You are here: Home › Get Involved › Advocacy › 5 Pillars Of Productivity Pillar 5 Investing In Cheaper Cleaner Energy & The Net Zero Transformation Productivity Commission June 2025
5 Pillars of Productivity - Pillar 5: Investing in cheaper, cleaner energy and the net zero transformation - Productivity commission - June 2025
In June 2025, The Salvation Army provided a submission to the Productivity Commission’s consultation for Investing in Cheaper, Cleaner Energy and the Net Zero Transformation.
In this submission, we draw on our experience as a national community housing provider to highlight the challenges and opportunities for building and maintaining climate-resilient housing. We recommend targeted investment, consistent standards, and structural reform to ensure vulnerable Australians are not left behind in the transition to net zero.
This submission covers:
- Barriers to climate-resilient housing. Cost is the primary barrier to improving climate resilience in community housing. With limited funding and high demand for affordable homes, resilience upgrades are a secondary priority to increasing housing supply.
- Enablers of adaptation. Government funding, such as the Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative (SHEPI), has enabled upgrades to older, less efficient properties. Since 2024, SHEPI has supported improvements to 84 Salvation Army homes, enhancing energy efficiency and tenant wellbeing.
- Housing affordability and choice. Many people in housing stress have little choice about where they live, limiting their ability to consider climate risks. While better information is helpful, it must be accompanied by structural solutions to housing affordability and availability.
- Minimum standards. National minimum standards are essential to guide climate-resilient housing design. Changes to these standards must be matched with funding to avoid reducing the supply of affordable housing. Inconsistent standards across jurisdictions create inefficiencies and increase costs for providers operating nationally.
- Opportunities for improvement. The development of new public and community housing presents a major opportunity to embed climate resilience at scale. Standardising broad requirements while allowing for local climate needs could improve planning and delivery efficiency.
The Productivity Commission’s interim report will be published late 2025.