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In this newsletter, you'll find:
Our latest blog post is a breakdown of AS3958.1 Ceramic Tile Installation. Post two, we ask ChatGPT to review a specification from Simonds Homes.
Post 1: Tile Installation Made Simple: Understanding AS3958.1:2007
Confused about proper tile installation? You're not alone. While construction standards can seem daunting, they exist to ensure quality results - and we're here to decode them for you.
This week, we're simplifying Australian Standard AS3958.1:2007, the essential guide for tile installation. We've translated the technical jargon into practical insights, including:
- Substrate preparation: How to create the perfect foundation for your tiles
- Grout line consistency: Techniques for achieving professional-looking results
- Movement joints: Why they're crucial for preventing cracks and maintaining longevity
Understanding these fundamentals will help you:
✓ Communicate effectively with builders and tilers
✓ Ensure proper installation techniques are followed
✓ Achieve better, longer-lasting results
We've done the reading so you get a flying start! For the complete breakdown:
Anthony Painter
Post 2: ChatGPT Analyses Simonds Homes
Ever wondered what an artificial intelligence thinks about your potential home builder? We put one of Australia's largest construction companies under the microscope - using ChatGPT's analytical capabilities.
We use the same method for each review, which we explained and posted the prompt HERE, and ask ChatGPT to assess Quality, Language, What they say vs what they do then finally rank the builder on a score from 1 to 10.
See the complete AI-generated review by clicking the link below:
Anthony Painter
🚧 Constructor Website Updates
Checklist Progress:
- Enclosed stage checklist remains in progress (extensive work required)
- Two new checklists now 95% complete:
• Periodic Safety Inspection checklist
• Waterproofing Design & Installation checklist
Access Improvements:
- All checklists moved to Transfer for faster and easier downloading. You must be signed in to access and download - LINK
- The checklist page updated with Docsend file embeds for preview before download.
New Learning Resources:
More technical blog posts now feature interactive quizzes and flashcards. Test your knowledge on these examples below or check out any of our featured posts. All have been updated now to include a quiz on the content.
Anthony Painter
Anthony Painter
Anthony Painter
💾 Software of the Week: GanttPro
This is not a sponsored post - just software we use and are sharing it with you
🌟 Software of the Week: GanttPRO – Your Project’s New Best Friend 🌟
Ever feel like herding cats when managing a project? Meet GanttPRO, a refreshingly intuitive Gantt chart tool that turns chaos into clarity. Think of it as a digital project whiteboard—but smarter, fully featured, prettier, and way more collaborative.
What’s It For?
GanttPRO helps teams and solo planners visualise timelines, assign tasks, and track progress—all in one place. Stuck juggling deadlines, dependencies, or team updates? This tool keeps everything aligned so you can focus on doing the work instead of organising it.
Why We’re Fans
✔ Sleek & Simple: The drag-and-drop interface makes planning feel effortless.
✔ Dependencies Done Right: Set lead/lag times (translation: buffer periods or overlaps between tasks) to reflect real-world workflows.
✔ Team Hub: Comment, tag, and share filtered views via link—perfect for keeping stakeholders in the loop without overwhelm.
✔ Embed-Friendly: Need to showcase a timeline on your website or doc? Embedding live charts is a breeze.
Who’s It For?
- Project managers who crave clarity without complexity.
- Small biz owners coordinating contractors or launches.
- Freelancers juggling multiple client deadlines.
Fine Print
📌 Web-based (no downloads!) but also offers desktop apps for Windows/Mac.
📌 Works best in Chrome/Firefox (sorry, IE fans).
Our Verdict?
GanttPRO strikes a rare balance: powerful enough for pros, friendly enough for beginners. If you’ve ever wasted hours untangling project spaghetti, this tool is your lifeline.
PS: if your looking at ProjectManager.com or GanttPro - we believe GanttPro is better featured and better value. Its intuitive, better value and just does what it needs to.
👉 Check out GanttPro on the link below:
🕊️ Tool Of the Week - MySudo
This is not a sponsored post - just software we have used and are sharing it with you
🌟 Tool of the Week: MySudo – Your Privacy Superhero 🌟
Tired of handing out your real phone number, email, or credit card details every time you sign up for something? Say hello to my little friend, MySudo, the all-in-one privacy app that lets you create secure digital identities (called "Sudos") to protect your personal info online.
Think of it as a burner phone, email, and virtual card—all rolled into one sleek tool.
Why Use MySudo?
Ever gotten spam calls after ordering takeout? Or worried about your data leaking after a website breach? MySudo solves this by letting you use disposable contact details for shopping, dating, or even work—so your real info stays safe. Need to verify an account? Use a Sudo number. Booking a rental car? Use a Sudo email. Boom—no more spam or scams.
How It Works
MySudo’s browser extension (and mobile/desktop apps) lets you:
- Generate virtual phone numbers (U.S./Canada/UK only) for calls/texts.
- Create masked emails to avoid inbox clutter.
- Use virtual cards (U.S. only) for payments without exposing your real card 11.
All this happens inside the app, so your activity stays compartmentalised—like having separate drawers for work, hobbies, and online shopping.
Who’s It For?
- Privacy-conscious folks: Skip the spam and data brokers.
- Freelancers/businesses: Keep client comms separate without buying extra SIMs.
- Travellers: Use local numbers abroad (with a VPN).
Fine Print
📱 Works on: iOS 16+, Android, Mac, and Windows (browser extension too).
🌎 Limitations: Phone numbers limited to U.S./Canada/UK; virtual cards U.S.-only.
Our Verdict
MySudo isn’t perfect, but it’s a game-changer for reclaiming privacy—without quitting the internet. If you’ve ever thought, "Why does this app need my real number?", give MySudo a spin.
👉 Learn more by clicking on the link below:
PS: use mysudo and addy.io for a one two punch for phone and email security. Want a one two three punch? Add Revolut, link your bank account and start using virtual cards. Put a buffer between you and all the shitheads. Use virtual cards to limit your risk and add a layer of online security.
On with the news from this week
🚀 The latest residential construction news from new sources around Australia for the news week ending 27-03-2025 🔥
A theme of these weeks news titles is: Same Problems, Few Long Term Solutions - but lots of chair shuffling (pre-election policy announcements) and chest beating?
If this week's headlines had a motto, it would be: "Housing is broken, and nobody's fixing it properly." From sky-high prices to construction delays, the same issues keep appearing - yet the proposed solutions remain superficial.
Here's the breakdown:
The Challenges:
🔴 Policy Failures: Experts point to decades of poor decisions, including problematic stamp duties and inadequate planning, as root causes of the current crisis. The government openly admits they're not aiming to reduce prices, merely to slow the unsustainable growth.
🔴 Construction Industry Issues: Productivity in the sector hasn't improved in three decades, resulting in massive economic costs. Meanwhile, substandard construction continues to generate negative attention.
🔴 Market Manipulation: Developers artificially restrict land supply to drive up prices, while some real estate professionals prioritise short-term gains over housing stability.
Potential Bright Spots:
🟢 Expanded Assistance: The Help to Buy scheme received budget increases, with higher income thresholds allowing more people to enter the market.
🟢 Modular Housing Investment: The $54 million allocated for prefabricated housing could accelerate construction - if the industry adopts these methods.
🟢 Olympic Opportunities: Brisbane's 2032 Games may stimulate building activity, though this could exacerbate price pressures in desirable areas (increase trade rates further due to commercial pulling trades from residential to meet deadlines/output demands).
Critical Gaps:
Innovation Deficit: Construction methods remain outdated, with limited adoption of modern techniques like modular building or automation, nor meaningful tax reform.
Responsibility Avoidance: Resistance to basic quality controls raises questions about current industry standards.
Affordability Gap: The market lacks sufficient mid-priced, well-designed housing options rather than just upscale temporary solutions.
The situation demands comprehensive action, not incremental changes. Without substantial reform, housing accessibility will continue to deteriorate.
For more detailed analysis, see our examination of housing affordability solutions on the link below:
Anthony Painter
🤔 Our View on This Week’s Most Important News
🌯🌯🌯🌯 Housing shortage ‘a failure of policy’ - LINK
The truth is undeniable - short-sighted policy decisions over decades have created this mess. We're dealing with:
- Stamp duties that discourage housing mobility
- Land banking practices that restrict supply
- A construction industry lagging 30 years behind in innovation
All while politicians make superficial changes instead of real reforms.
Key Problems:
Affordability crisis: Artificial scarcity from land banking and inefficient tax systems continue driving prices up.
Lack of innovation: The current system rewards outdated building practices rather than progress.
Surface-level solutions: Minor grant adjustments and modular housing funding don't address core systemic issues.
Required Solutions:
- Replace stamp duty with land tax (as Grattan Institute recommends)
- Disrupt developer practices that artificially limit land supply
- Reject industry groups that prioritise profits over progress
The bottom line is simple - without fundamental system change, we're just applying temporary fixes to a deep-rooted crisis.
Anthony Painter
We've highlighted our favourite news articles for the week by marking with a 🌯 or five
21-03-2025
Resort-style living in the Adelaide Hills – LINK
🌯🌯 CFMEU investigation uncovers bad behaviour in building industry – LINK
Our comment: I can’t believe the image in this article is real. Seriously, if you’re running propaganda like this, things must be bad. To me, this looks like a childish distraction—like refusing to admit fault. The old "it wasn’t me" Shaggy defense.
Real estate agents discouraging long-term leases labelled 'culpable' in state's housing crisis – LINK
Our comment: Like all industries, a few bad apples blinded by greed need to be dealt with where possible. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to police at scale.
Call for ‘gentle density’ to tackle housing crisis – LINK
Fight against Sydney tower shows tension over new housing targets – LINK
Money guru slams home move as ‘bulls**t’, ‘window dressing’** – LINK
🌯 Will Australia's new ban on foreign home buyers make a difference? – LINK
🌯🌯🌯 ‘War-time-footing’ needed for housing crisis: Djite – LINK
Article excerpt: “The housing crisis requires a war-time-footing that involves the states examining tax and planning levers if we are to stabilise price and rental growth,” Djite told InDaily.
Our comment: We agree with Bruce. This crisis demands a drastic, war-like approach to planning and construction. Treating it as business-as-usual (BAU) is completely unrealistic. The construction industry is in such disarray that only structural changes in how we build will make a meaningful impact. Simply stimulating the same inputs—builders, red tape removal (whatever that specifically means)—won’t meet the required output.
Things need to change, and fast. Modular companies building in controlled environments do improve working conditions by eliminating weather variables, but they’re nowhere near the output capacity needed. Take Modscape, for example, which positions itself as “the Apple of housing”—I kid you not. Their focus on high-end, luxury properties (starting at $550k) means they barely scratch the surface of demand, ignoring the affordable and social housing market entirely. Similarly, other modular builders like Volo Modular cater to the lower end but still look like glorified demountables—lipstick on a pig.
What’s missing are affordable, well-designed homes people want to live in, not just have to live in. Yes, it can be done.
🌯 Calls for Elon Musk-style cuts for struggling building industry as $180,000 problem exposed: 'Out of control' – LINK
Our comment: Who’s calling for this? And “Elon Musk-style” cuts? You mean “cut it out, then backtrack when you realise you messed up”? Maybe not the best approach.
TikTok inspector Zeher Khalil reveals dodgy building work – LINK
Our comment: I used to watch their YouTube channel. While raising awareness is good, their approach can be overly dramatic—great for engagement, though.
🌯🌯 17 modern bathroom ideas to inspire your next renovation – LINK
Our comment: Fluted glass is very popular right now.
NSW’s new Gunnedah Hospital acute services building takes shape – LINK
Home Builder Panels Unveil Ambitious Project Plans – LINK
More kinder places for Phillip Island – LINK
Our comment: Love the builder’s shoulder mobility—“This is my hands-above-my-head pose.” 😊
22-03-2025
Major change for 800,000 Aussie homeowners facing 'stressful' issue: 'Will push up the price' – LINK
Our comment: We’ve discussed accountability in the building industry in our post HERE.
Tasmanian builders tapped to drive faster housing approvals – LINK
Million-dollar Geelong house hits the block for a worthy cause – LINK
Federal government announces $800 million budget boost for Help to Buy housing scheme – LINK
🌯🌯🌯🌯 How to slash up to $500,000 off your mortgage - LINK
Article excerpt: "News.com.au can reveal that the Help to Buy scheme's eligibility income caps will be lifted from $90,000 to $100,000 for individuals and from $120,000 to $160,000 for joint applicants and single parents.
Our comment: In my opinion, this is a far better option than Build-to-Rent (BTR) programs. Having the government take partial equity is preferable to enriching private landlords. This way, homeowners retain autonomy and choice rather than being locked into restrictive contracts.
Property Council: Federal prefab housing cash hits innovation sweet spot – LINK
‘His jaw dropped’: Luxury homeowners awarded more than $1 million over ‘defective’ build – LINK
‘This is home’: The beautiful apartment buildings Leah had her heart set on – LINK
Our comment: Maybe I’m too cynical, but articles like this feel like conditioning—selling the idea of townhouse living as universally desirable. "If Leah loves it, you will too!" Why would a paper publish this? Is it just feel-good fluff, or is there an agenda? Media rarely acts altruistically; it’s usually about reach, ad revenue, or pleasing stakeholders.
After a misspent 20s trusting people at face value, I’ve learned that many "good intentions" are just self-serving power plays disguised as benevolence. Maybe I should crawl back into my hole and just be happy for people.
City development’s two huge awards beat the rest of Australia’s housing projects – LINK
(A motorbike story slipped in among the others) – PROJECT DELTA BY PURPOSE BUILT MOTO – LINK
Proposed dispute resolution amendment branded ‘legislative madness’ – LINK
Article excerpt: "MBV chief executive officer Michaela Lihou said the lack of clarity in the proposed legislation would unfairly damage builders trying to do the right thing."
Our comment: Consumers aren’t paying for builders to "try" to do the right thing—they’re paying for the right thing to be done already.
If you haven’t noticed, I am not a fan of the QMBA and HIA. Their sole purpose is preserving the status quo. God forbid we demand better-built houses! "Won’t someone think of the poor, misunderstood builders?" The HIA and QMBA treat them like fragile rough diamonds needing protection.
Their ethos? "Don’t rock the boat!" Sound familiar? It’s the CFMEU’s "If provoked, we strike back"—just swap boots for suits.
Federal reforms to boost Sydney housing supply – LINK
New surplus government sites identified for housing – LINK
Federal election 2025: Albanese Government to lift housing support to $33m in next Tuesday’s Budget – LINK
Article excerpt: Federal Minister for Housing and Homelessness Clare O’Neil
🔖 Reminder (14-12-2024): The housing minister says property prices shouldn't fall. This is what experts say – LINK
"We're not trying to bring down house prices," Housing Minister Clare O'Neil declared on ABC's youth radio station triple j. Instead, she insisted the federal government wanted "sustainable price growth."
Our comment: Apparently, prices aren’t high enough relative to incomes—but sure, let them "sustainably" keep rising. That way, the government can keep tax revenue flowing without raising rates, then "generously" promise to fix things later. Classic misdirection—watch the hand holding the coin, not the one stealing your wallet.
23-02-2025
Labor is planning to expand its Help to Buy housing scheme. Here's what it means for you - LINK
'Tough pill to swallow': Expert reveals unwelcome solution to Australia's skyrocketing house prices - LINK
Labor to expand signature Help to Buy housing scheme - LINK
Thousands tell ABC's Your Say politicians should facilitate 'a fair go for everyone' - LINK
Sydney auctions: humble home built in 1930 sold for over $4m - LINK
Our comment: Looks exactly like my grandparents' house. (Makes you wonder what their place would fetch today!)
Multi-million dollar builds and more alterations on the Beaches in this week's Council Development Applications - LINK
🌯🌯🌯 NSW man wins tiny homes court battle but must plant 20,000 seedlings - LINK
The green edge: lifting home values through smart garden renovations - LINK
Plans to help more into 'disaster' housing market - LINK
24-03-2025
Iconic builder Ian Krivicic of Krivic sells own private masterpiece - LINK
Has the National Housing Accord made your property more valuable - John McGrath - LINK
Residential Tower & Retail – Coronation Drive, Milton - LINK
National licensing for electrical trades - LINK
Call for lease variation charge pause to boost 'missing middle' homes - LINK
NSW Government's Rental Taskforce intervention results in almost $50,000 in refunds for renters - LINK
Our comment: $50,000 statewide? That's shockingly low - barely a rounding error. Either renters aren't being properly compensated, or the real estate industry must be remarkably compliant (which seems unlikely).
Palm Shores Hits 50% Sales Milestone Within Four Weeks of Pre-Launch - LINK
$79M in Sales Secured at Chevron Island's Nera Residences - LINK
Stage two of Armstrong Creek Town Centre to start construction soon - LINK
Melbourne property: where to buy a home at 2015 prices, and why government activity centres could be the next to have values slump - LINK
Are international students to blame for the housing crisis? - LINK
Our comment: And here's why immigration will never be significantly reduced. Universities, already struggling with global competition and online education, depend on this revenue stream.
Article excerpts: "Last year, the government tried to cap international student numbers and suggested limiting international student enrolments to 270,000 by 2025."
"According to the ABS, international education was Australia's fourth largest export — valued at 48 billion—in 2023. They paid $17 billion in course fees and spent $31 billion within the broader economy."
"The fundamental issue remains: we lack sufficient housing supply. Without meaningful changes to either construction rates or migration policies, this crisis will only deepen."
The Qld suburbs where you can buy homes for 2015 prices - LINK
New housing desperately needed but often not wanted - LINK
🌯🌯🌯 What do Australians earn and own? Grattan Institute's 2025 Budget cheat sheet might surprise you - LINK
🌯🌯🌯🌯 Company acting as 'sublandlord' accused of creating invalid sublet agreements in Hobart - LINK
Our comment: This is a telling symptom of a broken market. These middlemen add zero value yet extract profits from either buyers, sellers, or both - essentially rent-seeking behaviour. Their contracts likely absolve them of all liability, allowing them to exploit loopholes in standard leasing arrangements. At best, it's ethically questionable; at worst, outright illegal.
25-03-2025
Mater Prize Home: Builder reveals what makes a dream home - LINK
Housing experts budget essentials to fix housing crisis - LINK
Is this type of house design set to boom thanks to new federal funding? - LINK
Strong demand for second LLC in Toowoomba: GemLife Highfield Heights stage one, with 72% of homes under contract - LINK
🌯🌯🌯🌯 Housing shortage 'a failure of policy' - LINK
Our comment: We agree. This crisis is the direct result of policy failures, chronic under investment, and political priorities being held hostage by banking and mining interests.
Article excerpt: "Stamp duties are among the most inefficient taxes available to the states and territories … Grattan Institute has previously estimated that shifting from stamp duties to a broad-based property tax would improve housing affordability and raise rates of home ownership."
🌯🌯 Adoption of AI in construction remains low with widespread concerns - LINK
Our comment: Construction remains fundamentally hands-on. AI's current potential lies mainly in:
✔️ Design review and error detection
✔️ Code compliance checking
✔️ Data analysis for program, task, time issues, forecasts, bottlenecks.
Future applications could include automated design generation based on planning rules and engineering principles. However, the quality depends entirely on the training data - and this article offers little beyond vague speculation about "predictive data."
Off-the-plan apartment pricing: Why the earliest buyers save big - LINK
🌯🌯 (USA Based) Skilled labour shortage hits construction sector worldwide – WTW - LINK
🌯🌯🌯 Help To Buy income and price caps increased - LINK
Our comment: I can't shake the feeling this is a bait-and-switch scheme. Maybe I'm too cynical, but the devil will be in the implementation details.
Social housing providers paid less to house Youth Allowance recipients - LINK
Critical dilemma raises questions over Albo housing plan - LINK
Article excerpt: "Were any homes within the scheme to be sold for less than the price the homeowner paid, the Commonwealth would have a smaller equity stake too and would recoup less upon sale."
NSW government's two-year progress: Housing challenges persist - LINK
Budget expected to bring housing, SME relief - LINK
Housing experts budget essentials to fix housing crisis - LINK
Budget 2025: What we know so far on housing, cost of living and more - LINK
🌯🌯🌯🌯 I asked ChatGPT how to fix the housing crisis: This was the answer - LINK
Our comment: I've been fascinated by AI responses on channels like IASKAI. While intriguing, we must remember LLMs have inherent biases (OpenAI's being particularly opaque).
Article excerpt: "There's no silver bullet, but the most impactfull single policy move would likely be massive investment in social and affordable housing. Of course, this would need to be paired with planning reforms, tax changes (such as rethinking negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions), and tenant protections to fully address the crisis."
We've covered similar ground in our post: How Australia Can Improve Housing Affordability - essentially arguing for supply increases.
Side note: Economists seem trapped in analysis paralysis - forever debating complexities while offering zero actionable solutions.
🌯🌯 Building amendment coming - LINK
Article excerpt: "Another proposal being considered is for more mandatory inspections during construction—specifically, prior to waterproofing and plastering. This will detect non-compliance sooner, reducing the number of home buyers who must pay for expensive rectifications after moving in."
Our comment: These inspections should already be happening under NCC compliance! The fact they're not enforced reveals systemic failure.
This is like buying a car from a dentist-turned-mechanic who's never asked to prove they meet automotive standards. Without proper oversight, we're just trusting unverified competence.
Worrying trend: The concerning thing buyers are skipping in order to buy a home - LINK
Our comment: This reads suspiciously like an advertorial - possibly REA Group-affiliated.
The grand proportions of Newcastle's newest apartment development - LINK
26-03-2025
🌯🌯🌯 Australian federal budget 2025: Nation's biggest builder says the housing crisis needs a 'war-time response' - LINK
Our comment: Call me picky, but the photo of "Australia's biggest builder" (you know, the one recently bailed out by a Japanese conglomerate) tells an interesting story. These executives clearly don't come from a building background - if they did, they would've:
- Removed sediment from the driveway/site access before the PR shoot (a broom + shovel is a good start).
- Avoided creating an erosion hazard that could attract council fines
- Understood that loose sediment near stormwater drains violates a basic site ESC management plan (its a no no).
It's a small but telling detail. For such an important photo op, you'd expect a spotless site. Instead, we see pristine RM Williams boots and pressed shirts standing on an un-managed worksite - the perfect metaphor for "perfect" corporate builders more focused on image than fundamentals. Maybe they wear old spice too?
🌯🌯🌯 Australian federal budget 2025: Shock budget inclusion that could have biggest impact on prices - LINK
Budget boost to spark tradie boom, including $10K cash perk for apprentices - LINK
Federal government injects $54m into prefab housing - LINK
State overrides Council powers to significantly increase housing density on Northern Beaches: LMR Policy - LINK
The Federal Budget: what you need to know - LINK
🌯🌯🌯 Housing prices set to boom off 2032 Olympics' suburbs - LINK
Own goal housing policy - LINK
Australian federal budget 2025: five ways the government missed the mark on housing - LINK
🌯🌯🌯 New stadium and venues announced for Brisbane's 2032 Olympic Games - LINK
🌯🌯 Bunratty - LINK
Our comment: Crisp, sharp and (tight, tight, tight-channelling Tuco - see below) lines with purposeful overhangs. A rare example of good design marrying practicality.
Federal budget funds will expand the Help to Buy housing scheme. This is how it will work - LINK
Former WestConnex sites spark debate over inner city Sydney's affordable housing - LINK
Federal budget 2025: What it means for Australia's housing market - LINK
27-03-2025
🌯🌯 'Disappointed': What builders don't get from the budget - LINK
Our comment: Boo hoo hoo - poor building industry. State governments should establish their own modular construction companies to:
- Guarantee housing output
- Force private sector competition
- Stabilise supply chains
🌯🌯 Aussie families not convinced by new technology designed to speed up nation's ailing home building process - LINK
Our comment: The government keeps throwing money at legacy builders instead of partnering with modular startups that could scale with:
✔️ Co-investment
✔️ Purchase guarantees
✔️ Real innovation
Expecting traditional builders to change is like asking tigers to change their stripes. Meanwhile, technologists and investors sit ignored, forced to navigate archaic tender processes that assume:
- You've already built $100M factories
- Secured supply chains
- Taken all the risk... with zero commitments
This isn't just stupid - it's a fumblefuck of epic proportions.
Industry heads react to this year's federal budget - LINK
Gardner Vaughan Group set for big 2025 as new apartment pipeline expands across South East Queensland - LINK
Australian construction sector navigates global uncertainty and domestic pressures - LINK
Developer announces completion of estate with 'hard to come by' larger lots - LINK
Why 'forever renters' are the new buzzword in Australia's ongoing housing debate - LINK
🌯🌯 Timber-Concrete Framing Could Be the Next Big Thing in Housing - LINK
Our comment: Interesting concept, but questions remain:
- How does it handle moisture (concrete absorbs, timber rots)?
- Where's the material separation layer?
- Why increase density this way vs. more sustainable methods?
The article provides zero technical details - just corporate PR about "exploring partnerships."
Queensland construction industry needs thousands of workers for 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games - LINK
Our comment: Commercial projects will:
- Poach residential trades
- Drive up costs
- Extend build times
But hey - Business As Usual! Expect more Ford Rangers (or RAMs) parked diagonally across shopping center spots.
🌯🌯🌯 Fixing construction productivity key to easing cost of living - LINK
Article excerpt: "Band-aid solutions just push the problem further down the road... Construction productivity has fallen 30% behind other industries, costing $60B annually."
Our comment: We agree with Jon Davies. The "solutions" on offer:
🔹 More of the same
🔹 Zero structural reform
🔹 Builder associations (read: insurance lobbyists) dictating policy (our editorial).
Why does anyone listen to groups whose business model depends on:
- Membership fees
- Maintaining the status quo
- Blocking innovation?
The real fix requires:
- Onshoring manufacturing
- Modular/robotic construction
- Government-led factories (not begging bloated builders to change)
This is not news, we just want to remind you of how "training more people for the future" works, based on the past under the guise of the "Bricklayer Training Levy" that was built into new house prices for many, many years.
The Bricklayer Training Levy Farce
Let’s take a moment to talk about the bricklayer training levy – the industry’s greatest magic trick. For years, we’ve paid millions into this system, supposedly to:
✔️ Train armies of bricklayers
✔️ Solve labour shortages
✔️ Secure the future of construction
Reality check:
- Where are these mythical bricklayers?
- Why do we still face crippling shortages?
- If we have so many trained brickies (supply side) sorted, doesn't that mean they will be more affordable because they are competing against each other for work? (supply and demand labour forces)
- Who actually benefited from these funds? Where are they? We want it back!
This levy is a classic case of opportunism – a slush fund disguised as a solution, where:
- Associations collect fees under the guise of "training"
- No accountability exists for actual outcomes
- Grassroots efforts remain starved of resources
Photos reveal shocking reality of housing crisis - LINK
Housing prices set to boom off 2032 Olympics' suburbs - LINK
CPI decline signals potential relief for housing market - LINK
🌯🌯 Borking industry weighs in on housing-heavy budget - LINK
🌯 Housing inflation drops across the board in February - LINK
Our comment: Based on past form, the RBA will probably raise rates on this news - because logic.
(yeah - borking was deliberate) 😄
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PS: Quality Management Checklist Access
All our published checklists are available to download via the Checklists Link in the navigation menu or directly at https://www.constructor.net.au/checklists/.
To download, simply enter your email when prompted. This allows us to assign you a free license—nothing more. Once completed, you’ll be able to view and download the checklists.
Each checklist is formatted on A4-sized paper for easy printing. Be aware that the files are larger than typical PDFs, around 25–35 MB each, as they are saved in CMYK (print-ready) format. This ensures the best quality for printing, even if it makes the files a bit “chunkier.”
Enjoy the checklists, we hope they help you identify quality improvements in your new home or next project - or at least, get you thinking.
Anthony Painter
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PPS: If you haven’t tried out our new AI tools yet, here are the links to check them out!
Why use them? Got construction questions you need answers to? Our specialised AI-powered tools are built on our extensive knowledge base, including blog posts, checklists, and subject-specific content—tailored to help you navigate construction with confidence.
Anthony Painter
Anthony Painter
Anthony Painter
Anthony Painter
Anthony Painter
or visit the URL here: https://constructor.hn.plus/
