The Property Council of Australia said Infrastructure Australia's 2025 Infrastructure Market Capacity Report shows the vital need to match infrastructure delivery with the supply of new homes and industrial warehouses.
Infrastructure Australia warns the industry is short 141,000 workers to deliver the five-year infrastructure pipeline, with shortages projected to surge to 300,000 by 2027.
Property Council Group Executive Policy and Advocacy Matthew Kandelaars said labour shortages is a critical issue for our economy and a serious obstacle for our housing targets.
"Last-mile infrastructure, such as roads, water, sewerage and electricity, is critical to the delivery of much-needed new homes and logistics hubs that are so important in our everyday lives.
"Delays in the delivery of these projects create serious bottlenecks for new industrial and housing projects.
"Skills shortages in civil infrastructure ripple through the economy, making it harder to deliver new homes or logistics hubs, which face their own severe labour shortages.
"Welcomed investment in training and apprenticeships must be complemented by skilled migration to ensure we have the right workers with the right skills."
The Property Council has welcomed the report's focus on incentivising the uptake of Modern Methods of Construction, such as prefabrication and modular housing.
"With rising home construction costs, modular and prefabricated housing can help create new homes to a high standard at a lower cost, but more thinking is required," Mr Kandelaars said.
"Following national moves to streamline regulations, governments must continue to work with industry to grow the sector at scale."
