Towers of tradies could be coming to Queensland as the state prepares for a nation-draining building boom that’s tipped to add 10 per cent a year to construction costs by 2028.
It’s also expected to see the Sunshine State drag in chippies, sparkies and plumbers from Melbourne and Sydney at increasing levels in the years ahead.
A new report from WT Partnership has revealed Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast will be facing the nation’s highest building cost increases by 2028, as they ramp up preparations for the 2032 Olympics alongside major hospital works and other big build projects.
Residential towers could be filling up with tradies around Brisbane and the Gold Coast as demand for their skills surges.
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Their latest Australian Construction Market Conditions Report also warns increases this year and next, though not as high as in 2028 for most parts of the nation, will be in part influenced by indirect impacts flowing through to pricing from the Middle East conflict between the United Stats, Israel and Iran today.
The report flags prices could be hit by producers and importers looking to profiteer from the conflict, as well as by some projects being put on hold or scrapped, or even fast-tracked as the situation shapes different responses from different businesses.
Impacts to the economy caused by the conflict could also increase costs with the prospect that could lead to impacts on the size of construction workforces available.
Brisbane is expected to have the biggest increase in building costs in the country by 2028.
This is on top of direct cost increases caused by the conflict such as increased fuel prices and oil-linked products like plastic pipes.
None of that is expected to stop the price of building’s growth tapering downward in Melbourne and Geelong over the next three years, with the two cities expected to all see construction costs rising between 4 per cent and 4.5 per cent by the time the nation next hosts a federal election. In 2025 WT recorded growth closer to 5 per cent for the two cities.
Sydney cost increases are also expected to be softer next year, but bounce back up a year later to the 4.8 per cent anticipated for 2026.
Perth and Adelaide are both expected to have construction cost rises for building peak this year, before declines in the following 24 months.
Hobart will have the biggest midterm increases outside of Queensland, with a 6 per cent uptick in construction costs by 2028 — well up from the 4.3 per cent increase expected this year. It is in part linked to plans for a major new stadium in the Tasmanian capital.
An artist’s impression of Brisbane's Olympic Stadium at Victoria Park. Image: COX and Hassell.
WT Partnership’s Australian Construction Market Conditions Report June 2026 shows their projections for building cost escalations around the nation.
WT Partnership’s construction economist Damon Roast said how Queensland coped with a huge pipeline that they expected to increase costs for a number of years would depend on its governments’ priorities.
There were possibilities that projects could be paused or cancelled, but another solution was a significant increase in its workforce.
With housing in the south east of the state already tight, that opens the door to more novel solutions ranging from fly-in-fly-out trades to trying to build more housing to host them, likely in higher density complexes.
“They have a tight time frame anyway, to get everything done ahead of 2032 … there would be a strong case for towers for tradies,” Mr Roast said.
“But there’s nothing agreed for towers for tradies at the moment.”
Early works at Victoria Park in Queensland for new Olympics stadium started earlier this year. Picture: Nigel Hallett.
He noted that with Melbourne and Sydney’s construction sectors looking likely to be softer in the same time frame, they would be the most likely to have tradies being lured away interstate.
“Moving from those areas to South East Queensland is a well-worn route,” he said.
“But housing markets in Brisbane and South East Queensland are tight and have been for a while, and you are seeing that with the median price being higher than Melbourne’s.”
Looking ahead, one of the key issues behind cost increases today is a consistent failure to invest in the sector in the past — and Mr Roast said it was likely the Middle East situation would delay that even further.
“So you will see sustained above average escalation,” he said.
“The potential for the escalation to rapidly fall back below long-term averages is not really on the cards from a general perspective.”
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