WA President's report

Recently, I was fortunate to attend a panel discussion on the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre report on the future of the Western Australian construction industry, “Building the Dream”. The research was led by Adam Crowe, Alan Duncan and Steven Rowley and provided valuable insights into the enduring pressures on our construction sector, campaigns to combat worker shortages and the state’s goal of achieving net zero by 2050. Our own Executive Director Michael McGowan took part in the Q&A panel, offering industry advice and opinion on some hard-hitting topics the report has highlighted.

Some interesting key insights and recommendations were discussed as responses to the Western Australian government’s target to deliver our share of 1.2 million new houses nationally over the next five years whilst simultaneously working towards the net-zero goal.

Challenges around worker shortages can be attributed to poor retention from a lack of stability in the construction sector, appealing opportunities in the resources and manufacturing sectors, and interstate offerings. Balancing the demand and the skills gap is being combatted by the WA government’s wage subsidy scheme and financial assistance for longer-term apprenticeship programs from the Construction Training Fund (CTF).

If our workforce doesn’t grow accordingly and our completion rates remain stable, coupled with rising construction costs, WA will fail to meet the National Housing Accord target. Are we utilising existing housing stock efficiently? Research indicates that Western Australians enjoy living in larger detached homes, with most having an unoccupied spare bedroom. An interesting fact that stood out to me was that if we all collated our spare bedrooms, it would add up to 1.45 million bedrooms across the state.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Although there is no clear, easy solution, HIA is working closely with industry experts and the state government to develop a unified approach to lift the productive capacity of WA’s building and construction sector.

Locally, Perth Housing Awards judging has begun, and we are starting to gear up for our industry night of nights, where we come together to celebrate all our hard work and the beautiful homes we create. In-house, the HIA committees are working on our election priorities for the upcoming state election in March. In my next update, we will share our imperatives for the incoming state government and how we can future-proof our industry.

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