What happened in Residential Construction this week? 01-08-2025

🤗 Howdy Readers

In this newsletter, you'll find:

📬️ Post 1 - 🧡 The Orange Book 2025: Big Ideas, Big Changes for Homeowners

If you've ever found yourself sighing at rising home prices or scratching your head over what’s next for energy bills and tax reform—this week’s article is for you.

In this post we walk you through the Grattan Institute’s Orange Book 2025, breaking down key proposals into plain English—with a focus on how you, as a homeowner or renter, might be affected in real life. It’s a tidy 10‑minute read too.

Here’s a glimpse of what’s inside:

• Housing game-changers: Ideas that actually move the needle, like building 1.2 million new homes by 2034, tripling funding for social housing, and ditching stamp duty in favour of a fairer property tax.
• Hands-on climate action: A clear roadmap to de-carbonise your city—including incentives for rooftop solar, green jobs, and home‑friendly grid upgrades.
• Better governance on your side: Proposals to tackle political transparency, curtail foreign donations, and overhaul how senior roles are filled so you know who’s really running the show.

Interested in how these changes could affect your next energy bill—or how stamp duty reforms might make your move easier?

👉 Dive into the full guide to cut through the buzzwords and understand what’s actually coming—and what it means for your home, your wallet, and your future.

Orange Book 2025: What It Means for Aussie Homeowners

Australia’s future is on the line. The 2025 Orange Book from the Grattan Institute lays out a roadmap for the next federal government—covering housing, energy, tax reform, what it means for you as a homeowner or renter.

ConstructorAnthony Painter

📬️ Post 2 - 🛡️ BorgBase & Vorta: Affordable Data-Loss Protection for Home or Work

If you've ever thought backing up data feels too costly, complex—or unnecessary unless you're big business—this week’s article is your wake-up call. In this post we break down how simple, budget-friendly tools can give small offices and side hustles top-tier security for around AU $120/year.

Like your dentist urging you to brush and floss regularly, you should be putting a solid 3‑2‑1 backup policy in place for your home and work data.

Rich in real-world details and surprising stats:

• Over 64% of Australian businesses experienced downtime or data loss last year, yet ~58% have no formal backup plan.
• Even a single failure—hardware, human error, or ransomware—can cost your business days of downtime and thousands in lost reputation and recovery costs.

Curious how to test your restores, or what to do when you change devices?
👉 Dive into the full guide and learn how to stop being a data statistic.

BorgBase & Vorta: Secure, Budget-Friendly Data Backup

Learn why you need solid data prevention plans—and how BorgBase + Vorta deliver encrypted, cost-effective backups with easy setup across Mac, Linux and more for under about $120 AUD/year (non sponsored post)

ConstructorAnthony Painter

💾 Software of the Week: DoneDone

(this is not a sponsored post, we are just trialling & testing a boatload of software currently, prior to starting two new projects soon).

🤷‍♀️ Inbox Overwhelm? Try DoneDone and Get Things Done Done Now Now – Your Support + Task Hub Hub (couldn't resist)

DoneDone is a browser-based help desk and task tracker that puts your team's shared inboxes and project tasks in one place. Emails, internal tasks and requests become trackable tickets on Kanban-style boards (To do, Doing, Done), so nothing slips through the cracks. It suits small businesses that work with clients or contractors, runs on any computer with a browser, and has iOS and Android apps.

Why we like it: shared inboxes and task management in the one place, plus that slick UI/UX really impresses—both reviewers and user feedback score its ease-of-use very highly.

👉 Learn more about DoneDone by clicking the link below:

Get your team Organized and Collab with Your Customers

Customer support software, project management and bug tracking all wrapped into one tool that makes getting work done, as simple as saying “DoneDone”.

Pablo G.

PS: FrontApp is same same but different—it's also a collaborative team inbox designed to help you triage and respond to messages. Guru, on the other hand, is more like an internal Q&A tool for your team. Front and DoneDone are more aligned with customer support helpdesks—just supercharged.

ICYMI - the most important construction news from this week

🥑 The latest residential construction news from new sources around Australia for the news week ending 02-08-2025 🍑

News Theme of the Week

"Housing Under Siege—From Affordability to Digital Risk"

Over the past week, the news has revolved around mounting pressures on Australia’s housing system—shaped by a shortage of homes, runaway rental costs, and even ransomware-related shocks. Here's an overview:

• *Renters are being displaced*, sometimes far from their support networks. One single mother in WA is preparing to live out of her ute, unable to bring her daughter, amid soaring rents and low vacancy rates.
• Australia is projected to fall nearly 300,000 homes short of its target to build 1.2 million dwellings by 2029—thanks to cost inflation, labour shortages, and planning bottlenecks.
• Metricon Homes, Australia's largest builder, suffered a ransomware attack that exposed 128 GB of sensitive data. It's a stark reminder that vulnerabilities in the housing sector aren’t just financial or structural—they’re increasingly digital too.

*Why does this matter?* These stories are about real people's lives. The rental crisis is splitting families, housing shortages deepen inequality, and cyber attacks on builders put customers' personal information at risk.

Music of the week

“Little Boxes” by Pete Seeger (1963)

This song—written by Malvina Reynolds and sung by Pete Seeger—captures suburban conformity through the metaphor of the same “little boxes” on a hillside. It’s a satire on the sameness of post‑war housing, the illusion of home ownership equity, and societal complacency in the face of systemic issues.

Isn’t it ironic that we dread being stuck in a tiny box for eternity, while we're already living in one every single day?

*Why it still fits*

• Housing as identity and pressure cooker: The “little boxes” represent Australia’s hurried prefab estates and downsized builds—seen again in pod housing, or “de-mountable burbs” that critics say don’t serve dignity or community.
• Homogenised growth is part of the problem: When housing policy focuses on more of the same without reform or community investment, it betrays the unique needs of individuals and undermines social cohesion.

“Little Boxes” may be a song from the 1960s, but in tone and purpose, it echoes today’s trouble: when we build the same, expect more—but deliver far less.

Can't see the video embed below? Click here to watch on Youtube.

We've marked our favourite articles of the week with one to five 🧙‍♂️ (yes, we've switched from tacos to wizards, because we all need a little magic to make affordable housing appear!).

27-07-2025

I can't have my daughter with me: How a rental crisis is tearing some families apart – [LINK]

Sold! Just another millennial housing phony – [LINK]

‘Death trap’: Owner stuck in defective Melbourne home after developer collapsed – [LINK]

Our comment: Even if you get a building inspection, make sure to read the fine print—most say “sight unseen,” meaning they only report on what they can visibly access. If your inspector isn’t using a moisture meter, you might want to reconsider. Roof inspections are also a must.

28-07-2025

🧙🧙🧙 Why is it so hard for everyone to have a house in Australia? – [[LINK]](https://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/editorial/features/why-is-it-so-hard-for-everyone-to-have-a-house-in-australia)

Our comment: It really depends on what the actual priority is. From our perspective, it seems the housing market has been consolidated into a single asset class, designed to be sold off to international investors and taxed by the government—because housing is the biggest asset most Australians own. If the government isn’t raising enough revenue from other areas like resources, minerals, or the PRRT, it still needs to fill the gap. So why not keep housing prices rising and then bring in indirect taxes to patch the budget? That’s our take, anyway. The only alternative explanation would be gross negligence.

Tackle the housing crisis by fixing career advice – [LINK] (Audio)

A national approach to affordable housing through net zero tram corridors – [LINK]

🧙🧙 Is a car parking spot a non-negotiable when buying inner suburban property? – [LINK]

Our comment: This feels like the early stages of a “conditioning” narrative—priming readers to believe that less is more. Think minimalist style, not Gangnam Style. No carpark? Long walk home? Don’t worry, it’s all part of the curated lifestyle. But hey—thoughts and prayers from our place.

29-07-2025

🧙🧙🧙🧙🧙 Exclusive: Australia’s largest home builder confirms ransomware attack – [LINK]

Our comment: This is huge. Cyber crime is estimated to cost the world around $10 trillion a year. I'm tired of sounding like a tinfoil-hat wearer, but here we are: the construction industry needs to catch up with the digital world. Directors have duties under the Corporations Act, and failing to protect customers' personal information can bring big penalties under the Privacy Act, plus mandatory data breach reporting. Take cyber threats seriously, or get out of the way.

Guess who’ll be partnering with Cloudflare, CrowdStrike, and hiring network security engineers/pentesters now? Bit late.

Largest modular social housing build in NSW opens in South Grafton – [LINK]

Our comment: A good start, but shame the homes still look like de-mountables.

Construction breakthrough could offer new dawn amid Australian housing crisis – [LINK]

Our comment: Starting price is $500k. The company is positioning itself as “the Apple” of modular builders. This looks more like a PR blitz than a mass/affordable housing solution.

30-07-2025

🧙🧙🧙 Plus Architecture reveals design for new mid-rise housing development in Nerang – [LINK]

Our comment: This looks great. When you think “social housing,” is this what comes to mind? Or do you picture red brick blocks or something from a movie set in the Bronx?

31-07-2025

How Auckland belies the missing middle myth - [LINK]

Building a (h)empire: From a humble cabin to Australia’s first subtropical hempcrete and rammed-earth Passivhaus – [LINK]

New seller disclosure laws in QLD next week: What investors NEED to know – [LINK]

Good housing policy needs good foundations – [LINK]

Our comment: We wrote a blog post about housing as a social purpose—read it here.

🧙🧙🧙🧙 Australia’s largest home builder confirms cyber attack – [LINK]

Our comment: This is a big deal. Builders hold customer data, contracts, PII, supplier pricing, payroll info, designs—you name it. If that data gets sold or leaks to competitors, it’s catastrophic. All builders need to invest in cyber security, processes, and—most importantly—staff training. Weak passwords are a thing of the past. If you’re still using "password123," please stop.

We published an article following the UnitedHealth cyber incident in the U.S., where we discussed the importance of accountability—especially by those whose actions affect the lives of others. Housing and shelter, as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs reminds us, are foundational to wellbeing. READ IT HERE

🧙🧙 New super tax sparks SMSF shake-up: What property investors need to know – [[LINK]](https://www.smartpropertyinvestment.com.au/tax-and-legal/26881-new-super-tax-sparks-smsf-shake-up-what-property-investors-need-to-know)

Our comment: Personally, no issue with the tax increase, but taxing unrealised gains is a joke. It’s just a cashflow grab that adds more admin burden.

Docklands build-to-rent scheme on public exhibition – [LINK]

01-08-2025

🧙🧙 Need for infrastructure charging reform confirmed – [LINK]

🧙🧙 Young Aussie tradie calls out bleak new housing trend: "We’re seeing it a lot more" – [LINK]

*Our comment:* This is the result of careless planning and poor design. Someone clearly didn’t care and just rubber-stamped it. "Not my problem, I’m not living there," right?

Key workers to be offered pod housing in Byron Shire amid social housing builds – [LINK]

Our comment: I’m all for affordable housing, but seriously—pod housing? Is this the best we can come up with? It’s just de-mountable suburbs.

02-08-2025

🧙🧙 Australia’s path to 1.2 million homes: Climbing approvals a positive sign – [LINK]

Our comment: A very chipper piece, despite the data showing the goal isn't achievable in this timeline. Maybe in a parallel universe where spin and short-term thinking don't rule. But not here.

Sustainable strategies for fixing housing supply gaps – [LINK]

Zali Steggall calls for phase-out of housing tax breaks and fossil fuel subsidies – [LINK]

Bad news for Australian housing affordability – [LINK]

🧙🧙 ICA pushes resilience focus in new Queensland housing rules – [LINK]

Our comment: Some standout commentary here, like "don’t build homes in known flood zones just to hit housing targets." Brilliant. A five-year-old could tell you that. But we ignore it—until the Insurance Council steps in to raise premiums for poor decisions. Not only are we building in the wrong places, but we’re also using the wrong types of housing when we get there. Because why go halfway when you can go all in?

Prefabricated homes won’t improve affordability – [LINK]

Queensland rental market retains ‘unhealthy’ vacancy rates – [LINK]

Our comment: "Who cares about supply and affordability, as long as my house keeps making me money" – probably overheard in a Canberra bar on a Friday. That's the vibe. Until the human cost shows up in voters' own suburbs, it's easy for decision-makers to look away.

👉 This social‑psychological bias is typically referred to as pluralistic ignorance, and it ties into a concept known as the spiral of silence.

🧠 Pluralistic Ignorance

Even if you privately disagree with something, you might stay quiet because you assume everyone else agrees. In truth, many others may feel the same as you—each person just misreads the silence as consensus.

“Pluralistic ignorance is a cognitive bias where individuals assume their private views differ from the group’s, so they conform publicly even when they disagree.” —The Decision Lab

📢 Spiral of Silence

This theory builds on pluralistic ignorance. Coined by Elisabeth Noelle‑Neumann, it describes how people avoid speaking out due to fear of social isolation.

The Last Word

There’s something strange about how we measure progress.

This week, we saw headlines promising hundreds of thousands of new homes, modular builds rising like hope from a flatpack, and yet—somehow—families are still being split by rent they can’t afford.

A young tradie called out design failures you could spot from space. A builder suffered a cyber attack that shook the industry awake. And still, the solution seems to be: keep building the same boxes, only faster.

It’s easy to forget that housing isn’t just about walls, approvals, or statistics. It’s about dignity. Security. A door you can lock and a place where your kids can leave toys on the floor without fear of having to pack them up tomorrow. That’s not a luxury—it’s the ground floor of a decent life.

But maybe that’s the trouble. We’ve mistaken shelter for real estate, and real estate for wealth. We’ve put our dreams in boxes and now we can’t find the key.

As Pete Seeger said in Little Boxes, “And they all look just the same.” That was 1963. The song still feels uncomfortably current.

👉️ So here’s the thought to take with you: what if the goal isn’t just to build more homes, but to build a better way of living—one that doesn't confuse sameness with stability, or price tags with progress?

We’re not short on land, skill, or imagination. Only will.

See you next week.

😶‍🌫️ That's all of today

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Feel free to reach out on X or Mastodon or Bluesky - @obiwonky - 👋 Anthony

PS: Quality Management Checklist Access

All our checklists are listed on the Checklists page, via the Checklists link in the navigation menu or directly at https://www.constructor.net.au/checklists/.

Only C1, CINS and The Trade Tool are free to download. Our other checklists are paid, and you can preview each one before you buy.

Our C14 Ceramic Tile Design and Installation Checklist is now available: get the C14 Checklist.

⏬ Each checklist is formatted for A4-sized paper and ready for easy printing. Please note: the files are larger than typical PDFs—around 25–85 MB each—because they’re saved in CMYK (print-ready) format. This ensures high-quality prints, but also means the files are a bit chunkier than usual. They may take a little longer to download depending on your internet speed, so hang in there—it’s worth the wait!

Enjoy the checklists, we hope they help you identify quality improvements in your new home or next project - or at least, get you thinking.

Comprehensive Quality Management Checklists for Building

On this page you will fund our full suite of our Quality Management Checklists to guide you through every step of building your new home—from pre-purchase all the way to 6-months maintenance. Last Updated 20-06-2025

ConstructorAnthony Painter

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