The Western Australian government is investing AU$48 million to boost housing supply and productivity in the construction sector.
The funding package will establish and expand two major housing and infrastructure advanced manufacturing facilities in Neerabup and Kwinana.
It will be split as incentive payments of approximately AU$20 million each between industry proponents Built Living and Atlas Precast, alongside state support for utility connections and rent-free leases.
The move looks to pivot the state towards large-scale prefabrication for medium- and high-density apartment projects. Pointing to successful overseas models, the government notes that prefabrication can slash construction costs by 20 per cent and slice building times by up to half compared to traditional methods.
Premier Roger Cook said the initiative is part of his administration’s Made in WA platform.
“By investing in innovative ways of building, we will not only accelerate the construction of medium-and-high-density housing in WA, but potentially help deliver major infrastructure projects, too,” the Premier said.
Construction on Built Living’s Neerabup facility is slated to kick off in late 2026, creating 150 building jobs and 150 permanent operational roles by its 2028 completion.
Meanwhile, Atlas Precast’s expanded Kwinana hub expects to start operations in late 2027, supporting 125 construction jobs and 75 ongoing roles.
Once both facilities hit full throttle in 2028–29, Atlas alone will have the capacity to deliver the equivalent of 9,400 apartments annually.
The state government has reserved production capacity to build social housing, affordable homes for first-time buyers, and critical regional infrastructure like schools and hospitals.
Built Living CEO Dale Connor said: “Across the world’s leading apartment markets, offsite manufacturing of high-quality construction elements is delivered at scale.
“Built Living brings this best practice to Australia, strengthened by Built’s AI-enabled digital product capability, on which we have spent $100 million in development. Western Australia is the ideal launch point for our national platform.”
