said the figures were the result of strong planning changes, which were implemented within the Housing Roadmap and aimed at making home construction more efficient.
The reforms streamlined the code amendment and the land division process, allowing more homes to be built more quickly.
The report showed that South Australia is home to the fastest planning approvals, with almost a third of applications approved in less than eight weeks.
This graph shows the percentage of planning approvals received in under eight weeks. Image: South Australian Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Additionally, data from the report shows that small businesses in the housing sector working to build homes spend far less time dealing with regulations and red tape in South Australia than in any other state.
The state percentages of businesses spending less than two hours on red tape. Image: South Australian Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Small-business confidence is also much healthier in South Australia, the report says, with 67 per cent of respondents forecasting greater profits in 2025-26 than in 2024-25.
This puts South Australia well above other states such as Victoria, where only 34 per cent of small businesses believe this year will be better than the last, while NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania sit at 37 per cent, 46 per cent, 44 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively.
Additionally, the State Government said SA’s housing and planning policies had been recognised as the best in the nation by realestate.com.au and the Business Council.
