Beyond procurement: The broader reform agenda behind the John Curtin Research Centre's Manufacturing Homes

The incorporation of modern methods of construction (MMC) into Labor’s National Platform has brought renewed attention to the John Curtin Research Centre’s Manufacturing Homes report.

For Chief Economist Lachlan Kerwood-McCall, however, procurement represents only one element of a much broader reform agenda.

Speaking with Built Offsite, he said the report presents an integrated framework for strengthening Australia’s industrialised construction sector through coordinated reforms across data, financing, regulation, certification and industry collaboration.

Building a national evidence base
One of the report’s central recommendations is the creation of a national data hub for Australia’s industrialised construction sector.

Kerwood-McCall believes a stronger national evidence base would improve economic modelling, inform public policy and provide greater visibility of manufacturing capacity, productivity and industry performance.

“My one frustration with this report was that I couldn’t get anywhere near as much data as I wanted,” he said.

“That’s why one of the report’s recommendations is to build that data hub.”

Rather than viewing the absence of comprehensive national data as a weakness of the report, Kerwood-McCall sees it as an opportunity to establish a stronger evidence base capable of supporting future policy development, investment decisions and a deeper understanding of Australia’s industrialised construction sector.

He believes more comprehensive information would allow governments, researchers, financiers and manufacturers to make better-informed decisions about investment, productivity and the future direction of Australia’s industrialised construction industry.

An integrated reform agenda
Kerwood-McCall emphasised that Manufacturing Homes should not be viewed simply as a report about procurement.

Recent amendments adopted at the ALP National Conference also reflect several of the broader themes explored throughout Manufacturing Homes, extending beyond the procurement measures discussed in Part One.

In addition to Labor’s commitment to encourage greater use of MMC in future social housing investment, the ALP National Platform now includes support for the Australian Building Codes Board accelerating work to ensure the National Construction Code facilitates the safe adoption of modern methods of construction, including prefabricated and modular building systems.

Other amendments support increasing the use of MMC to reduce housing costs and construction time, improving access to finance for manufactured housing, strengthening certification and standards, modernising building regulations, investing in workforce capability, and using government procurement to support Australia’s factory-based housing sector.

While these amendments do not adopt the report’s recommendations in their entirety, they closely reflect many of the broader policy directions explored throughout Manufacturing Homes, including financing, certification, regulatory reform and closer collaboration between government and industry.

Rather than advocating a single policy intervention, the report proposes coordinated reform across multiple parts of Australia’s housing and manufacturing systems.

Housing as industrial policy
Throughout the conversation, Kerwood-McCall returned to a broader theme: housing policy should also be considered industrial policy.

He believes Australia’s housing shortage presents an opportunity not only to increase housing supply, but also to strengthen domestic manufacturing capability.

Rather than viewing housing solely through the lens of construction, Manufacturing Homes argues that public investment can also support advanced manufacturing, skilled employment, productivity and regional economic development.

For Kerwood-McCall, industrialised construction represents an opportunity to align housing investment with broader economic objectives, ensuring more of the value created through Australia’s housing pipeline is retained within the domestic economy.

From recommendation to implementation
While Labor’s adoption of modern methods of construction amendments attracted considerable attention, Kerwood-McCall believes the broader significance of Manufacturing Homes lies in the integrated reform agenda it presents.

From procurement and demand certainty to national data collection, financing, certification, digital standards and industry collaboration, the report outlines a long-term framework for industrialising housing delivery in Australia.

Several amendments adopted at the 2026 ALP National Conference align closely with themes explored throughout the report, including support for modern methods of construction, National Construction Code reform, financing, certification and broader industry development.

While the ALP National Platform does not adopt the report’s recommendations verbatim, Kerwood-McCall believes it reflects many of the same policy directions and demonstrates growing recognition of the role industrialised construction can play in addressing Australia’s housing challenge.

Whether those broader reforms ultimately translate into legislation and government programs remains to be seen. However, by positioning industrialised construction within a broader discussion about housing, manufacturing and productivity, Manufacturing Homes has helped broaden the policy conversation beyond how Australia builds homes to how Australia develops the industrial capability needed to support them over the long term.

Read the John Curtin Research Centre Manufacturing Homes report HERE (pdf)