The availability of skilled labour remains the biggest challenge for most contractors and this is consistent across most trades. The number of experienced tradesmen retiring from the industry is creating a skills and knowledge gap and whilst there has been a recent uptake in trade apprenticeships, these will take some time to work through the supply chain.

The other major challenge with labour is the current industrial relations negotiations. Whilst WA has historically avoided many of the Trade Union issues experienced by our Eastern State counterparts, there is currently a large push for new Enterprise Bargaining Agreements (EBA’s) to be put in place for many trades. Whilst this will largely impact the Tier 1 contractor space, there is no doubt that the effects will trickle down through to the Tier 2 and 3 contractors.

We are starting to see some stabilisation within the Perth construction sector. Whilst costs remain high, the rate of escalation increase is returning closer to a historic average of 3-5% per annum. Unfortunately, the high starting point is making many project feasibilities difficult to stack up. Many of the major spikes experienced in material supply costs that we have seen over previous years have alleviated, however there are still some price increases being experienced for materials such as plasterboard and concrete. Additionally, copper cable is increasing, however some contractors have mitigated this increase by bulk buying in advance of projects.

There is a significant pipeline of work on the horizon for social infrastructure projects which will include significant investment in schools, hospitals and social and affordable housing.  

Detailed data for each Australian state can be found in the 2024 Handbook & Cost Guide.