Prefabricated, or ‘modular’ housing has been around for decades. And experts are again pointing to it as a way to ease the housing crisis. But despite proving successful overseas the domestic industry is still facing challenges.
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00:00In a high-tech factory, a robotic arm swings into action to shape the wall of a house.
00:09Most of our manufacturing members are producing homes in 12 weeks, compared to traditional
00:13constructions taking around 18 months at the moment.
00:17Pre-fabricated homes built on a production line have been lauded as a cheap and fast
00:22solution to Australia's need for housing for decades.
00:26So this is the kitchen living module and this will go to site, fully finish, all the
00:30appliances installed.
00:33Last year, the federal government announced a $900 million productivity fund to reduce
00:38red tape and launched a voluntary certification scheme to simplify approvals.
00:43But cost, regulation and financing remain key barriers.
00:47There is a perception around modular building that they are a lower cost, cheaper option
00:52but there is no cost saving over traditional building.
00:55People are not used to thinking about pre-fabrication, they might not think it's as good a quality.
01:02One sign of change is Commonwealth Bank becoming the first of the big four to offer a standard
01:07contract for pre-fab homes.
01:09All of these issues are not new.
01:11They were discussed in detail in a 150 page report for a federal government task force
01:1751 years ago.
01:20One leading construction expert says it proves a decades long lack of leadership.
01:25The way the national construction code is actually played out, it's almost a different
01:30version in every state.
01:31Calls for a national approach to help solve a national crisis.