Workforce & Training • Updated March 2026

Queensland's Workforce Crunch

50,000 worker shortfall. Training policy ended for new tenders. Here's what's changed and what still applies.

Queensland is heading into a once-in-a-generation infrastructure boom, with construction activity forecast to climb from about $53 billion in 2024–25 to around $77 billion by 2026–27. For Tier-2 and Tier-3 contractors, that pipeline represents significant opportunity — but also a test of workforce capacity.

Construction Skills Queensland's Horizon 2032 analysis points to peak demand of roughly 156,000 construction workers in 2026–27, with an average annual shortfall of about 18,200 workers and a peak gap of around 50,000 workers. The workforce challenge remains real even though the mandatory training policy has been removed from new tenders.

1. What Changed: Training Policy Timeline

On 20 March 2026, the Department of Trade, Employment and Training confirmed the end of Queensland's Building and Construction Training Policy. Here's the timeline:

• Now (March 2026): Government agencies are already removing training policy requirements from new tenders and contracts.
• 30 June 2026: The Building and Construction Training Policy officially ends.
• 1 July 2026: TPAS (Training Policy Administration System) portal shuts down. No more reporting, even for existing contracts.
• Existing contracts: Commitments to employ apprentices and trainees continue until projects are complete, but reporting through TPAS stops.

The Ethical Supplier Mandate has also been permanently removed and replaced by the Procurement Assurance Model (PAM), which takes a simpler, incentive-based approach.

2. What Still Matters: Workforce as Competitive Advantage

Under QPP 2026, workforce and local benefits are still embedded in procurement evaluation — the training policy was just one mechanism.

• Local Benefits Test still carries significant weighting in tender assessments, rewarding demonstrable local employment and regional economic contribution.
• A business is generally treated as "local" for project evaluation purposes when the workforce usually resides within a specified radius — often benchmarked at 125 kilometres — of the project location.
• QPP 2026 still links workforce capability to supplier assessment under the PAM framework.

3. The Human Gap: Understanding the Numbers

Horizon 2032 projects that Queensland's construction pipeline will increase by roughly 45 percent between 2024–25 and 2026–27, driving labour demand to a peak band around 156,000 workers. Against that demand, industry analysis points to a persistent skills shortage, with an average eight-year shortfall of about 18,200 workers and an expected peak gap of approximately 50,000 workers in 2026–27.

Government and industry are responding with targeted workforce initiatives, including multi-year workforce strategies and training investments directed at construction and civil trades. The workforce gap is structural and will persist through to 2032 regardless of policy changes.

4. Legacy Contract Calculator

For contracts awarded before March 2026 that still carry training hour obligations, use this calculator to estimate your remaining commitment.

5. Map Your Strategy Against Regional Needs

QPP 2026 and the Queensland Workforce Strategy still emphasise regional skills development. CSQ's Horizon 2032 report shows that labour pressure in Brisbane differs from that on the Sunshine Coast or in Rockhampton.

Even without mandatory training targets, aligning workforce development with these hubs demonstrates commitment to local capacity building — a positive signal in tender evaluations.

6. Turn Your Workforce Plan Into a Tender Asset

A clear workforce plan is both a differentiator and a way to present as a low-risk delivery partner — even without mandatory training targets.

In tender responses

• Use numbers from your workforce data to answer Local Benefits Test questions — share of workforce within 125km, apprentice programs, local employment track record
• Attach a concise workforce strategy summary showing how you develop local skills and manage the 50,000-worker shortfall

In ICN Gateway and directory profiles

• Replace generic labels like "labour hire" with region-aware descriptions: "Civil workforce (125km local residents) for road and drainage packages with established apprentice program"
• Use 25-word summaries emphasising fleet, region and capability: "Gold Coast earthworks contractor with 20-tonne fleet, local workforce and active apprentice program"

7. Looking Ahead to 2032

The mandatory training policy is gone, but the workforce crisis isn't. CSQ's modelling suggests the construction workforce gap will peak around 2026–27 and remain a structural issue without sustained investment in training and new-entrant pathways.

For Queensland contractors, a workforce plan grounded in data and aligned with regional needs remains a competitive advantage — it's just no longer a compliance requirement. The contractors who continue investing in apprentices and workforce development will be better positioned when labour scarcity peaks.