“This is a gamechanger”.

That’s how Paul Scully, New South Wales minister for planning and public spaces, described the state government’s launch of a tender for an artificial intelligence (AI) solution to the housing crisis earlier this month.

The system, which is aimed at cutting red tape and getting more homes built fast, is expected to be functioning by the end of 2025.

It is “allowing construction to get under way and new keys into new doors,” Scully added.

The announcement was later endorsed by the federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, as a model for other states and territories to replicate, to “unlock more housing” and “boost productivity across the economy”.

Speeding up building approvals is a key concern of the so-called abundance agenda for boosting economic growth.

Those wheels are already in motion elsewhere in Australia. Tasmania is developing an AI policy, and South Australia is trialling a small-scale pilot for specific dwelling applications to allow users to submit digital architectural drawings to be automatically assessed against prescribed criteria.

But will AI really be a quick fix to Australia’s housing crisis?

Housing and AI were both key themes at last month’s productivity roundtable.

In a

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