The shortage of tradespeople in residential construction throughout Australia is now at its worst in almost twenty years of records, the latest report has shown.

Releasing the December quarter edition of its HIA Trades Report, Housing Industry Association (HIA) says its HIA Trades Availability Index contracted from -0.69 in the September Quarter to -0.84 in the December quarter.

At this level the shortage is at greatest level since the report began in 2003 (any reading below zero represents a shortage of trades)

Each of the thirteen categories of trade are in shortage – with the shortage having intensified across all categories in the December quarter.

Extreme shortages are evident in bricklaying, carpentry, other trades (concreting, floor sanding, glazing, scaffolding, pest control, security systems etc.), roofing and ceramic tiling.

Significant but less severe shortages are evident in other trade categories.

The shortage extends to every region, with Perth, Regional WA, Regional SA and Adelaide being worst impacted.

Not surprisingly, trade prices are on the rise.

Across all trades, prices have risen 4.7 percent over the past twelve months.

Particularly significant increases have been observed for bricklaying (7.3 percent), general building (7.2 percent), landscaping (6.6 percent), carpentry (6.2 percent) and plumbing (6.0 percent).

The latest data provides further evidence of time and cost pressures which are evident in Australia’s construction sector on account of a shortage of land, labour and materials.

Nationwide, construction costs for detached house building increased by 11.1 percent last year.

HIA Economist Angela Lillicrap says shortages are being driven by skyrocketing demand associated with the boom in detached house construction and home renovations.

She says high demand for skilled trades will persist throughout 2022 and into 2023.

In response, Lillicrap repeated previous HIA calls for the Government to consult with industry to develop a visa which will enable the residential building industry to alleviate trade shortages through skilled migration.

Whilst permanent and short-term visas remain an invaluable part of Australia’s skilled migration program, Lillicrap says take-up of these within residential construction has been limited as several aspects of these visas render them impractical for residential businesses.

“Skilled migration is the pivotal to alleviate the pressure on skilled trades in the short-term,” Lillicrap said.