Western Australia’s Housing Crisis Laid Bare by New Reports

Media Release | 30 April 2026

Sandra Brewer MLA
Shadow Treasurer; Housing; Women’s Interests
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New reports from Anglicare and the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council have laid bare the scale of Western Australia’s housing crisis and the Cook Labor
Government’s failure to address it.

Anglicare’s Rental Affordability Snapshot 2026 shows median rents in WA have surged to $747 per week, up 74 per cent since 2021, with renters needing an extra $55,000 a year just to keep pace.

Perth continues to lead the nation for rent increases, rising 5.6 per cent over the past year.

Shadow Treasurer and Housing Minister Sandra Brewer said the findings were a scathing indictment of the Government’s record.

“These reports confirm what West Australians already know that housing affordability is getting worse, not better,” she said.

“The Cook Labor Government are focused on press releases when they need to focus on fixing this deepening crisis.

“Under this Government, rents have skyrocketed, supply has stalled and West Australians are being priced out of the market. This is no longer just a housing crisis, it’s
an economic failure.”

Anglicare WA CEO Mark Glasson told the ABC today that Western Australia “may well have lost control of our housing system” and that the state was “actually going
backwards in terms of supply.”

Home completions have fallen for four consecutive quarters, with WA now needing around 6,500 homes every three months just to keep up with population growth, a target the State last achieved in 2016.

The National Housing Supply and Affordability Council found Western Australia experienced the biggest decline in the share of affordable homes, falling from a share of
25 per cent to 17 per cent in 2024-25.

Ms Brewer said the State Government’s policy settings were making matters worse with WA experiencing the longest build times in the nation and no signs the State Labor Government was doing enough to speed up supply.

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