Australia’s construction industry is eyeing a $60 billion-a-year productivity boost, with senior leaders calling for urgent action to turn potential into progress.
In what was described as the industry’s equivalent of a COP Summit, more than 120 senior decision-makers from government, unions, industry and academia convened in Brisbane last month for a closed-door Leaders’ Exchange ahead of the Foundations and Frontiers forum (FF25).
The exchange set the agenda for reform, with insights carried into FF25, where more than 550 delegates at Nissan Arena refined priorities and committed to an action plan.
ACA Chief Executive Officer Jon Davies said the two events were complementary, ensuring alignment between national leaders and the broader sector.
“The Leaders’ Exchange creates the blueprint for reform,” said Davies.
“FF25 is where that blueprint is stress-tested by the broader industry.”
He emphasised the need to focus on realistic solutions.
“The key to unlocking the $60 billion prize is focusing on achievable steps,” said Davies.
“Even modest changes could deliver enormous returns.
“Just a few targeted reforms could generate $15.1 billion in value every year.”
Research by Oxford Economics highlighted three practical reforms with significant economic impact:
- Cutting indirect costs by 10 per cent could save $5.7 billion annually.
- Halving tender costs could free up $743 million for extra project delivery and return $2.1 billion to the economy.
- Introducing greater flexibility in rostered days off (RDOs) could enable $2.3 billion in additional work, driving a $7.3 billion boost.
“These are practical levers that could shift the dial significantly,” Davies said.
Building on these insights, FF25 participants identified five sector-wide priorities: harmonisation and standardisation across regulations and contracts, financial stability to enable innovation, earlier collaboration in project lifecycles, embedding long-term innovation culture, and strengthening the skills pipeline to match future demand.
ACA said it will focus on turning these commitments into tangible outcomes, including developing productivity benchmarks, working with governments to deliver the National Construction Strategy, and driving adoption of the Blueprint for the Future and the Culture Standard.
The industry body will also continue to work with the Construction Industry Leadership Forum to embed reforms that generate measurable results.
The full FF25 Post-Event Report, Playing as one team – From Me to We, is available at the Foundations and Frontiers website: www.foundationsandfrontiers.com.au.