Trade shortages still entrenched: bricklayers and tilers hardest to find

If it feels as hard as ever to lock in a bricklayer or a tiler, the numbers agree. The Housing Industry Association’s Trades Report for the June quarter 2026, released on 28 July, found that the shortage of skilled trades eased only marginally over the quarter, while the price of trade labour rose at its fastest pace in four years.

What the HIA Trades Report found

HIA’s Trades Availability Index measures how easy or hard it is for builders to find trades. A reading of zero means supply and demand are balanced; anything below zero indicates a shortage. In the June quarter 2026 the index moved from −0.62 to −0.59. That is a slight improvement, but it leaves the industry firmly in shortage territory.

The more telling figure is price. According to HIA, trades prices rose by 5.1% in the first half of 2026, the fastest six-monthly increase since 2022. When the shortage persists and prices accelerate, it tells you demand for trades is still outrunning supply, even with some uncertainty in the housing market.

HIA’s economists put the gap at 83,000 additional skilled tradespeople needed to meet the industry’s workload. That figure is an estimate of what it would take to build the homes governments are targeting, not a count of vacant jobs today, but it gives a sense of the scale of the problem.

Which trades are hardest to find

The shortage is not even across trades. The trades at the bottom of HIA’s index are the finishing and envelope trades that most residential jobs cannot do without.

Bricklaying came in worst at −1.02, followed by ceramic tiling at −0.96, roofing at −0.83 and carpentry at −0.80. These trades share a few traits: they are physically demanding, they take years to learn properly, and apprenticeship completion in them has been weak. They are also sequential. When the bricklayer is late, everything after them is late too, which is why a shortage in these trades shows up in build times rather than just in prices.

Where the shortage is worst

Regional Western Australia recorded the most severe shortage at −1.54, followed by regional Queensland at −1.15. Adelaide and Perth were both at −0.79, regional South Australia at −0.65 and Brisbane at −0.60. The eastern capitals were less severe but still negative: regional NSW at −0.53, Sydney at −0.51 and Melbourne at −0.45. Regional Victoria had the mildest shortage at −0.12.

Regional shortages are often worse because a regional builder draws on a smaller pool of local trades, and the trades who are there can be pulled away by mining, infrastructure and disaster recovery work that pays more. For regional builders, the practical effect is longer lead times and more travel costs for trades brought in from elsewhere.

Why the shortage is so persistent

Three forces keep the shortage in place, and none of them changes quickly.

The training pipeline is shrinking. The National Centre for Vocational Education Research reported that trade apprenticeship commencements fell 4.2% in the 12 months to 31 December 2025, to 76,585, the third annual decline in a row. There was a pick-up in the December quarter, but a single strong quarter does not rebuild a workforce. From January 2026, employer incentives for apprentices were reduced outside priority sectors such as housing construction and clean energy, which makes housing trades relatively better supported than others, but the overall pipeline is still smaller than it was.

Competition from other sectors. Infrastructure, energy transition projects and disaster recovery draw on the same carpenters, concreters and electricians. When those sectors are busy, residential building loses trades to better-paid or more predictable work.

Housing targets keep demand high. Governments want far more homes built than the industry currently delivers. Every policy aimed at lifting supply, from planning reform to faster approvals, adds to the demand for trades without adding to the supply of them.

What it means for pricing and contracts

A 5.1% rise in trade prices in six months is a pricing problem for anyone on a fixed-price contract signed last year. It is also a warning for quotes being written today for work that will not start until later in 2026.

• Price for when the work happens, not when you quote. Trade quotes held at last year’s rates are not guaranteed to hold. Get current prices from the trades who will actually do the work, and build in an allowance for movement over the life of the job where your contract allows it.
• Check your contract’s rise and fall provisions. Many residential contracts are fixed price with limited scope for passing on cost increases. Understand what yours allows before you sign, not after the prices move.
• Keep variations tight. Every variation that extends the job exposes you to more trade price movement. Document variations properly and price them at current rates.

Builders who are winning work in this market tend to be the ones who are honest with clients about realistic timeframes, rather than promising a start date that depends on a bricklayer they have not yet booked.

Keeping the trades you have

In a shortage, the trades who turn up are the ones who want to work for you. That comes down to a few unglamorous things that cost little and are within any builder’s control.

• Pay on time, every time. Subcontractors carry their own wages, materials and fuel. A builder who pays reliably moves to the top of their list.
• Have the site ready. A trade who arrives to find the previous stage unfinished, no access or no materials loses a day. Do that twice and they will prioritise another builder.
• Give real dates, early. A realistic booking a month out, confirmed a week out, is worth more to a busy tradesperson than a vague “sometime next month”.
• Keep scopes clear. Written scopes and drawings that match the job prevent the arguments that sour relationships.
• Run a safe, tidy site. Good trades do not want to work around hazards and rubbish. A clean site with proper induction and amenities is part of your offer.

None of this makes a bricklayer appear from nowhere, but it decides whose job they turn up to.

What to watch next

The next HIA Trades Report will show whether the slight easing continues. Also worth watching: the ABS construction work done figures for the June quarter, due in late August, which show whether the industry is actually doing more work with the trades it has, and the Reserve Bank’s decision on 11 August, which will influence how much new work comes into the pipeline over the rest of the year.

For builders, the lesson from this report is simple. The shortage is structural, not seasonal. Plan as if the scarce trades will stay scarce, and treat reliable subcontractors as one of the most valuable assets in the business.

Questions builders ask

• Apprentices
• Construction costs
• Skills shortage

Published 1 August 2026. General information for builders, not legal, financial or engineering advice for a specific job. Check current requirements with the relevant regulator or standard before relying on them.