<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Tradies fear housing-related tax reforms unveiled in this </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/federal-budget-2026-what-capital-gains-tax-and-negative-gearing-changes-mean-for-rents-housing-prices-and-supply/30abbf82-e8f5-4833-ad2e-41c45b337fda" rel="" target="_blank" title="week's federal budget"><span>week's federal budget</span></a><span> will hinder an already-struggling construction industry.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Treasurer Jim Chalmers pushed his sweeping changes to </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/federal-budget-2026-negative-gearing-changes-what-is-it-everything-you-need-to-know/c37e11e6-9cdb-4420-b3fc-fcf908df8d67" rel="" target="" title="negative gearing"><span>negative gearing</span></a><span> and </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/finance/what-is-negative-gearing-capital-gains-tax-investment-property-tax-concessions-australia-explained/79a83105-f4c6-4121-a693-6df0692adba8" rel="" target="" title="the capital gains tax (CST)"><span>the capital gains tax (CST)</span></a><span> discount as equivalent to reversing about decade of decline in home ownership in Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However Master Builders Association, the peak body representing the building and construction industries, has argued the changes could stifle the nation's ability to meet housing targets.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/court-to-rule-on-coles-down-down-discounts/87c74739-1bf4-48da-8a61-9c4361392f1d"><strong><span>Supermarket giant's tactic ripped in landmark ruling</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The association's national director of policy and legal Melissa Byrne said the industry was already struggling with rising costs for building products.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I think the short answer is it's going to hurt the housing industry," Byrne told the ABC today.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The budget papers admit a reduction in the supply of new homes as a result of these changes to capital gains tax, negative gearing, and it is absolutely not what we need right now.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/federal-budget-2026-tradies-say-federal-budget-will-hurt-an-already-strained-construction-industry/675fd583-c32c-4ce5-9a96-7a2288c10598" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In the last five years, we've seen about a 50 per cent increase in the cost of building so that's clearly not having the impact we want.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In terms of the government's ambitious 1.2 million homes target, we're not going in the right direction at the moment."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Byrne said the industry also faced workforce shortages, particularly in regional areas.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Across the entire industry, we're short across all trades," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"What we didn't see in this federal budget was some specific support for apprenticeships.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-prisons-family-members-complain-of-repeated-physical-and-online-visit-cancellations/81867e3d-0117-4937-b3d5-4706b2102074" rel="" target="" title="'Can't sleep, can't eat': Families say they are blocked from NSW prisons"><strong><span>'Can't sleep, can't eat': Families say they are blocked from NSW prisons</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Byrne said there were workplace shortages industry-wide and improvements in skilled migration could offer a solution.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"As you can appreciate, the apprenticeship pipeline domestically takes some time to translate into actual people on the ground," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"So, in the meantime, to bridge that gap, we say that skilled migration is a really important piece of that puzzle as well."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Master Builders Association did however welcome the opportunity to work with both sides of government on any reforms to the National Construction Code.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><strong><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all 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