Sometimes, hard politics gets in the way of good policy.
As Treasurer Jim Chalmers finalises his 2026-27 budget over the next week, he faces calls from housing sector groups to increase recruitment of skilled migrants in the building trades.
The Property Council of Australia, Housing Industry Association and Master Builders Australia all want the government to look overseas for more workers to address what Chalmers, Anthony Albanese and Housing Minister Clare O’Neil have repeatedly identified as the root cause of Australia’s housing crisis: inadequate supply.
The argument is simple enough: there is a housing shortage and we don’t have enough builders, plumbers, bricklayers and electricians to meet our needs, which drives up housing prices. Therefore, we should increase the skilled worker intake while our governments lift their effort to train locals in the building trades.
The government’s own infrastructure adviser, Infrastructure Australia, says the construction sector has a workforce shortage of about 141,000 people, which it expects will rise to 300,000 by 2030.
