Interview with Sarah Abo, Today Show

Event: Interview with Sarah Abo, Today Show

Date: 28 January 2026, 7.20am AEDT
Speakers: Denita Wawn, CEO Master Builders Australia
Topics: Mental health in the industry, insolvencies and labour shortage.

E&OE

Sarah Abo, Today Show host: I’m joined now by Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn, thanks so much for your time this morning. So Tradies, we know are really struggling at the moment. There’s a lot to break down here, but what are the current issues that are facing this sector causing this?

Denita Wawn, CEO Master Builders Australia: The biggest issue is uncertainty, uncertainty of supply as they try and work through the 1.2 million homes that we know we need to build. When you have a shortage of labour, when you don’t know when approvals are going to come through, you don’t know where, when clients are going to be able to pay you and then the flow-on impact that then has on the trades. It is a highly stressful profession, and we’re really seeing that in those insolvency figures at the moment, despite the fact we’ve got a huge demand for new and renovated homes and buildings in our country.

Host: And I think Denita, that’s the point that’s going to sort of, I suppose, spark some confusion. I know when I saw this story, I was confused, because we know there’s a building boom at the moment, right? Supply has been an issue now for a number of years but when you look at the numbers at the end of the 2025 financial year, 3596 building industry collapses, the majority in New South Wales and Victoria, it is surprising.

Denita: It is, although, interestingly enough, when you look at those insolvency figures, actually more businesses were created than those that were closed down. And so, we know that there is huge opportunity in this industry, massive opportunity but equally, running a business is hard. If you look at a general builder that may have one or two employees, they’re working with 40 odd subcontractors. And you also don’t know when those subcontractors are going to be available. So, if you’ve quoted for a job 6-12, months prior, and then you’re wanting to make sure that you make some money out of that job, you need that site working day in, day out. And I don’t know about you Sarah, but I see too many building sites at the moment where no one’s working on them. Why? Because we don’t have enough people to actually complete that work ,and time unfortunately is money, and that’s when the stresses start.

Host: Oh, I can just only imagine the stress. I mean, as you said there, there are so many building sites across the country right now, and without the manpower, it sounds like it’s a system wide issue, right? There’s so many issues that need to be addressed here from the government right through. But when we’re talking about the workers and those who are impacted by these, this increase in mental health breakdowns that we’re seeing, I mean, we’re talking about workers who are literally breaking down on site here.

Denita: Yes, we are, unfortunately, and when you look at the statistics around mental health in our industry, they are very high. We do, unfortunately, have high suicide rates. We have a real focus in the industry on mental health. There’s a number of building and construction specific support providers out there. Likewise, we continue to implore people to use services such as Lifeline to ensure that they are getting the best support possible when those stresses become too much. But as an industry, the big thing for us is making sure that those pressures are alleviated, and at the moment, it’s all about getting more people to work in the industry so we don’t have those shortages. Equally, builders are also frustrated that the bad operators in the industry aren’t being held to account. So, we also say, focus on the good ones, hold the bad ones to account and get more people into the sector.

Host: Yeah, that lifeline number if you need is 13 11 14. A good reminder to check in on your mates, as always. Denita, thank you for joining us this morning.

Denita: Thank you

Media contact: Dylan Hafey, Media Advisor

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