REIWA welcomes budget announcement to boost construction workforce

REIWA CEO Cath Hart has welcomed the McGowan Government’s budget announcement of a $47.6 million boost to WA’s building and construction industry. 

“These initiatives to attract international building trades and increase local construction apprentices will expand the WA building industry’s ability to meet the housing needs of the state’s growing population,” Ms Hart said. 

“Whether its rentals, established stock or new homes, supply remains the biggest issue facing our property market, so today’s announcement to expand WA’s residential building workforce is a welcome move. 

“WA’s growing population has meant that demand for homes to buy or rent has been at high levels since COVID, with stock being snapped up within 14 days (for sale) and 16 days (for rent) of being listed on www.reiwa.com.  

“At the same time, delays in new home building completions caused by labour and material constraints over the past couple of years has meant the supply of housing has just not kept up with that demand. 

“This two-pronged approach to boosting the number of tradies to build WA homes will help all aspects of the market, whether it’s social housing, new and established homes or people looking for investment properties that they lease to tenants in the rental market. 

“Budget initiatives to help attract and retain a local workforce and bring in skilled workers are very welcome at a time when we desperately need to get more homes out of the ground.” 

The 2023-24 budget will include: 

• $26.9 million to increase the Base Employer Grant for all third and fourth-year apprentices by 20 per cent, from $10,000 to $12,000, to encourage local businesses to take on local workers; 
• $4.6 million for a one-off $2,000 completion payment to encourage more apprentices to finish their training in the building industry and for school students to learn about the diverse career options in construction; 
• expansion of the existing Group Training Organisation Wage Subsidy program to include apprentices and trainees in the residential and commercial construction industry, opening the program up to assist more small-to-medium businesses; 
• $2.7 million boost in resources to expedite approvals of occupational licensing; 
• $11 million for targeted visa subsidies of up to $10,000 to attract up to 1,100 skilled migrants to the building and construction sector, plus an additional $2.4 million to promote skilled migration to WA and visa advisory services; and 
• temporary changes to the State sponsored visa scheme to make it easier for skilled migrants to connect with job vacancies in WA.

Ms Hart said these budget measures would support previously announced initiatives including the $80 million Infrastructure Development Fund to unlock a pipeline of new apartment developments in Perth and worker accommodation in regional areas, and $2.4 billion in social housing and homelessness initiatives, which are set to deliver around 3,300 new social dwellings and complete refurbishments and maintenance work to thousands of existing ones.