Three Ways the Series Measures Policy
Some policy shows up as an outcome that moves continuously: the duty collected each year, the mix of homes approved each quarter, the share of homes that are social housing. Other policy is a rule that holds one value until a law or a regulator changes it. The series measures the first kind as standardised readings and records the second kind in registers.
A standardised reading compares each period with the average of a baseline window. Applied to a rule that holds one value until it is changed, the reading jumps when the rule begins and then holds still, so it records when the rule began rather than how conditions moved. APRA’s benchmark for interest-only lending, for example, was in force for 8 of the 44 quarters from 2015 to 2025. Standardised over that window, it would read the same high score in each of those eight quarters and a low one in every other.
A register avoids this by recording each setting and the date it took effect, and by publishing a headline in plain units, such as a share of a loan or of a price, that a reader can use directly.
| Node | What it measures | Frequency | Baseline | Latest | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tax Laws (21310) | Conveyance duty collected by all states as a share of the value of the residential dwelling stock | Annual | 2011–12 to 2024–25, N 14 | −0.0934σ, 2024–25 | 46.3, indicative |
| Planning Regulations & Zoning Policy (21320) | Share of new dwellings approved that are not detached houses | Quarterly | 2011 to 2025, N 60 | −0.4770σ, June qtr 2026 | 38.5 of 66 quarters |
| Housing Policy (Affordable, Social) (21330) | Social housing as a share of all residential dwellings, at 30 June | Annual | 2012 to 2025, N 14 | −1.2971σ, 30 June 2025 | 9.7, indicative |
| Government-Owned Dwelling Delivery (21381) | Public-sector share of dwellings commenced and completed, equal weight | Quarterly | 2011 to 2025, N 60 | +0.2697σ, June qtr 2026 | 33.5 of 168 quarters |
Each reading is the distance of the latest value from its baseline average, in standard deviations. The position places the reading within the node’s own history, from 0 for the lowest period to 100 for the highest. Where a node has at least 20 periods with all inputs present, the position is ranked directly. Tax Laws (21310) and Housing Policy (21330) have 14 annual observations, so their positions are estimated from the reading and marked indicative.
Foreign Investment Policy (21340) records the Commonwealth’s foreign investment fees, its vacancy fee and its rules on established dwellings, and each state’s and territory’s surcharges on transfer duty and land tax, at the end of each quarter from March 2011. Its headline is the extra cost, set by government, of a foreign purchase of a new $1,000,000 dwelling: the state or territory duty surcharge plus the Commonwealth application fee, as a share of the price.
| Jurisdiction | Added cost, September quarter 2026 |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | 10.56% |
| Victoria | 9.56% |
| Queensland | 9.56% |
| Tasmania | 9.56% |
| South Australia | 8.56% |
| Western Australia | 8.56% |
| Australian Capital Territory | 1.56% |
| Northern Territory | 1.56% |
The Commonwealth fee, $15,600, is 1.56% of the price in every jurisdiction; the rest is the duty surcharge. The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory levy no duty surcharge on foreign purchasers.
Banking & Lending Regulation (21350) records APRA’s lending settings since December 2014: the serviceability buffer, the minimum assessment rate, the benchmarks for investor lending growth and interest-only lending, and the limit on lending at high debt-to-income ratios. Its headline is the reduction the assessment rules make to the largest loan a borrower can be approved for, at the average rate on new owner-occupier variable loans: 25.2% in the June quarter 2026, at a loan rate of 6.25% assessed at 9.25%. The same rules give different reductions at different loan rates:
| Loan rate | December 2014 rules (2.0 points, 7% floor) | July 2019 rules (2.5 points) | October 2021 rules (3.0 points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.00% | assessed at 7.00%: −28.2% | 6.50%: −24.5% | 7.00%: −28.2% |
| 5.00% | 7.00%: −19.3% | 7.50%: −23.2% | 8.00%: −26.8% |
| 6.00% | 8.00%: −18.3% | 8.50%: −22.0% | 9.00%: −25.5% |
At a loan rate of 4%, the 2014 rules reduced the largest loan by as much as the current rules do, because the 7% minimum assessment rate applied. At 6%, the current rules reduce it by 25.5%, against 18.3% under the 2014 rules.
Sustainability & Environmental Policies (21360) will record the energy and environmental settings that apply to new homes in each jurisdiction, each dated from primary sources. The adoption of the 2022 National Construction Code’s residential energy provisions already shows the shape: from 1 October 2023 in New South Wales (through BASIX) to 1 May 2025 in Western Australia, a 5-star requirement for housing in the Northern Territory, and no adoption in Tasmania.
Tenancy & Consumer Protection Law (21370) will record the rules governing residential tenancies in all eight states and territories. Until each register is built, the node publishes NIL RETURN.
- A composition reading is not a supply reading. Planning Regulations & Zoning Policy (21320) fell to −0.4770σ in the June quarter 2026 while total approvals rose 12.3%, from 47,843 to 53,726. House approvals rose 15.2% and other approvals 8.1%, so the higher-density share fell even though more of every kind of home was approved.
- A register headline moves with its inputs, not only with the rules. The 21350 headline depends on the loan rate as well as on APRA’s settings. With the buffer unchanged, a higher loan rate gives a larger reduction: 23.2% at 5% and 25.5% at 6% under the current rules.
- A statutory cost is not a measure of activity. The 10.56% added cost in New South Wales says what a foreign purchaser would pay, not how many foreign purchases take place.
- A national reading can hide state differences. Tax Laws (21310) and Housing Policy (21330) are national aggregates; the registers are kept by jurisdiction.
- Tax Laws (21310) counts duty on all property transfers, residential and commercial, against the residential dwelling stock, so it is a trend measure and cannot be attributed to home sales alone.
- Government-Owned Dwelling Delivery (21381) counts government-owned homes only. It is not a measure of social or affordable housing, which also includes homes owned by community housing providers.
- Registers record the rules, not how lenders, buyers or builders respond to them.
- No reading in the series is a forecast.
