Costly plan to get 1100 workers into WA to help solve housing crisis sees just 114 on the tools

An $11 million plan to jet 1100 tradies into WA to help build homes has delivered barely one-tenth of its target a year after it was announced. Just 114 skilled construction workers — including carpenters, bricklayers, civil engineers and floor and wall tilers — have arrived in the State since the Construction Visa Subsidy Program was unveiled as a key measure of Mark McGowan’s final Budget in 2023. That is a tiny fraction of the more than 31,867 international students who flooded into WA in the year to September, accounting for just over a third of the State’s record-setting population growth over that period. The rapid post-pandemic return of foreigners to university and training campuses has ratcheted up pressure on what is a historically tight rental market, with rents soaring 75 per cent since 2020. The WA Government’s CVSP was conceived as means to fast-track the arrival of overseas tradies and turbocharge the construction of new housing to help ease the strain. The scheme offers firms looking to hire construction workers from overseas subsidies of $10,000 to offset migration agent fees, visa applications and relocation costs. A dedicated office established by the Cook Government also helps businesses that apply for a subsidy to navigate Australia’s complex migration program. Despite the generous subsidies and assistance overcoming bureaucratic obstacles, just 179 foreign tradies have had visas granted since the CVSP was established — and just 114 have arrived in WA. Visa applications through the CVSP have been lodged for 772 tradies but the vast majority remain overseas while their cases slowly churn through the national migration system. Of the $11m earmarked for the program, just $2.7m has been paid out to date. The visa backlog has been exacerbated by the Albanese Government’s decision to slash the number of spots allocated to WA in the State Nominated Migration Program from 8140 in 2022-23 to just 2350 in the current financial year. Training and Workforce Development Minister Simone McGurk and Premier Roger Cook unsuccessfully lobbied their Federal colleagues in Canberra to quadruple that allocation to 10,000. “I continue to raise with the Commonwealth Government the need for more migration places to support WA’s strong economy,” Ms McGurk, pictured, said. “We are also working constructively with them to ensure WA industries and employers have access to the skilled workforce they need to support growth and investment and deliver benefits for all Australians.” Ms McGurk highlighted 450 West Australian construction apprentices had benefited from wage subsidies through a separate program but said there were simply not enough workers available domestically to meet demand. “Everybody knows that Western Australia is the engine room of Australia’s economy and key WA industries like building and construction need access to skilled workers,” she said. “While we are investing heavily in training local workers, skilled migration is absolutely vital to get people into homes sooner and infrastructure built.”