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Master Builders Australia has warned that low productivity is making it harder to beat inflation once and for all.
The warning comes as new monthly inflation data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released today revealed that headline inflation rose to 3.0 per cent in the 12 months to August 2025, a 13-month high.
Despite the negative headline inflation, steadily expanding building activity is clearly helping to relieve cost pressures for both renters and owner-occupiers, with rental inflation the lowest since November 2022 and new home building costs up just 0.7 per cent for the year.
Quotes Attributable to Denita Wawn CEO Master Builders Australia:
“When building activity is strong, so is our economy, and this data confirms that a strong building and construction industry can help relieve cost-of-living pressures for all Australians.
“The building and construction industry has proven that by increasing building activity we can deliver benefits to Australians, and now is the time to capitalise.
“These numbers reinforce the need to quickly implement the priorities of the Economic Reform Roundtable, particularly around simplified regulation, to increase productivity and get our economy moving in the right direction.
“They also highlight the urgent need for the federal government to help boost labour supply in the building and construction industry which will allow us to further increase building activity.
“We’re calling on the government to increase support for apprentices and their employers to get young Australians into the trades, and to improve migration settings that help us get the skilled workers we need to address critical shortages right now.
“The industry is ready to deliver for all Australians, now we just need the government to clear the roadblocks and let the builders build.”
Media contact: Ben Conolly, Senior Advisor
0423 151 666 | ben.conolly@masterbuilders.com.au