28 August 2025 –
Crisafulli to bake in 50k tradie shortage by 2027, tear up Olympic tenders and remove protections from deadly heat stress
The Crisafulli Government will lock in a shortage of 50,000 tradies by 2027 Changes will remove protections for deadly heat stress ETU submission to QLD Productivity Commission shows jobs and safety in firing line.
The Crisafulli Government’s plan remove minimum standards in the Queensland construction sector will lock in a shortage of 50,000 construction workers in Queensland by 2027, delay critical hospital projects by re-starting tender processes, and remove protections from deadly heat-related injuries.
The Electrical Trades Union’s submission to the Queensland Productivity Commission’s inquiry into the state’s construction sector found that the LNP Government’s proposal to remove Best Practice Industry Conditions which apply to government-funded construction projects in Queensland.
The standards currently require jobs funded by taxpayers to train local apprentices with a minimum of 15 percent of the hours on the job performed by young people getting a start in the trades.
Their removal will see Queensland suffer a critical shortage of skilled tradies which Construction Skills Queensland estimates will peak at 50,000 in 2027. This shortage will deprive Queensland kids of a shot at a construction career.
According to Infrastructure Australia it will also delay projects and increase costs.
The Queensland Government has also decided to re-tender critical projects including the desperately needed Hospital build, undermining the certainty trades employers need to put apprentices on. Not to mention the added cost to these projects with the inflated building costs of retendering 2 years later.
The ETU also voiced grave safety concerns with the removal of provisions protecting workers from heat stress – a top safety concern in Queensland conditions that has killed construction workers and caused permanent brain damage.
ETU Queensland and NT Secretary Peter Ong said the changes would rob Queensland of the tradies it needs to build towards the Olympics, lock young people out of construction careers and expose construction workers to safety risks that could end their lives.
“The best practice industry conditions make sure we have the tradies we need to build the future we want,” Mr Ong said.
“They make sure young people in our state can get a start and build a career in construction. “They protect people working in Queensland conditions from deadly heat stress and other
fatal safety hazards – they are the difference between life and death. “Whatever the Crisafulli Government thinks they will get by forcing worse practices on the
Queensland construction sector, it cannot be worth what we are giving up.
“We are calling on the Crisafulli Government to pause and assess whether their aims are worth placing us in a dire skills shortage. Is what they are seeking here really worth the future of the 50,000 young Queenslanders who could fill this shortage? Is it worth the lives of the construction workers who will no longer be protected by industry-standard heat stress policies.
CONTACT Peter Ong 0419 721 046 – [email protected]