{{propApi.title}}
{{propApi.text}} {{region}} Change location{{propApi.title}}
{{propApi.successMessage}} {{region}} Change location {{propApi.title}}
{{propApi.text}} {{region}} Change location{{propApi.title}}
{{propApi.successMessage}} {{region}} Change locationHome builders aiming to use slower year to train more apprentices
Home builders aiming to use slower year to train more apprentices
Member and guest login
Enter your email and password to access secured content, members only resources and discount prices.
Did you become a member online? If not, you will need to activate your account to login.
If you are having problems logging in, please call HIA helpdesk on 1300 650 620 during business hours.
Forgotten password
Need some help?
If you are having problems logging in, please call HIA helpdesk on 1300 650 620 during business hours.
If the email address you have entered is registered, you will receive an email with further instructions.
Become part of the HIA community
Enables quick and easy registration for future events or learning and grants access to expert advice and valuable resources.
Create a guest account
Enter your details below and create a login
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.
“A survey of home builders undertaken in January shows that 51 per cent of home builders aim to increase the number of apprentices they employ in 2024, with just 7 per cent of builders expecting to reduce their apprentice numbers,” added Mr Devitt.
“The strong intention to increase employment of apprentices occurs as the volume of homes under construction continues to shrink due to the rise in the cash rate.
“Despite the slowdown in building activity, strong demand for skilled tradespeople in other sectors has ensured that building trades remain in high demand.
“Competing demands from other sectors for skilled trades such as carpenters, electricians and plumbers, are compounding the shortage of tradespeople in residential building.
“The HIA Trades Availability Index, which measures the industry’s perception of the availability of each skilled trade, sat at -0.64 in the final quarter of 2023, virtually unchanged for much of the past 12 months.
“The return of overseas workers made a marked difference in addressing what were the most acute shortages of skilled tradespeople since HIA started this Report in 2003.
“The lack of improvement for much of 2023, however, shows the industry is still struggling to find the skilled tradespeople it needs.
“Competition for skilled tradespeople from other sectors – including public infrastructure and other non-residential projects – is intense. All sectors are now employing significantly more construction workers than just a decade ago.
“This has made it harder for Australia’s home builders to complete the significant pipeline of work taken on during the pandemic.
“It has also pushed up the price of skilled trades, which increased by 5.0 per cent in 2023. While this is a welcome moderation from the near-10 per cent increase a year earlier, it is still much stronger than the 2.0 per cent average annual increase that prevailed before the pandemic.
“This ongoing demand for skilled tradespeople across the country reinforces the need for polices to attract skilled migrants to Australia.
“Access to skilled migration is essential to respond to cyclical changes in demand. This includes a streamlined and simplified visa program for in-demand trades.
“There also needs to be a conscious effort to promote careers in the industry. There needs to be more support for the apprenticeships and businesses that help train and upskill our existing and future workforce,” concluded Mr Devitt.
By trade, the most acute shortages existed in ceramic tiling (-1.04) and bricklaying (-1.03), followed by carpentry (-0.84), roofing (-0.81) and plastering (-0.79). Shortages are more modest in electrical (-0.21), plumbing (-0.33) and site preparation (-0.36) trades.
By region, the most acute shortages of skilled tradespeople at the end of 2023 were in Perth (-0.89) and Adelaide (-0.84), followed by regional South Australia (-0.76), Brisbane (-0.72), Melbourne (-0.70), Sydney (-0.58), regional New South Wales (-0.56), regional Queensland (-0.54), regional Western Australia (-0.48) and regional Victoria (-0.47).
HIA Trade Availability Index
Detached house approvals picking up
“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.
State Budget is a missed opportunity to stimulate housing
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.
HIA supports bipartisan approach to planning reform NSW
“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.
Opposition pledge to remove stamp duty for first home buyers welcomed (Vic)
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.