{{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 locationPrioritising housing trades support critical to boosting skills and building more homes
Prioritising housing trades support critical to boosting skills and building more homes
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
Send me exclusive tips, early access to new launches, and special offers. I can change my mind at any time.
By clicking Get started now you agree to the terms and conditions and privacy policy.
The announcement includes an extension of the $10,000 Keeping Apprenticeship Program and continuation of the Priority Hiring Incentive for employers for a further 12 months while the Australian Apprenticeship Scheme Review is completed.
“These are welcomed responses to the crippling labour shortages in the housing industry and will play a vital role in providing employers and apprentices with much needed certainty and stability in attracting the school leavers of 2025.
“The number one challenge every builder or tradie is facing around the country is skills shortages and without the workers, the homes Australia needs will remain a pipe dream.
“HIA’s recent All Hands On Deck report found that if Australia is to reach the Housing Accord target of 1.2 million homes there needs to be an injection of 83,000 trades people.
“HIA has long called for targeted apprentice incentives to grow and maintain the domestic workforce alongside employer support to take on new apprentices, as critical interjections to reverse this decline and boost workforce numbers.
“The current Keeping Apprenticeship Program (KAP) has been a key tool to help address apprentice attraction and retention in a highly competitive jobs market.
“HIA strongly advocated on the need for targeted milestone payments throughout an apprenticeship to support higher retention and completion rates and it is pleasing to see the successful KAP scheme extended.
“The Priority Hiring Incentive is even more important. Without an employer, there is no apprentice, and the continuation of current financial incentives are invaluable in helping the construction industry to access more workers.
“Employer incentives are strategic investments that underpin the entire apprenticeship system. Without businesses willing to employ and train apprentices, there is no system.
“There is a clear pattern: when employer incentives are increased and maintained, commencements rise; when incentives are reduced or removed, apprentice numbers dive.
“HIA has advocated extensively on the critical need for continuation of these important incentive programs to boost construction workforce numbers as the shortage of skilled trades remains more acute than at any time prior to the pandemic or before.
“Australia’s number one policy challenge is to address the housing crisis. Today’s announcements are critical steps forward on the path to accessing more skills into the industry that will deliver more homes in 2026 and beyond,” concluded Ms Martin.
For more information please contact:
Housing must not be collateral damage of data centres
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has welcomed the Prime Minister's acknowledgement today that housing must remain a central consideration as Australia expands its digital infrastructure and data centre capacity.
Update on untitled land contracts and contracts signed before 1 July
This member alert is for members who enter into domestic building contracts entered into before 1 July 2026. It is also important information for members who enter into domestic building contracts with clients with untitled land.
Update on recent HIA advocacy activities
Over the past few weeks HIA has been advocating strongly on behalf of members on a range of policy and regulatory issues that have significant implications for housing supply, business confidence and the capacity of our industry to deliver the homes Australia needs.
Tasmanian builders shouldn't be shut out of housing work over union membership
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has today written to the Tasmanian Government calling for a commitment that state-funded and state-partnered housing work will continue to be awarded on merit, not industrial arrangements, warning new federal procurement rules could shrink the pool of builders able to deliver the homes Tasmania needs.