Master Builders Australia calls for targeted construction visa

Master Builders Australia has called on the federal government to establish a dedicated building and construction visa pathway.

The organisation recently released the Future of the Workforce: Skilled Migrants in Building and Construction report, which examines the chronic and critical workforce shortages and how skilled migrants represent a vital part of industry growth.

Skills shortage

Master Builders CEO Denita Wawn says Australia faces a significant housing crisis with an undersupply of homes and increasing demand for owner-occupiers, renters and social and crisis accommodation.

“The industry needs an extra 500,000 extra people into our sector over the next few years if we are going to build those 1.2 million homes and supporting infrastructure under the Housing Accord,” she says.

The Reserve Bank of Australia recently confirmed that home building is expected to slow further due to rising construction costs, with the availability of labour one of the biggest barriers.

“Our ability to train more apprentices domestically cannot keep up with demand,” Wawn says. “Skilled migrants who are qualified and ready to go will help relieve some of the workforce pressures.”

Finding the talent

Master Builders Australia believes the Australian immigration system should prioritise the skilled workers who are needed to support the economy and meet construction and infrastructure goals. The report makes several key recommendations and urges the government to:

• Develop and implement a construction industry-specific visa pathway that makes it quick, easy and cost-effective for migrants with the trade skills Australia needs to get to Australia
• Ensure all trade and trade-related occupations are included in the Core Skills pathway of the Skills in Demand visa
• Improve the process and reduce the need for skills assessments for migrants coming from countries with comparable qualification and training frameworks
• Ensure the skills recognition process that remains is quick, simple and cost effective
• Streamline national licensing frameworks as much as possible to enable workforce movement and allow for nationally accredited gap training for all licensed trades.

Wawn believes that just like Canada, the UK and New Zealand, Australia needs construction-specific pathways for appropriately skilled migrant workers to ensure quality applicants and prioritise trades workers and occupations that are in significant shortage domestically.

“It is the only way Australia will meet its building and infrastructure targets and boost its workforce,” she says.

“We need the visa and skills recognition process to be simpler, more cost effective and quicker so more suitably skilled migrants can join the building and construction industry.”

The report is available to download here.