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- 14/11/2025
14/11/2025
The Daily Dirt Aus
By G’day Construction………….……
THE MORNING PAPER FOR CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS AND TRADIES
🚨 Safety Updates
This model Code of Practice provides practical guidance on how to comply with WHS duties to manage risks of working with respirable crystalline silica in the workplace. It is primarily intended for PCBUs.
This model Code of Practice provides practical guidance to PCBUs on how eliminate or minimise the risk of fatigue at work so far as is reasonably practicable. Fatigue is a physical, mental, or emotional state that can harm health and workplace safety. Employers must prevent fatigue-related risks by consulting workers, designing safer work schedules, providing adequate breaks, and adjusting tasks or equipment to reduce strain and ensure employees can work safely and effectively.
âś’ Headlines & Industry
Queensland has permanently scrapped the Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC) policy, citing high costs and reduced competition. The move, part of the new Queensland Procurement Policy 2026, aims to cut red tape, boost productivity, and prioritise small, regional, and Indigenous businesses, with a 30% SME participation target and industry-wide support.
Multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects across Australia are fuelling a huge demand for construction workers, but the nation is heading for a shortfall of 300,000 tradies, a new report says. A record pipeline of infrastructure projects will require more workers and a more efficient building sector, according to the peak federal government agency.
At the AFR Infrastructure Summit, the government reaffirmed its commitment to delivering sustainable, well-planned infrastructure through disciplined, evidence-based investment. Emphasising delivery over announcements, it outlined reforms to strengthen transparency, market capacity, and industry culture, while advancing key priorities like high-speed rail, housing, productivity, and the transition to net zero.
Infrastructure Australia’s 2025 Market Capacity Report reveals record infrastructure investment, with governments injecting nearly $30 billion into a $242 billion five-year pipeline. Driven by energy and housing projects, the surge highlights a 141,000-worker shortfall and stagnant productivity, prompting calls for innovation, modern construction methods, and national training to meet future demand.
🏗️ Projects
NSW
High-speed testing is underway on Sydney’s Sydenham to Bankstown metro line, marking the final stage before its 2026 opening. The 13.5km conversion will extend the M1 line to Bankstown, delivering trains every four minutes and cutting travel times nearly in half after extensive upgrades to 11 stations.
QLD
Far North Queensland set to grow by 50,000 homes – but where to build them is the current question
The Queensland Government has released a draft Far North Queensland Regional Plan to guide where nearly 50,000 new homes will be built by 2046. Developed with eight local councils, the plan targets housing growth in infrastructure-supported areas and is open for public consultation until January 2026.
Portugese renewable energy giant EDP, through EDP Renewables Australia, has agreed to partner with the Queensland Investment Corporation to deliver the Punchs Creek Renewable Energy Project near Toowoomba.
SA
South Australia’s housing industry faces a severe concrete shortage as major projects like the $15.4 billion Torrens to Darlington development consume supply. Builders fear rising costs and delays, with Master Builders SA warning residential construction is being pushed to the “end of the queue.”
TAS
Two independent politicians who hold the future of Tasmania’s proposed AFL stadium in their hands have raised concerns about the project’s financial viability. Construction of the $1.13 billion Hobart waterfront venue is a condition of the Tasmania Devils entering the AFL and AFLW in 2028. It requires the approval of parliament and will on Thursday come before the lower house where it has the numbers to pass with support of the governing Liberal and Labor opposition parties.
VIC
Local government, water corporations and Traditional Owner groups can apply for $24 million worth of grants to support water recycling projects across Victoria.
Mainbrace Constructions has commenced work on a $50 million redevelopment in Melbourne’s south east that will transform an existing Bunnings Warehouse into a 14,300sqm large format retail centre. The project, known as Fountain Gate Central, is being delivered for repeat client BWP Trust and sits directly opposite Westfield Fountain Gate, one of Australia’s busiest retail precincts.
WA
Mirvac announces it is selling the site of the Toombul Shopping Centre — devastated by the 2022 Brisbane floods — to a developer who has plans to build a new shopping centre as part of a mixed-use precinct.
Horizon Power and Pacific Energy have signed a 20-year agreement to deliver a hybrid power system for Leonora, WA. Featuring solar, diesel, and a 9.9MWh battery, the project will supply 60% renewable energy. Construction begins in 2026, boosting regional sustainability and supporting the Goldfields’ mining community by 2027.
Neoen's $1 billion Yathroo wind farm has been quietly approved by a Wheatbelt shire, paving the way for its development and an additional 500 megawatts of wind energy into the system.
🧰 Construction Au Other
New unemployment data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirm a tighter jobs market, which will exacerbate cost and capacity pressures across the building and construction industry.
Global law firm HFW has expanded its Australian construction practice with Christopher Rowden’s team in Brisbane. The new team, experienced in disputes, arbitration, and major infrastructure projects, strengthens HFW’s ability to advise clients across energy, resources, and engineering sectors, supporting complex projects locally and across the Asia Pacific region.
🚀 Innovation, Digital & Futuristic Technology
ACCIONA has been internationally recognised for pioneering the world’s first large-scale use of Artificial Ground Freezing (AGF) on the Suburban Rail Loop East project in Melbourne, Australia with the accolade awarded by the International Symposium on Ground Freezing (ISGF) in September 2025.
Built environment tech funding reached $4.4 billion in the third quarter, a 66% year-over-year increase bolstered by a continuing groundswell in artificial intelligence and robotics startups.
Trimble has announced winners of the annual Trimble Construction Innovation Awards, recognizing exceptional use of Trimble technology to improve workflows, processes and project management by North American customers.
🌱 Sustainability ​& Environment
Researchers enhance 3D printed concrete with agricultural waste fibers, improving sustainability and mechanical properties for eco-efficient construction.
The State Government will mandate a preference for WA-made green steel on major state projects, bolstering local manufacturing. The initiative is a key component of the “Made in WA” plan, which aims to diversify the economy.
A Nature report warns the construction industry’s carbon footprint, already 33% of global emissions, has doubled since 1995 and could double again by 2050. Cement and material use drive most emissions, and without adopting low-carbon alternatives, the sector risks undermining the Paris Agreement and accelerating global warming.
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