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Event: Interview with Graeme Goodings, FiveAA Radio
Date: 4 August 2026, 11.00am AEST
Speakers: Denita Wawn, Master Builders Australia CEO
Topics: Skilled migration, domestic apprenticeships, workforce shortages, National Housing Accord, housing supply shortfall.
E&OE
Graeme Goodings, FiveAA Radio host: The Master Builders Association says migrant tradies could make a big difference to our housing crisis, but they say dramatic changes need to be made to the skilled migrant system. CEO of the Master Builders Association is Denita Wawn, who joins us now. Denita, good morning to you.
Denita Wawn, Master Builders Australia CEO: Good morning.
Host: There’s no question we have a housing crisis. There is no obvious answer at the moment, but you’re suggesting more migrant tradies could fill the bill.
Denita: Absolutely, we’ve been saying for a number of years, from a national perspective, we need more skilled migrants in every state and territory for the building and construction industry to meet the needs of our community and whether it’s housing or whether it’s the construction of our roads, vital infrastructure, and of course schools and hospitals and so forth. We’ve just some recent data that shows that every skilled migrant who comes into our industry, they will contribute to an additional 21 homes over a 30-year career and contribute nearly $2 million dollars’ worth of economic activity. So, we’re very, very excited that we will have an opportunity if the Government gets the settings right.
Host: Sounds very good, there’s no question about that. But doesn’t the Government already have a skilled migrant program?
Denita: It does, but unfortunately, it’s not fit for the purpose. It’s in a situation where we’ve found that we’re simply not giving greater priority to the areas of acute need, including building and construction. We find that we’re seeing limited numbers come in for our industry, and it is costly and time-consuming. And so, we’re saying to Government, “you need to give greater priority to building and construction, particularly in relation to the trades pathway.”
Host: Now, according to your figures, around 18,500 permanent migrants already here holding building qualifications, aren’t they fit for purpose?
Denita: They are, but unfortunately, the system is against them. Whether it’s recognised prior learning which costs around about $15,000 for each of those people to get their get their skills recognised. It’s an additional cost in terms of uplifting if they’ve got gaps, and so they are also facing problems. So, we’ve got a situation where we’ve got people in country that should be utilised with their requisite skills that need support. But equally, we need people from outside of Australia coming in at a far greater, rapid pace than we’re otherwise seeing at the moment.
Host: So, is it if there are 18,500 permanent migrants here that have the skills, do we need to accept the qualifications that they have received in other countries?
Denita: Well, in some instances we do, but in many instances we don’t. We need to make sure that we have high standards in Australia that are met in relation to skills. That means that in some countries that there is automatic acceptance, others there’s got to be uplift. But unfortunately, that uplift comes at a cost to the individual that they sometimes cannot afford. So the question is, can we find additional funding for those people to have their skills uplifted to Australian standards, so they can then proceed in working in the industry?
Host: The Government has set a target for housing, and it seems to be falling behind every year. Just how far behind are we at the moment?
Denita: Yeah, we’ve just finished year two of the five-year housing accord, and unfortunately, we’re already around about 85,000 homes short of the 1.2 million target. That means we’ve got to build faster than ever before. We have met those targets in the past around 20 years ago, but we know we were more productive and we had more people working in the industry at that time. So, that is why getting more skilled migrants into the country, into our industry, coupled with additional apprenticeships, is going to be so crucial for us to meet those housing accord targets that were signed by the Federal Government alongside state and territory governments.
Host: So, how many extra tradies do we need?
Denita: Well, we need 115,000 extra tradies alone just to meet the residential requirements of the Housing Accord. But on top of that, we need an additional 300,000 odd tradies across the three sectors of the industry to meet the commercial and civil construction requirements as well. We can’t forget that we’re building 17 additional properties in Queensland alone for the Olympics. So that is putting added pressure into the system.
Host: Yeah, when it comes to the tradies, as you’ve just said, that the Queensland Olympics and the major building program there is going to take many construction workers. Apprenticeships form an important role, is enough being done in that area to get apprentices starting from the ground up.
Denita: Well, the Government has had their Key Apprentice Program that has worked really well, additional support for building and construction trade apprenticeships. Unfortunately, they have announced that money will decline in 2027. We say more needs to be done in respect to apprentices, reinstate that money that they’ve contributed in the past, but also more needs to be done to support Group Training Organisations. That’s where we see high completion rates. The completion rates in trades at the moment is under 50 per cent and is simply not acceptable, and we would like to see additional support for those trying to complete. So that is important, and it is something that we’re again pushing Government for at the moment.
Host: So, what are the Master Builders wanting the Government to do to prioritise tradies?
Denita: Well, from a Federal Government perspective, we’re needing to see more support for both employees and employers when it comes to apprentices. We’re needing to see faster pathways for skilled migration, and then we need to see state governments really harnessing and working with industry on the ground. We know South Australian Government is actually an exemplar in this regard. There’s some really strong practical work being undertaken with the South Australian Government and industry at the moment when it comes to both apprentices and skilled migration. But the South Australian Government needs to be more supported by the Federal Government, and we need to see more commitment by all state and territory governments around the country.
Host: Denita Wawn, good to chat, CEO of the Master Builders Australia.
Media contact: Dylan Hafey, Adviser, Media & Government Relations
0497 330 064 | dylan.hafey@masterbuilders.com.au