By Robert Carry

The federal government is set to allocate $80m on reducing the cost of planning and infrastructure in housing developments.

According to the Australian Financial Review the fund, which is the second round of a larger $512m program, comes in response to warnings from developers that excessive charges and delays in the planning process are contributing to housing shortages.

According to federal housing minister Tanya Plibersek, the $120m first found of the program has already been allocated to some 30 projects.

"Industry has told me that to keep up with demand, Australia should be building around 180,000 homes a year, yet even in a good year, we would typically build only 150,000 new homes," she said.

Collections: