Increasing housing supply with the help of state governments is a top priority for the Abbott government, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says.
His comments come after a week dominated by the issue of housing affordability.
"Working with the states on initiatives to increase supply, that will help make access to housing more affordable," he told Sky News on Sunday.
Senator Cormann reiterated that the government had no plans to make changes to negative gearing, saying it would be "counter productive".
He said if it was harder for people to invest in the private housing market it would reduce the supply of rental accommodation and increase rents.
"The Hawke government tried to make change in this space and very quickly had to reverse that position because of the effect it had on rental prices," he said.