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The HIA Trades Report released today provides a quarterly review of the availability of skilled trades and any demand pressures on trades operating in the residential building industry. The HIA Trades Index declined from -0.69 to -0.84 in the December 2021 quarter, with any number below zero indicating a skills shortage.
“A boom in detached house construction and renovations has seen demand for land, labour and materials skyrocket. These constraints have pushed out construction timeframes. As a result, skilled trades are expected to be in high demand throughout 2022 and into 2023,” added Ms Lillicrap.
“Skilled migration is the pivotal to alleviate the pressure on skilled trades in the short-term.
“While permanent and short-term visas are part of Australia’s skilled migration program and the building trades that have been in the most acute shortages are included on lists of eligible occupations, there has been very little take up within the construction industry, particularly the residential building industry.
“Several aspects of these visas render them impractical for use by residential building businesses.
“HIA’s 2022-2023 Pre-Budget Submission recommends that the government consult with industry to develop a visa that will enable the residential building industry to alleviate trade shortages through skilled migration.
“All trades recorded a deterioration in availability during the December 2021 quarter. Bricklaying, carpentry, joinery, roofing, general building and other trades have reported the most severe shortages on record.
“Brisbane, Regional Queensland and Regional Western Australia reported a small quarterly improvement in the availability of trades. These small improvements reflect quarterly volatility, not a material improvement in the supply of trades. All areas continue to report a severe shortage of skilled trades,” concluded Ms Lillicrap.
“There were 9,490 detached homes approved in the month of April 2025, up by 3.3 per cent compared to the previous month,” stated HIA Senior Economist Maurice Tapang.
The Treasurer has handed down the 2025/26 Tasmanian Budget. The Budget focuses on alleviating cost of living pressures, health, education and infrastructure, while mapping out a path to a fiscal balance surplus in 2032/2033.
“The NSW planning system has failed to deliver the number of homes we desperately need and we fully support removing the politics from housing, to address this growing crisis,” said Brad Armitage, HIA Executive Director NSW.
The Victorian Opposition’s announcement that it would remove stamp duty for first-home buyers spending up to $1 million on a new or existing home if elected at next year’s state election, is a positive step towards improving home affordability,” says Steven Wojtkiw, HIA Victoria Deputy Executive Director.