Construction workforce uplift a missed opportunity in Budget

4 June 2026

Yesterday’s Senate Estimates Hearings into Jobs and Skills considered the severe workforce shortages in building and construction, with hundreds of thousands of workers needed to address Australia’s housing crisis.

Evidence provided revealed progress on trade completions, now at a 12-year high and 40 per cent above 2019 levels. These gains have been supported in part by the Federal Government’s Key Apprenticeship Program, an initiative backed by Master Builders Australia.

It was also revealed that full Free TAFE completion data is still unavailable, a key concern raised by Master Builders. Questions were raised about the occupations on the core skills occupation list (CSOL) and priority skills list. In particular, civil engineering was raised as an occupation not covered. These matters are subject to a review of the CSOL methodology over the coming months.

This year’s Key Apprenticeship Program funding of $1 billion will fall to $723 million next year, and as low as $555 million the following year.

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said today that the funding cut is concerning, and the Federal Budget missed the opportunity to turbo charge the construction workforce.

“While increasing completions are a good sign, the overall pool of apprentices in training continues to decline. Combined with around half of all apprentices withdrawing or not completing, this is a troubling indication of a system in critical need of uplift.

“The hearing further demonstrated that Australia’s policy settings are yet to have a handle on the workforce challenge, and the detailed reporting gaps in completion rates means that the industry is unable to get a clear read on whether this is the best use of a limited funding pool.

“Australia needs more than 300,000 additional infrastructure workers by 2030, alongside a further 116,000 housing construction workers. We need an uplift of our domestic training initiatives alongside a properly functioning skilled migration system to close the workforce gap,” said Ms Wawn.

For our domestic workforce pipeline, Master Builders is calling for:

• Expansion of the Key Apprenticeship and Group Training Organisation Reimbursement Programs
• Co-funded Innovation in Apprenticeship Credit pilots with employers or Group Training Organisations.
• Embedding stronger school-to-trade pathways, providing a Mentor Support Allowance to employers and establishing Regional Continuity Payments
• Funding mid-career digital upskilling programs for supervisors and trades.

Master Builders’ federal budget roadmap including its domestic apprenticeship and skilled migration policies can be found here.

Media contact: Dylan Hafey, Media Advisor

0497 330 064 | dylan.hafey@masterbuilders.com.au