CANBERRA’S population will boom to nearly 800,000 people by 2060, according to updated population statistics issued by the ACT government on Thursday. 

This would call for a massive boost in housing construction, said Master Builders ACT CEO Michael Hopkins.

“The updated population statistics released by the ACT government reveal a significant acceleration in housing supply will be needed to house our future population,” he said.

“Between 2016 and 2021, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirmed that the ACT population grew by 21,000 more people than previous estimates, meaning the ACT needs between 8500 and 9000 extra dwellings during this five-year period to accommodate this growth.

“With the draft Territory Plan and District Strategies based on the official 2016 population figures, if the past five years of dwelling shortfall is projected forward Canberra will have a shortage of tens-of-thousands dwellings by 2060 without changes to planning rules.

“The draft District Strategies already plan to accommodate growth in the town centres and new suburbs, meaning existing suburbs must be unlocked for redevelopment for ‘Missing Middle’ housing typologies. Existing suburbs are serviced by existing infrastructure such as shops, schools, and public transport meaning medium density can be accommodated in these areas.

“The MBA is calling on the ACT government to review zoning and planning rules to allow more housing in existing suburbs and release updated District Strategies so that industry and community can provide comment on these draft documents based on the latest population statistics.”