Labour shortages causing approvals for new dwellings to fall across Australia

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn has warned that the drop in apprentice numbers could see Australia's housing crisis worsen if the government doesn't take immediate action. It comes as Australia has just posted its worst year for home building in more than a decade, with the latest figures from the Bureau of Statistics showing roughly 159,000 dwellings were approved for construction over the 12 months to June. "It seems crazy doesn't it that we consistently say we need an extra 330,000 workers every year for the next five years in our industry and that's particularly tradies," Ms Wawn said. "There's a wealth of career opportunities for people whether they are young or old but we are simply struggling to attract and retain apprentices. "We know the government is investigating apprentice incentives and so we implore them to get that report out sooner rather than later because if we're going to have any chance of building one 1.2 million homes a significant resolution of that problem will be seeing far more apprenticeships in the construction trades than we're seeing to date."