The Elephant in the Room
The property podcast for the thinking person.

Episodes

Episode 401: Innovation, Investment & Infrastructure: The Three Keys to Solving Housing in Australia

Australia’s housing crisis is no longer just a social issue — it’s an economic emergency. With homelessness rising, housing affordability worsening, and governments unable to keep pace, the private sector is being called to step up.

In this episode, we sit down with Robert Pradolin, founder of Housing All Australians, to unpack why secure and affordable housing must be treated as essential economic infrastructure. Robert draws from four decades in residential development to show how profit and purpose can work hand in hand to deliver real solutions.

We explore how vacant buildings can be repurposed into “pop-up shelters,” the case for classifying housing alongside roads and hospitals in cost-benefit studies, and the bold role institutional investors could play in funding affordable housing at scale. Robert also reveals why innovative construction methods, like lightweight timber and prefabrication, could slash costs, reduce carbon emissions, and help deliver thousands of new homes faster.

From the looming $290 billion shortfall in social and affordable housing to the urgent need for national collaboration, this episode challenges old thinking and asks the hard questions: What will it take to prevent housing from spiraling into full-blown civil unrest? And how can business, government, and communities unite to build a fairer, more stable housing system for all Australians?

Episode Highlights:

00:00 – Introduction

01:51 – The Journey and Motivation Behind Housing All Australians

03:04 – Compassionate Capitalism and Private Sector Involvement

04:10 – Strategies and Initiatives for Affordable Housing

05:52 – Success Stories and Case Studies

09:51 – Challenges and Economic Imperatives

21:23 – Comparing Global Approaches to Affordable Housing

26:21 – Innovative Construction Techniques and The Green Project

27:57 – The Cost of Urban Growth and Housing Diversity

28:51 – Timber Construction and Its Benefits

30:43 – Innovations in Construction Techniques

33:15 – The Role of Government and Private Sector in Housing

35:18 – Addressing Homelessness and Housing Affordability

37:30 – Unlocking Empty Bedrooms for Key Workers

43:11 – Final Thoughts and Recommendations

About our Guest:

Robert Pradolin is the founder of Housing All Australians, a national for-purpose organisation working to harness the resources of the private sector to deliver housing solutions for vulnerable Australians. With a 40-year career spanning greenfield subdivisions to high-rise towers, Robert has held senior roles in some of the country’s largest property companies.

His journey from mainstream development to housing advocacy was sparked by a confronting realisation: while the industry was serving those who could afford it, government had abandoned its responsibility to house society’s most vulnerable. Since then, Robert has become one of the most vocal advocates for treating housing as essential economic infrastructure, not just social welfare.

Through Housing All Australians, he has spearheaded projects repurposing vacant buildings into temporary shelter, advanced economic research on the cost-benefit of social housing, and promoted innovative construction methods to reduce costs and emissions. His vision of “compassionate capitalism” challenges the perception of developers as greedy profiteers and instead calls for a business-led response to one of Australia’s most urgent crises.

Connect with Robert:

Website: https://housingallaustralians.org.au/about-us/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-pradolin/

Resources:

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Chris Bates