CCF QLD CEO Damian Long queries how the civil construction industry can go beyond 'business as usual' to shape its future
For decades, the construction sector has been the backbone of Queensland’s growth. Yet the data tells a sobering story: a 30-year stagnation in productivity that has culminated in a nine per cent drop since 2018. This isn’t just a statistical dip; it’s a barrier to the prosperity of every member’s business and worker in the state.
At CCF Queensland, we believe that delivering the upcoming Olympic Games and supporting our surging population requires more than just hard work – it requires a smarter regulatory environment.
CCF QLD spent a huge amount of time investigating and consulting with members about what could be done, before providing multiple, detailed submissions as to how we felt the regulatory environment needs to be changed in order to manage the state’s twin tasks of delivering the Olympics and managing our population growth over the next couple of decades. Anyone who is in industry now knows that ‘business as usual’ is simply not an option.
The Queensland Productivity Commission in its report made findings across five key focus areas:
- industry reset
- government procurement
- land use regulation
- regulation of building activities
- labour markets.
The government agreed to, or agreed to in principle, 51 of a total of 64 recommendations in the report.
Some critical changes for our industry amongst these 51 are:
- the permanent removal of best practice industry conditions
- removal of requirements for prequalification for subcontractors
- ‘right sizing’ projects
- additional support for attracting and retaining apprentices
- taking opportunities to better utilise skilled overseas migration.
Other highlights include a ‘noting’ of an agreement to end jump up clauses for contractors working with Energy Queensland and potential progress on occupational licensing and automatic mutual recognition reform.
These changes will help restore enterprise bargaining and make it easier to attract interstate workers. The restoration of enterprise bargaining is critical to drive the state and our industry forward.
The original principle of enterprise bargaining was productivity-based bargaining at enterprise level. It was recognised that businesses could negotiate pay and conditions directly with their employees, with or without union involvement, to increase flexibility and link productivity improvements with wages. This is the only sustainable way to drive responsible wage growth, deliver value for taxpayers and ensure that businesses continue to thrive.
These recommendations will take time to implement. Some require legislative change, some regulatory, some, particularly at the industrial relations level may simply take time as old arrangements expire. There is no single lever that can be pulled to ensure that we get our industry back on track. But it is critical that everything that can be done, must be done. The state depends on it.
Without a productive civil industry, we will have greater homelessness, clogged roads, crumbling public transport and athletes taking e-bikes to half-built stadiums will be how the 2032 Olympics is remembered.
Productivity in construction begins and ends with people. The latest data highlights a critical hurdle: a significant dearth of skilled labour. Because civil construction is a high-precision, labour-intensive field, ‘entry-level’ still requires a baseline of specialised training and ongoing support.
CCF QLD is proactively addressing this labour deficit through a two-pronged approach:
- localised upskilling: investing in the next generation of civil tradespeople
- strategic migration: attracting the best talent from across the globe and our own borders to meet immediate demand.
Infrastructure projects are among the most complex undertakings in the world. Making them more efficient is a massive task, but it’s a challenge we welcome. We look forward to a close partnership with the state government to implement the changes needed to secure a more productive tomorrow.
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