Last year, the Crisafulli Government signalled its intention to establish Queensland as ‘the building capital of the nation.’

It’s a bold vision. But what would it take to deliver it?

It’s undeniable that the landscape is looking better. The government has dispensed with the productivity-sapping Best Practice Industry Conditions. The Minimum Financial Requirements reporting obligations are gone for some 50,000 licensees. The Queensland Procurement Policy has been trimmed, slashing red tape for small businesses. New leadership is spearheading the modernisation of the QBCC. And of course, we support the ongoing CFMEU Inquiry and the work of the union administrator.

While the dial has shifted, the pressure remains. Our state is facing what is arguably the largest and most extensive pipeline of infrastructure and community projects in living memory. Not to mention the unfolding delivery program for the 2032 Games.

Building 50,000 homes each year, or one million new dwellings in 20 years, is a scale of delivery that has never been contemplated in this state. Indeed, the latest building approvals figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show 41,039 new dwelling were given the green light in the year to December 2025. That is well short of that government target.

The workforce shortage remains the greatest concern. Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ) reports that around 146,100 construction workers are needed to deliver the pipeline. This leaves an expected shortfall of about 40,000 workers in 2025–26.

Naturally, we look to new apprentices to fill this gap. However, this pushes the burden of growing the workforce onto an industry that is mostly small business and is already grappling with rising compliance and business costs. We know that meaningful wage subsidies can address this barrier. We have the evidence: CSQ found that during the pandemic-era subsidies, apprentice commencements In Queensland rose sharply, reaching a peak of around 14,800 in both 2020/21 and 2021/22. When those subsidies were withdrawn in 2023–24, commencements plunged to 11,800.

When it comes to general construction costs, the ABS reported a 42.5 percent increase in Queensland over the past five years, while the cost of building a house surged by 51.9 percent in the same period. The time from approval to completion of a new house also increased by two months, now averaging nine months.

The Queensland Productivity Commission’s (QPC) Final Report into Construction Productivity struck the hammer blow. It found industry productivity had declined by around 9 per cent since 2018. This was attributed to growing regulatory burden and sub-optimal procurement practices. If that were not the case, 77,000 more homes could have been built. In light of today’s crisis, this is heartbreaking.

That’s the state of play right now. So, how do we reach the lofty heights the state government is striving for?

There is an obvious place to start. The QPC has done the heavy lifting. Its final recommendations vindicated us on many of the solutions we have been advocating on for years. However, while we welcomed the state government’s response, several of these recommendations were only ‘noted’, failing to deliver the pace of reform industry needs.

The upcoming 2026–27 State Budget is the chance to act at a time when the need has never been greater.

Meeting the current challenges requires a stable operating environment for construction businesses. They need reliable supply chains for skills and materials, the flexibility to embrace new and more productive ways of working and regulation that is clear, purposeful and avoids placing unnecessary burdens on productivity.

Our Pre-Budget Submission begins to set out how this can be achieved. It emphasises the need for sustained funding to support workforce growth, strategic investment to deliver housing targets, and a whole-of-government approach to lifting productivity.

Growing the construction workforce must be priority one. Enhanced wage subsidies – at least a 50 per cent rebate on first-year wages – would better position more businesses to take on new apprentices, as would subsidised access to Group Training Organisations for small and family businesses. The Free Construction Apprenticeships for Over 25s program, due to expire on 30 June, must be extended to encourage mature workers. Investment is needed in both VET programs in schools and industry-aligned pre-apprenticeship programs – a statewide campaign to raise awareness of the opportunities in our industry will encourage people into these programs. Away from the Budget, we continue to call on the QBCC to simplify licensing in order to make it easier for skilled migrants and interstate workers to get on the tools faster.

Supporting home ownership and boosting supply will require targeted tax and grant reforms. The $15,000 First Homeowner Grant Boost for new builds should be extended beyond 30 June 2026. The restrictive, market distorting $750,000 cap should be removed. Ending the stamp duty ‘double dip’ on new residential developments, lifting the payroll tax threshold for small construction businesses and scrapping foreign investment surcharges would further reduce costs and help bring more projects to market.

When it comes to rebuilding industry productivity, the QPC report is the pathway forward – and government needs to invest in delivering on it. Improving delivery timeframes and strengthening safety outcomes will require targeted investment in core systems and support. Funding is needed to upgrade infrastructure that enables timely utility connections, along with additional frontline WHS inspectors and expanded training to bolster WHSQ’s education role. A dedicated grant program to help SMEs adopt modern business improvement software would further lift efficiency and compliance across the industry.

To borrow from the QPC report, there are no silver bullets. Industry will continue to work with government to lift productivity, get boots on the ground, drive down costs, and get new homes out of the ground.

The signposts on the road to ‘the building capital of the nation’ are there. We just need to follow them.

By Dyan Johnson – General Manager, Policy & Advocacy, Master Builders Queensland

Enjoying Sourceable articles? Subscribe for Free and receive daily updates of all articles which are published on our site

Want to grow your sales, reach more new clients and expand your client base across Australia’s design and construction sector?

Advertise on Sourceable and have your business seen by the thousands of architects, engineers, builders/construction contractors, subcontractors/trade contractors, property developers and building industry suppliers who read our stories across the civil, commercial and residential construction sector