NT builders fear an exodus to Brisbane to help build Olympic infrastructure

The Territory construction sector is bracing for an exodus as workers eye lucrative contracts from a global event. Read what’s happening.

The Northern Territory’s construction sector is being haunted by the spectre of Brisbane’s 2032 Olympic Games, with industry leaders calling for radical changes to attract and keep local builders.

Queensland Government construction contracts are due to be tenerded for Olympic infrastructure by the end of 2025 and into 2026, leaving Territory developers exposed to skills shortages as locals are lured east to the Sunshine State.

One prominent Darwin builder told the NT News a local building worker had been offered an additional $20 an hour, on top of the $50 he already received, to relocate to Brisbane.

“This is just the start,” he said.

“If we don’t do something there’s going to be an exodus.”

Housing Industry Association NT executive director Luis Espinoza warns a “perfect storm” is brewing, with between an estimated 30,000 and 40,000 additional workers needed for projects across the sector.

NT Housing Industry Association director Luis Espinoza. Picture Julianne Osborne

“The current housing crisis is not the only issue; there will be considerable amount of money spent on schools, hospitals, infrastructure, and renewable energy,” Mr Espinoza said.

“The Northern Territory has a history of labour shortages, and particularly when our southern jurisdictions experience a boom in construction and most are drawn by the large projects and the financial lure.

“The Northern Territory still has a mountain to climb in the housing sector and already has workforce shortages in a few areas.

“The incentives provided by the new CLP government were welcomed when they came into power last year and the 12-month extension will only improve construction numbers in coming months, with interest rates coming down.

“The main hurdle stopping further growth in new house construction is the costs involved, which currently outweigh buying an already established home.”

Derek Campbell from KPMG Darwin.

HIA’s All Hands on Deck report estimated an additional 80,000 skilled tradies would be required to reach the federal government’s 1.2 million new home housing target.

Among its recommendations were to promote and subsidise apprenticeships, combat the ageing trades workforce and make better use of the skilled migration system.

The previous Labor Government signed the NT up to build 11,427 new homes by 2029.

Citing the unreality of the target, the CLP in February scrapped that total.

Recent estimates indicate as few as 4000 new homes will be built across the Territory between now and 2029.

KPMG NT managing partner Derek Campbell said construction workforce issues in the Territory were magnified by a lull in bigger projects.

DCOH chief executive Shane Dignan. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“How do we keep the workers in the Territory while we wait for those next big projects to come on line?” he said.

“There’s a lot of projects coming in gas, mining and critical minerals, but how do we keep the workers here in the meantime?

“Along with that, how do we get private enterprise in the Territory more certainty so there’s more projects and more investment, which just aren’t happening to the level they were previously.

“We really need that increase in private investment so that we can fill the gaps on the peaks and troughs of defence in the peaks and troughs. Why would anybody with a decent amount of cash come to the territory when there’s no certainty around the process.”

Shane Dignan, chief executive of DCOH, said development certainty was critical to attract builders. He currently has 200 residential blocks under construction at Northcrest, with another 1000 lots available later.

“The Territory is not developing quickly enough or big enough, and we’re not developing quickly enough, which goes back to us being the hardest place to develop or to spend money,” he said.

“We should be rolling out the red carpet, not the red tape. We need to build more houses if we want more people to come. We want as many people as possible to have a house as we can.”

The Brisbane Olympics are scheduled to run from August 24 to September 5, 2032.

Originally published as NT builders fear an exodus to Brisbane to help build Olympic infrastructure