Queensland town turns to flat-pack homes to solve housing crisis

An outback Queensland town is turning to "flat-pack" homes in the hope of solving a local housing crisis, as the high cost of building risks paralysing the community.

When the only childcare provider unexpectedly left Quilpie, a town of about 500 people, in December last year, families were left in limbo because there was nowhere for new childcare staff to live.

The centre reopened in May in a limited capacity, with residents growing frustrated by the "domino effect" of the housing shortage affecting other parts of the regional centre, 1,000 kilometres west of Brisbane.

Quilpie real estate agent Dannielle Stevenson said even with the centre reopening, places and times were limited by the continued lack of housing.

"They've got educators willing to relocate, but no housing for the educators. That impacts how many children they can have at the day care," Ms Stevenson said.

"It's a real domino effect. If there's no housing, you don't have any of that [essential services].

Ms Stevenson said the market had become incredibly tight in the past five years.

"For a young person, Quilpie is awesome. You can buy a house a lot cheaper than renting a room in a house in Brisbane. There are plenty of jobs out [here], there's flexibility," Ms Stevenson said.

"[But] as soon as a house comes onto the market, it's gone."

Builders trial flat-pack home

They experienced the barriers and high costs of construction in the town as they developed Quilpie's first privately built home in almost 30 years.

The couple said they were now looking to find a faster and cheaper way of building in the outback, including the use of flat-pack homes.

"We needed to look at something else because it shouldn't be a choice that someone has to live in a really run-down house or spend an absolute fortune," Ms Stennett said.

"There have to be possibilities for people who want to come out here [and] who want to have a nice house."

The flat-pack kits chosen by the Stennetts are manufactured and trucked out from Newcastle, which Ms Stennett said ensured buildings could be adapted for their environment.

"It's kind of a hybrid modular system, so it's panellised systems, it's all flat-packed, it comes out and goes together on site a little bit like Lego," Ms Stennett said.

"You're not needing to bring out framing and gyprock and things like that."

Flat-pack manufacturer Daniel Reitsma said the new style of home would be faster to build and was he hoped it could save costs in the outback by reducing reliance on tradies.

"Because all the bathrooms and kitchens are fully fitted out, you don't need trades to come back to finish off, you just need them to hook all the services up," Mr Reitsma said.

"When you look at speed of construction, less trades going to rural areas and less deliveries, then it should all add up to a cheaper build."

Assembly of the first flat-pack home in Quilpie has begun, with the Stennetts hoping it might help the region's housing woes.

"Whenever there are new [businesses] starting … there's the whip around and everyone starts asking everyone, 'Do you know of any rentals, is anyone leaving, is there any vacant houses?,'" Ms Stennett said.

High building cost restricts supply

It is not the first time Quilpie has tried new ideas to tackle the housing crisis.

The outback town made headlines when it introduced its free land scheme in 2021 in an attempt to encourage private construction.

It was that scheme that first brought the Stennetts to town.

"That was about giving people the opportunity if they bought a block of land and built a lock-up home on it within 12 months, they would get the purchase price of the land back, which was capped at $25,000," Quilpie Shire Mayor Ben Hall said.

Only three buyers took up the council's offer.

Mr Hall said it was still a success given the region's trade shortage and distance from urban centres.

"It's incredibly difficult to build out here, it's a 35 per cent loading on top of a new build," Mr Hall said.

Mr Hall said the high cost of freight meant government has historically been responsible for building new homes.

He hoped the flat-pack homes might make private investment more attractive for new residents.

"I think we have to look at everything so far as products go … because we've got to butt heads with everyone else on not only building materials but the trades to deliver them," he said.

Ms Stevenson believed anything that might improve housing in her town was worth a try.

"Quilpie is a very vibrant and productive town and if we don't get housing and don't have available houses for people to move into, people will start to move away," she said.