As Western Australia looks for ways to address its severe housing crisis and worker shortages, the state government’s proposed $10,000 relocation bonus to lure interstate tradies has sparked debate across the industry.
With low unemployment and a rapidly growing population driving unprecedented demand for housing, WA’s residential construction sector is facing immense pressure.
The government urgently needs to recruit thousands more tradies to take on the formidable challenge of building 26,000 homes annually to meet the targets set by the National Housing Accord.
As reported by Build-it earlier this month — the initiative proposes to ease the strain by offering east coast tradies a $10,000 cash incentive to move permanently to WA in an effort to tackle the state’s mounting construction woes.
But, critics say the relocation incentive is a band-aid solution for a problem that demands much greater structural reform.
Australian Constructors Association (ACA) CEO Jon Davies argues the initiative will do little to address the root causes of the state’s labour shortage, which has left WA grappling with some of the greatest housing market pressures in the country.
“On the surface, this idea sounds logical—a quick fix for a desperate need,” Mr Davies said.
“But scratch a little deeper, and it’s clear that this approach isn’t sustainable.”
“Even if the WA government did manage to entice workers with cash incentives, it would simply shift labour shortages from one state to another,” he pointed out.
“Such incentives do not add any new skilled workers to the overall Australian economy. They merely add to already significant inflationary pressures within the industry.”
Build productivity, not problems
Instead of chasing tradies with cash offers, Mr Davies called for addressing deeper systemic issues by improving productivity across the construction industry and ditching the short-term solution approach.
“The real solution to labour shortages and the increasing demand for housing and infrastructure is improved industry productivity,” he said, pointing to the ACA’s Nailing Construction Productivity report, which found that boosting productivity could add $62 billion annually to the economy.
“This isn’t about doing more work with fewer workers—it’s about leveraging better processes, technologies, and training to maximise what we can accomplish with the workers we already have.”
“The time for short-term solutions, problem shifting, and tinkering around the edges is over. We need to think big if we are to address the industry’s productivity problem and construct the housing and infrastructure that Australia needs when it needs it, and for a price it can afford.”
Mr Davies also urged construction firms to embrace Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and innovative technologies, which could revolutionise efficiency in the sector.
However, he highlighted significant barriers, such as outdated procurement practices and rigid regulations, that must be addressed first.
“Procurement processes should focus on driving improved project outcomes rather than the lowest price at the tender box,” he said.
“History has shown that this approach merely increases the bill that is ultimately picked up by taxpayers.”
