Worker Numbers ‘Must More Than Double’

Not long after being restored as the main advisory body to the Federal government, Infrastructure Australia has revealed figures on workforce shortages in the industry. 

The Senate passed the Infrastructure Australia Amendment (Independent Review) Bill 2023 last week.

It allows Infrastructure Australia to provide better advice to the government with a new governance structure with three expert commissioners replacing the previous board structure, and an advisory council to support the commissioners. 

The change was part of the recommendations made as part of the Independent Review of Infrastructure Australia in 2022. 

It is also part of the recent reforms recommended after the Independent Strategic Review of Infrastructure Investment Program.

The body this week released its 2023 Infrastructure Market Capacity report, claiming a shortfall of 229,000 workers.

Infrastructure Australia chief executive Adam Copp said with many projects planned for the infrastructure, housing and the energy sectors, there was pressure to find materials and workers.

“The infrastructure sector is delivering a major public infrastructure pipeline valued at $230 billion over five years,” Copp said.

“This is occurring alongside a plan to build 1.2 million new homes as well as major investment in the energy sector, which is quadrupling over that same period.

“With so much construction activity under way, the industry is finding it increasingly difficult to source key building materials and workers —particularly engineers, skilled trades and labourers.”

▲ Infrastructure Australia chief executive Adam Copp.

That there is a shortfall in worker numbers is far from new: others in the construction and property industry have raised the alarm on countless occasions, but this is the third year in a row that Infrastructure Australia has reported a worker shortage.

Its 2023 report said that the nation’s infrastructure workforce will need to increase by 127 per cent to meet demand.

“We urge governments to work together and with industry to address this structural workforce shortage,” Copp said. 

“While broad skills and workforce reforms are under way nationally, we need to urgently boost the pipeline of workers into the sector and develop a national infrastructure workforce strategy.”

The lack of materials is also having an effect as the report predicts acute quarry shortages in Melbourne, the NSW Mid-North Coast and South-East Queensland. 

Victoria has already made moves to increase the supply of materials, and speed up delivery and access to them.

Steel imports have increased by 20 per cent during the past two years compated to the previous two decades. 

▲ An aerial view of the Holcim quarry in Werribee, was part of the Victorian government's trial to increase material supply.

Price uncertainty is also being driven by a lack of access to local cement. 

Imports may seem like an obvious solution, but Copp said importation to make up shortfalls presented other concerns. 

“Australia’s lack of domestic capacity to supply building materials exposes investments to cost-overruns, delays and future global supply chain risks,” Copp said.

“It’s also much more difficult to understand the level of embodied carbon in imported materials.

“Currently, there is no method for collecting or analysing data on local manufacturing and production outputs at the national level, hindering the ability to predict supply and mitigate for shortfalls, as we can do with labour.”

There is some light at the end of the tunnel—the report lists 14 recommendations for the federal government to act on along with industry, and state and territory governments.

One of these is looking at how more sustainable substitutions can be made.

“Australia has an opportunity to build domestic capacity and markets for new low emissions construction materials, such as recycled materials,” Copp said.

“For major road projects, our modelling suggests that close to a third of conventional materials – 54 million tonnes annually – could be replaced with recycled materials.”