Australia’s tradie shortage is shaping up to be one of the biggest roadblocks to hitting the government’s ambitious housing targets.
The nation’s residential construction sector is caught in a perfect storm, sending Australia into a housing crisis like never before.
With housing availability at record lows, material costs continuing to climb, and a critical shortage of skilled tradies, the supply and demand imbalance has led to skyrocketing home prices, construction delays, and mounting pressure on the industry to deliver more homes fast.
But it’s not just the housing sector feeling the heat. As the government calls for 1.2 million new homes by the end of the decade, policymakers have so far done little to actually build up tradie numbers and give the sector the workforce it desperately needs.
Now, a new quarterly report from the Housing Industry Association (HIA) has sounded the alarm, warning that if policy settings don’t change, the tradie shortage will only get worse.
From bricklayers to plumbers, tilers to electricians, the skilled workforce needed to build Australia’s homes simply isn’t there.
And with public infrastructure projects also competing for workers, the residential construction industry is facing a labour crunch that could stall housing developments nationwide.
The HIA estimates that an additional 83,000 workers are needed in key residential construction trades if Australia is to have any chance of reaching its housing goals.
Nearly a third increase on current levels.
Industry sounds the alarm
The latest data doesn’t paint a hopeful picture, with demand for trades continuing to outstrip supply.
The HIA Trades Availability Index, released last week, recorded a figure of -0.47 for the last quarter, indicating a persistent shortage that threatens to derail housing construction targets.
Most acute shortages of skilled trades – capitals:
- Perth (-0.84)
- Brisbane (-0.65)
- Adelaide (-0.47)
- Sydney (-0.31)
- Melbourne (-0.31)
Most acute shortages of skilled trades – regional:
- Regional South Australia (-1.35)
- Regional Queensland (-0.75)
- Regional Western Australia (-0.59)
- Regional New South Wales (-0.46)
- Regional Victoria (-0.45)
One major factor keeping tradies off housing developments is the sheer scale of public infrastructure projects currently underway across the country.
With infrastructure projects pulling tradies away from residential construction, the pressure is mounting on policymakers to ensure the housing sector gets a greater share of skilled workers before shortages spiral further out of control.
HIA Senior Economist Tom Devitt warned that the competition for skilled workers is making it even harder to get houses built.
“Competition for skilled tradespeople in Australia remains stiff, with the home building industry competing for workers against a large public infrastructure pipeline,” Mr Devitt said.
“There is a $155 billion pipeline of public sector construction work underway that has been absorbing available labour across the country.”
“This competition is producing persistent tradie shortages that, while less extreme than recent years, are still more acute than anything seen in the nearly two decades before the pandemic.”
Meanwhile, HIA’s annual All Hands on Deck report, released late last year, reveals an even bleaker outlook. It highlights that not only does Australia need an extra 83,000 tradies, but current workforce growth is nowhere near enough to bridge the gap.
The report warns that retirement rates in the industry are increasing, meaning that while the sector struggles to recruit new apprentices, it is also losing its most experienced workers.
Without immediate action, the skills deficit will continue to widen, making the 1.2 million home target even harder to reach.
Policy renovation urgently needed
The HIA has made it clear that without urgent policy reform, the tradie shortage will continue to put Australia’s housing pipeline on extended smoko.
Current measures simply aren’t delivering the workforce required, with existing policies failing to attract, train, and retain tradies.
HIA’s Tom Devitt has warned that without major reforms, skills shortages will remain one of the biggest roadblocks preventing Australia from fixing the housing crisis.
“Failure to address the acute, persistent and potentially worsening shortage of skilled trades will leave a major constraint, not just on housing affordability but on broader productivity and economic growth,” he warned.
“HIA’s 2025-2026 Pre-Budget Submission outlined a number of critical reforms needed to address the chronic and long-term skills shortages.”
HIA’s key policy fixes:
- Expanding apprentice and employer subsidies to improve retention rates
- Increasing funding for pre-apprenticeship training to get more workers job-ready
- Launching a national awareness campaign to encourage young people into the trades
- Creating a streamlined visa program to attract skilled workers from overseas
- Developing a dedicated construction trade contractor visa
States on policy smoko
As reported by Build-it last week, some states are further behind than others when it comes to building up policy blueprints to solve the housing crisis.
The HIA Housing Policy Scoreboard 2025 ranked each state and territory based on their ability to implement policies that support housing supply, including planning reforms, land release strategies, and infrastructure investment.
While South Australia (9/10) and Western Australia (8/10) were praised for decisive planning reforms and streamlined development approvals, others have struggled to put effective policies in place.
At the other end of the scale, ACT (4/10) and Northern Territory (5/10) were singled out as the worst-performing regions, failing to implement meaningful reforms to boost housing supply.
HIA housing policy scoreboard rankings
HIA Senior Economist Matt King declared that even the best-performing states aren’t on track to build the number of homes required to meet their Housing Accord targets.
“South Australia and Western Australia both received significantly higher rankings, with decisive planning reforms, streamlined development approvals, and a strong focus on land release,” Mr King said.
“Despite these steps forward, neither South Australia nor Western Australia are on track to build the number of homes required to meet their contribution to deliver on the government’s 1.2 million homes target.”
