Australia’s housing crisis is running head-on with a critical tradie shortage, threatening the dreams of thousands of aspiring homeowners as the nation struggles to meet its ambitious construction targets.
For the two million Australians working as tradies, it’s a boom industry. Workers are up before dawn, heading to sites across the country.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Modular homes tackle Australia’s tradie shortage crisis
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“The sense of accomplishment you get from looking at something that you’ve built, knowing that people are going to create memories and are going to be able to live portions of their life in something that you’ve been a part of building,” apprentice carpenter Oscar Cherry told 7NEWS.
Just 18 months into the federal government’s five-year housing accord, Australia is already behind by 77,000 homes.
“We need between 80 and 100,000 additional workers if we are to build 1.2 million homes,” senior economist Tim Reardon from the Housing Industry Association says.
The housing crisis is meeting a tradie shortage. Credit: 7NEWS
“There’s still a perception in modular that it’s a 1970s classroom, and they’re the stigmas that we really enjoy breaking,” said James Briggs, owner of JBM Modular Housing.
Briggs used to be a conventional builder and is now using his skills to craft a new range of prefabricated homes, offering buyers luxury and choice.
“It takes us 32 days to complete a home,” Briggs said.
His factory is one of 1200 Australian companies manufacturing modular houses.
“And when we say complete, when it goes to site, one or two days on site and we’re done,” he said.
Modular homes could help Australia meet its housing demands. Credit: 7NEWS
Prefabricated homes currently account for eight per cent of Australia’s construction industry, but that figure is expected to surge to 30 per cent within seven years.
Inside Briggs’ facility, it is capable of building 32 homes at once.
But the biggest challenge is council red tape. Financing prefabricated homes can be harder too.
Traditionally, lenders have required proof of progress, which can be difficult when a house is built in a factory. But specialist loans are making it easier.
“Anything that can be done on site, we can do here in the factory,” Briggs said.
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