Housing and building continue to dominate news headlines and political agendas. The issues are well recognised – the real focus must now be how to address them. Constructive is the forum to do so and brings together the wider sector and Government to move beyond words and into practical actions for change. 

With housing the debate often begins with the question of what is a decent home? And how can we prioritise the many competing demands? Quality homes, emissions reduction, healthy homes, consenting, modern living, affordability, and the effects of climate change are all important dimensions but more often than not one dimension is highlighted at the expense of all the others. How do we help the country – from the public all the way to policy-makers – better understand the trade-offs and priorities that we really need, those that will make the biggest difference?

Across commercial and residential construction our issues are similar to other western nations. At this year’s Constructive we heard from Master Builders Australia to understand more about their approach, how they weathered the GFC better than us, and what we can learn from their experience. 

Market conditions are changing and challenging the sector. Issues like procurement, risk management and climate change are still upon us. Added to them are rising inflation, skills and material shortages, the supply chain disruption and resulting cost escalation. These are seriously impacting the sector’s work and wellbeing as customer and supplier relationships are tested. But as a sector we have been here before – as the last few years of boom are easing at pace with the inevitable bust phase of the cycle looming. How do we avoid the issues we have seen in previous cycles before we lose some of the best companies and talent from the sector? And how do we look after the wellbeing of the sector’s workforce as we face changing conditions? These will require hindsight, insight, and foresight to come out stronger over the year ahead. 

With keynote addresses from government and opposition leaders, senior officials, international experts as well as hugely experienced practitioners from across the building and construction sector, Constructive tackled the big issues and changes needed for system change, while also having the conversations around what we can do now, with practical insights and examples to improve the way we operate not just today, but tomorrow.