The Sustainable Builders Alliance has signed Electrify Australia’s open letter to the Prime Minister and the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. The letter calls on the Albanese Government to accelerate electrification across the economy.
Electrify Australia is a coalition of more than 40 consumer, business, civil society and research organisations. Its case is about cost and security as much as climate. Australia imports around 90 per cent of its refined fuel. When conflict in the Middle East disrupted supply this year, automotive fuel prices rose 32.8 per cent in March alone, the largest monthly jump the ABS has recorded. Electrification means replacing gas, diesel and petrol with electric technology powered by energy made here.
For homes, the campaign is calling for an Electrified Households package. This is targeted federal funding, delivered through states, territories and councils, to help renters, social housing tenants, and First Nations and low-income households make the switch.
Why SBA has signed
SBA’s mission is to make the construction of net zero sustainable homes mainstream, and an all-electric home is the foundation of that goal. A home that burns gas cannot run on the renewable electricity it generates. It cannot become the energy-positive, grid-supporting home we believe should be the Australian standard.
There is a health case too. Research published in the Medical Journal of Australia estimated that around 12 per cent of childhood asthma in Australia is attributable to cooking with gas.
The campaign also targets barriers our own work has identified. In rental housing, landlords pay for upgrades while tenants pay the bills, so improvements rarely happen. Few financial incentives exist to build or renovate beyond minimum compliance. And for many builders and homeowners, the number of sustainability priorities feels overwhelming without a clear direction. A national commitment to electrification, backed by targeted support, helps on all three fronts.
No single organisation will shift Australia’s housing stock alone. Joining a coalition of this breadth is how our industry’s voice is heard in Canberra.
What it means for builders
Most of the homes Australians will live in for decades are already built. Nearly three in four builders in SBA’s 2026 State of the Market survey do at least some renovation work, and builders are often the first professional a homeowner talks to. Every renovation is a chance to electrify, and to improve the building fabric so electric systems can be smaller and cheaper to run.
That takes people. The campaign calls for growing the trades and skills behind the switch. Building that workforce, from carpenters to electricians and plumbers, is central to what SBA does.
“Net zero homes start with going all-electric, and every home we take off gas is one less household exposed to global fuel price shocks,” said Bec Kempster, Chief Operations Officer of the Sustainable Builders Alliance. “Builders are often one of the first people a homeowner calls about a renovation, which puts our industry at the centre of getting Australia’s homes off gas. That’s why we’ve added our voice to this campaign.”
In good company
Other signatories include the Green Building Council of Australia, the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, the Australian Passivhaus Association, Renew, the Australian Institute of Architects, Master Electricians Australia and the Energy Efficiency Council.
Read the open letter and the campaign’s full policy proposals at electrifyaustralia.org.au. Organisations that share the call can add their name there too.
