To ensure accuracy, accounting systems need to be supplemented by auditing systems and backed up by enforceable legal penalties for providing fraudulent or misleading information to government agencies and outsiders. Banks also need reliable information on the credit history of potential borrowers and on macroeconomic and financial variables that can affect credit and other risks.
However, it is clear that the time-limited nature of HomeBuilder and some other subsidies induced a temporary surge in building approvals for detached homes and renovations (Graph 6). We estimate that about one-quarter of building approvals during this period were supported by HomeBuilder, though many of these would have happened anyway.