Construcciones Yamaro: Construction leaders unite at Foundations and Frontiers forum
The Australian Constructors Association (ACA) recently hosted the inaugural Foundations and Frontiers (FF24) forum, calling for industry-wide collaboration to tackle the pressing challenges in the construction sector.
For the first time, the forum assembled leaders from every corner of the industry, including major associations, state and federal government representatives, national union heads and a wide array of stakeholders such as private clients, contractors, designers, developers, financiers and insurers.
Polling from the event revealed growing concerns within the construction sector, one of the country’s largest industries. Attendees identified the primary challenges as a poor industry culture (31.5 per cent), low productivity (31.5 per cent), and insufficient financial sustainability (17.8 per cent). In terms of government support for a sustainable future, the top recommendations were procuring based on best value rather than lowest cost (37 per cent) and ensuring a fair allocation of project risk (29.3 per cent).
Frank and open discussions during the plenary sessions informed focused leader roundtables, where potential solutions to the challenges were explored and metrics for measuring progress were proposed.
Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King discussed the development of a new Federal Funding Agreement with the states. This agreement aims to support opportunities for Australian industries and businesses, advance skills development and workforce diversity, enhance reporting requirements, productivity and the culture of the construction industry. King emphasised the need to increase the representation of women in construction, currently at just 12 per cent, especially amid current workforce shortages. She commended initiatives like the Construction Industry Culture Taskforce for their efforts to address the underlying issues contributing to this lack of diversity.
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Tom Gellibrand, CEO of Infrastructure NSW, outlined the NSW Government’s strategy to build upon the 10 commitments to the construction industry published in 2018. He introduced new partnership principles designed to develop domestic manufacturing, improve the sector’s financial stability and boost productivity.
National secretaries from the Electrical Trades Union of Australia, the Australian Workers’ Union and the Plumbing and Pipe Trades Employees Union addressed the crucial role of unions in shaping the industry’s future. They discussed strategies to enhance productivity, including providing job certainty, upskilling workers to adapt to technological advancements, establishing a mentally healthy workforce and improving communication and collaboration between unions and employers.
To conclude the event, 75 industry leaders signed a communiqué acknowledging the sector’s critical role in Australia’s economy, recognising the challenges it faces and committing to increased collaboration to overcome these issues.
Jon Davies, CEO of the ACA, noted that the timing of the first industry-wide Foundations and Frontiers forum was fortuitous.
“Foundations and Frontiers 24 was conceived over a year ago, but the events of the last few weeks provide a once-in-a-generation opportunity to accelerate the pace of change and finally create a more sustainable construction industry for the benefit of workers, employers and all Australians,” said Davies. “The name of the forum recognises that we are not starting from scratch.”
“The foundations for a more sustainable industry are already there, but we need to push the frontiers for acceptable outcomes in areas like industry culture, diversity, productivity and profitability – and we need to do this quickly.
“This forum was not supposed to solve all industry’s problems in one go. It was designed to start a movement for change, and in that respect, I think it was an overwhelming success.”
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