Migrant tradie gangs needed to realise former Premier Daniel Andrews’ 800K new home plan

Serious worker injuries are set to increase as pressure grows for fewer tradies to do more work — as data reveals the horror truth of the state’s declining workforce.

Migrant labour is needed to realise former Premier Dan Andrews’ ambitious 800,000 new home plan, amid a dire shortage of local tradies.

The alarm has also been sounded on the likelihood of increased worker injuries — as a few skilled tradespeople try to do the work of, what should be, many — and higher house prices and fewer investors in Victoria as a result of the state’s tradie shortage.

Latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows there was a 6.3 per cent drop in Victorian construction industry workers between May and August this year, with 21,078 fewer tradies.

Alarmingly there were 8146 fewer workers than for the same period last year.

A large proportion of the decline occurred across regional Victoria, with an 11 per cent drop in the number of construction workers — down from 100,314 to 89,288.

It comes as the Victorian Government ramps up its ambitious housing reform plan, to build 800,000 new homes across the state in the next decade — with claims it will build 425,600 houses in regional Victoria by 2051.

Tradie numbers have plummeted in Victoria, especially in regional areas. Picture: Supplied

The Housing Statement, aimed at addressing Victoria’s growing accommodation crisis, was Daniel Andrews’ “last big reform” before resigning as Premier in late September.

But there are concerns it fails to consider a key requirement for house building — enough tradies on tools.

Master Builders Victoria executive director of policy, Megan Peacock, on Thursday said an increase in skilled migration had to be part of the state government’s housing reform, but needed to be “balanced against a commitment to retain a skilled workforce through career incentives”.

Support for employers and financial incentives were key to improving apprentice completion rates, she said.

A Master Builders Australia report also notes the need for a path to be cleared for more migrant labour but to also attract, and retain, more Aussie apprentices.

“Where it is established that a particular country’s standards are comparable or exceed Australian requirements a trade recognition assessment should not be required,” the report notes.

“This has the potential to speed up processes, reduce red tape and costs, and make Australia a more appealing destination for these workers. Ensuring that Australia continues to be an attractive destination for permanent migrants, particularly skilled migrants, is critical.”

Partner with major law firm Gordon Legal, Jenny Forti — a specialist in manual labour injury claims — warned there would likely be more WorkCover claims and lawsuits as local tradies felt pressured to take shortcuts to finish jobs, without enough workers on site.

Back and shoulder injuries in tradies and workplace accidents rose when work sites were undermanned, Ms Forti said.

800,000 new homes have been promised over the next decade. Picture: David Crosling

“Pressure on people to get the job done faster can lead to mistakes or it can lead to corner-cutting because people are just desperate to get the job done,” she said.

“That’s where I see things going wrong because the fewer number of workers are just trying to get it done as best as they can, and therefore maybe working faster than they should because of that pressure, and that can lead to injury as well.

“There is a pattern … often there are materials or equipment that need to be moved from one place to another — and that move generally should be done with two people — but if that second person just isn’t available, and there’s this pressure to get the job done, my client will just try to move it themselves because there’s pressure to get it done … there’s this inherent pressure to just do it, even if the employer doesn’t direct them to move it alone … and I expect that will just get worse.”

A major Housing Taskforce Report released by the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) this month said the “acute shortage of construction workers, particularly bricklayers, carpenters and roofers” in the state could lead to delays and increased costs in building new homes.

Daniel Andrews on his last day as Premier. Picture: Josie Hayden

Chronic skills shortages in the state could also discourage potential investors and developers from entering the housing market, further limiting housing supply and driving up prices, the report notes.

“The root causes of this labour shortage stem, in part, from the pandemic era’s border closures and the impact on the flow of migrant workers. However, the issue dates back further than that,” it states.

Master Builders Australia recently warned trades training in secondary schools had to be urgently increased and innovative plans to retain apprentices developed.

“The perception that higher education is superior to VET (Vocational Education and Training) needs to be quashed and the tertiary system better aligned to meet future workforce needs,” MBA chief Denita Wawn said.

Migrant trades labour must be part of the state’s housing reform. Picture: David Crosling

“Master Builders has long advocated for a range of changes to the journey of an early career worker in the building and construction industry. These include better career education and advice, starting in early high school years; extinguishing the bias towards higher education over VET; providing detailed and realistic information to prospective apprentices to help them make informed choices; better pastoral care and mentorship; and restructuring the wage subsidy for employers.”

A spokeswoman for Housing Minister Harriet Shing said: “We’ve given industry the certainty they deserve and already we’ve received record levels of inquiries from industry ready to work with us to build the homes that Victorians need.

“We’ve invested in training for the skills our economy needs through free TAFE, Big Build Apprenticeships and Skills Solutions Partnerships — with more than 20 infrastructure-related courses available through free TAFE alone.”

In the fortnight following the release of the Housing Statement, the state government received more than 100 enquiries from industry ready to roll up their sleeves and build thousands of new homes under an expanded Development Facilitation Program (DFP), she said.