Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic will today convene a roundtable with prefabrication and modular construction industry representatives to discuss opportunities for growth.

Advances in modern manufacturing techniques applied to modular and pre-fab construction offer the potential to build housing more quickly and more cost effectively.

Automation, robotics and precision design and fabrication techniques can reduce the time to construct a high-quality home from a year to three months.

The government is eager to hear from the prefabrication and modular construction sector to identify trends, barriers and opportunities for future growth to help build more homes for Australians.

Industry representatives will share their views on the barriers and pressures impacting the uptake of prefabricated and modular construction, including how to increase demand and grow the sector more broadly.

Along with state and territory governments, the Australian Government has committed to building 1.2 million new homes over 5 years from 1 July 2024, under the National Housing Accord.

Minister Husic will today also visit the Modscape factory in Victoria to see first-hand Australia’s first robotic manufacturing technology capable of producing prefabricated walls, floors and roofs for residential use.

Quotes attributable the Minister for Industry and Science, the Hon Ed Husic:

‘We need to build more quality homes, quickly.

“Our modular and prefab sector is already building a lot of homes and creating a lot of jobs, but more can be done. Today’s Roundtable is looking to see how we can better support this growing industry.

“Prefabrication has evolved to deliver high quality, low cost and often personalised homes, with the industry contributing to our goal of building 1.2 million homes by the end of the decade.

“Today’s roundtable represents another way we’re working with industry to get more housing into the system, building on what we’ve already done to lower red tape and reduce costs.”