- Cook Labor Government's incentives helping expand building workforce, ensuring every Western Australian has a home
- 1,024 skilled construction workers head west under Build a Life in WA incentive
- Construction Visa Subsidy Program helps 1,058 overseas workers to move to Western Australia
The Cook Labor Government is ensuring every Western Australian has a home with two major initiatives bringing more than 2,000 job-ready builders to the State.
Latest figures for the Build a Life in WA (BALWA) incentive and the Construction Visa Subsidy Program (CVSP) show that skilled workers are seizing the opportunity to head to Western Australia.
As part of its drive to develop the housing and construction workforce, the Cook Government invested $12.3 million in the 2025-26 State Budget to extend the CVSP and the BALWA incentive. The BALWA incentive targets skilled workers from interstate and New Zealand citizens.
It provides eligible skilled workers with up to $10,000, paid via two milestone payments, to support their move to WA to commence work in the building and construction industry.
Since the BALWA incentive started on 1 January 2025, 1,024 skilled workers from interstate and New Zealand have received the first milestone payment of $5,000 and started work in WA's building and construction industry.
The top five occupations of skilled workers who have received a milestone one payment are carpenters, electricians, plumbers, bricklayers, and construction project managers.
These new skilled workers are helping to increase the workforce capacity of648 building and construction businesses, with 151 of these businesses employing more than one skilled worker.
Since the CVSP commenced on 1 July 2023, Western Australian building and construction employers have received more than $12.6 million in funding through the program to sponsor skilled migrants, with 1,058 starting work with 394 building and construction businesses throughout the State.
Of that total, 520 workers moved to Western Australia this year.
Under the CVSP, building and construction businesses are supported to employ skilled migrant workers, filling positions that are unable to be filled locally to help speed up delivery of homes and major infrastructure projects across WA.
Businesses can access payments up to $10,000 to offset costs such as migration agent fees, visa application fees and relocation expenses.
Skilled migrants are working in trade and professional occupations across the building and construction sector including carpentry, electrical services, plastering, cabinetmaking, glazing, bricklaying, civil engineering, surveying, construction estimating and landscaping.
As stated by Acting Skills and TAFE Minister Simone McGurk:
"Our government's vision is to ensure every Western Australian has a home.
"That's why we have enacted the Build a Life in WA incentive and Construction Visa Subsidy Program.
"These initiatives have helped boost our construction workforce and provided more skilled workers to build more houses to meet the demands of our growing economy.
"At the same time, we are investing in TAFE, through fee-free and low-fee courses to ensure we have the next generation of skilled workers.
"The Cook Labor Government is committed to building the workforce Western Australia will need across building and construction, defence, technology, clean energy, and health sectors as we continue to diversify the economy."
