Australia’s five-year pipeline of major public infrastructure has reached a record $242 billion, up $29 billion in a single year, according to Infrastructure Australia. That’s a lot of taxpayer money heading toward concrete, steel and tunnel boring machines. Now comes the question: will the nation get full value for it?
Massimo Franceschi, chief operating officer of Webuild Australia, put it plainly: the scale of the pipeline raises the question of how to extract the greatest value from each dollar invested. Spending could improve transport, accelerate the energy transition, strengthen water security and build skills and supply chains. But money alone won’t guarantee results.
A Productivity Record Governments Can’t Ignore
Construction’s productivity record makes for sobering reading. Labour productivity in construction grew just 17 per cent between 1994-95 and 2023-24. Across market-sector industries, it grew 64 per cent. Manufacturing recorded 58 per cent.
That gap comes with a price tag. Oxford Economics estimates stagnant construction productivity costs Australia $62 billion in lost work every year. Pour a record pipeline into an industry that has lagged the rest of the economy by that margin, and the risk of waste rises with the budget.
Franceschi cautioned against simple international cost comparisons. Costs depend on geology, labour markets, standards, project scope, regulation and community expectations, he said. He pointed to two publicly reported benchmarks. Copenhagen’s M4 metro extension delivered five stations and 5.7 kilometres of tunnel over almost six years for about $1.9 billion. Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel delivered five stations and twin nine-kilometre tunnels at a project cost of $13.48 billion. Neither project belongs to Webuild. Franceschi stressed that direct comparisons require caution because scope, geology, labour markets, regulatory requirements, design standards and included works differ.
Four Ways to Get More for Less
Franceschi outlined four approaches: standardising repeatable assets, resolving constructability issues early, assigning risk to the parties best able to manage it, and transferring capability between projects and jurisdictions.
Standardisation sits at the center. Reusable designs and standardised components for stations, substations and viaducts can reduce interfaces, support more efficient manufacturing and give suppliers greater confidence to invest. That confidence matters. Private suppliers commit capital when they see repeat demand, not one-off orders.
Early industry involvement in design can tackle engineering, sequencing, logistics and supply-chain problems while options remain open and changes cost less. Collaborative contracting can improve transparency and certainty for clients and contractors. Franceschi said the parties with the knowledge, authority and capability to control risk can manage it most efficiently. Aligning standards and requirements across jurisdictions can help carry skills, systems, technologies and proven solutions between programs.
Digital engineering, modern construction methods and more efficient manufacturing can also improve planning and delivery. Procurement, he said, can encourage proven innovation instead of asking the industry to reinvent its approach for every project.
Workers Are the Bottleneck
Labour may prove the toughest constraint. Infrastructure Australia estimates public infrastructure projects face a shortage of 141,000 workers, potentially rising to more than 300,000 by mid-2027. Franceschi said the industry can’t rely solely on adding people to deliver more infrastructure. It has to make better use of existing capability.
He also argued for a mix of builders. Local contractors bring knowledge of Australian communities, conditions, supply chains and regulation. International contractors bring experience from different markets and technical environments, including major transport, energy, water and tunnelling programs. Bring the two together while developing local skills, suppliers and partnerships, and the industry can expand its capacity rather than substitute for it.
Franceschi said Australia has the investment, pipeline and engineering capability to deliver an extraordinary decade of infrastructure. The opportunity is to build more and better, lift productivity and strengthen the construction industry for future projects.
Why This Matters:
A $242 billion pipeline means public money, and every delivery inefficiency lands on taxpayers. Construction productivity grew 17 per cent, compared with 64 per cent across the market sector. Oxford Economics puts the annual cost of that lag at $62 billion, making the stakes for governments fiscal as well as logistical. A worker shortfall projected to top 300,000 by mid-2027 could intensify cost pressures as projects compete for the same labour. Franceschi’s proposed approaches lean on contract design, risk allocation and private-sector investment rather than ever-larger budgets. Governments’ choices will shape how much of this record pipeline becomes lasting economic capacity.