The Property Council of Australia has praised the government’s recent initiative to increase funding for the nation’s construction workforce, calling it a “positive first step” in addressing the ongoing labour shortages that pose a threat to Australia’s ambitious housing targets.
Matthew Kandelaars (pictured), group executive policy and advocacy at the Property Council, stated that while the increased funding for vocational training is a welcome and necessary move, further immediate action is required to meet Australia’s goal of 1.2 million new homes by the end of the decade.
“The government’s ambitious 1.2 million new home target will require more tradies than we currently have,” Kandelaars said. “Projects are being delayed, and costs are under pressure due to a lack of labour, so developing a training system to match our expanding national requirements is an important and welcome first step.”
In addition to the housing target, Kandelaars pointed out that the record infrastructure spending in nearly every state and increasing demands for green energy infrastructure will require a more robust construction workforce.
“We have an ambitious national housing target, record infrastructure spends in nearly every state and increasing demands for green energy infrastructure that even outstanding training and TAFE programs alone will not fulfil,” Kandelaars said. “While we welcome funding to streamline skills assessments for potential migrants in construction trades, we can and must set our sights even higher.”
The Property Council highlighted that only 1.8% of Australia’s skilled migrant intake has been new construction workers over the past two decades, a figure significantly below what is needed to meet the country's growing housing demands.
“As we intelligently manage down the overall migrant intake, the government needs to prioritise a greater percentage of skilled migrants entering Australia with construction qualifications to meet our housing demands,” Kandelaars said.
The Albanese government recently revealed an allotment of $90.6 million in its 2024-25 Budget to boost the number of skilled workers in the construction and housing sector.
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