02/10/2025

October 02, 2025

THE MORNING PAPER FOR CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS AND TRADIES

🚨 Safety Updates

Today marks the start of National Safe Work Month! Join SafeWork SA’s exciting events—interactive challenges, mock trials with WHS Advisors, and insightful webinars. Prioritize your physical and mental safety by participating in activities that promote a healthier, safer workplace this October. Get involved and make a difference!

Back by popular demand after last year’s inaugural event, the Women in Health & Safety Summit 2025 is your gateway to next level career growth and technical mastery.

✒ Headlines & Industry

A couple of well-paid barristers are trying to recruit informants from one of Australia’s most ruthless organisations, the CFMEU. On Wednesday, Stuart Wood KC and Liam Kelly KC gave opening speeches at Queensland’s royal commission-like inquiry into the union. Explaining the inquiry wants to examine what has been described as a culture of “coercion, intimidation, bullying and violence,” they made a surprising assertion: the CFMEU’s victims includes its members.

The NSW Government has remade the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulation, with the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 replacing the 2017 version from 22 August 2025 . While most rules remain unchanged, the new regulation introduces significant increases to on-the-spot fines.

The first public hearing for a major inquiry into Queensland's embattled construction union is set to begin on Wednesday. The commission of inquiry was announced by the Crisafulli government in July, days after the release of a damning report on the Queensland branch of the CFMEU.

Australia’s housing supply pipeline has weakened further, with the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures showing building approvals fell sharply in August, prompting industry leaders to call for faster action to get new homes underway.

Australia’s construction activity remains strong with 845 cranes operating nationwide, slightly up from March. Sydney leads with 370 cranes, followed by Melbourne’s 199. Residential projects dominate, accounting for 59% of cranes. Major infrastructure like Melbourne’s $36 billion North East Link fuels demand, while commercial and civil sectors see some decline.

🏗️ Projects

NSW

Inner West councillors narrowly approved a controversial plan 8-7 to fast-track up to 22-storey high-rise blocks, allowing 31,000 new homes over 15 years. The heated Ashfield meeting included interruptions and threats to clear the public gallery. Follow our live blog for updates and breaking news.

CPB Contractors completed Australia’s first airport slipform paving at Western Sydney International Airport. Using a moving machine, 60,500 cubic meters of concrete was placed with 94% machine paving in just over five months. The technique ensures faster, safer, and more precise construction of durable pavements for aviation infrastructure.

The NSW government has committed $37.5 million to upgrade more than 470 kilometres of state-managed roads through a new spray-sealing program aimed at improving safety, reliability and resilience across regional NSW

QLD

A wetter-than-average summer is brewing, and disaster-struck communities in Queensland's north have barely recovered from record rain earlier this year.

The North Queensland Esmeralda Graphite Project has achieved a milestone in planning approval with the release of Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Terms of Reference (ToR). Brisbane-based Graphinex proposes to develop a $1.23 billion greenfield graphite mine and processing facility around 70 kilometres south of Croydon in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

South East Queensland’s two major water distributor-retailers have welcomed the Queensland Government’s decision to commission the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) to review water pricing, emphasising the need for transparency, affordability and investment in infrastructure to meet future growth.

The Queensland Government is investing $130 million through the Resource Recovery Boost Fund (RRBF) to enhance recycling infrastructure and reduce waste across the state. This initiative is part of a broader $2.1 billion waste and resource recovery package aimed at diverting waste from landfills and boosting recycling rates.

Seqwater has achieved a key milestone as it looks to shore up North Pine Dam, one of south-east Queensland’s key drinking water supply assets. Over $69 million has been committed to the North Pine Dam staged strengthening project, which is supporting approximately 50 jobs on-site.

TAS

Devonport City Council has begun construction on the $60 million Devonport Oval Sports Complex, featuring indoor courts and training facilities. The project, led by St Lukes as builder, is backed by federal and state governments, aiming to boost the community and economy. Completion expected in 2027.

VIC

The $1.3 billion Portland Energy Park in Victoria will feature a 1,000 MW/2,500 MWh battery near the Portland Aluminium Smelter. Pacific Green is procuring the project, with construction starting in September 2026 and completing by September 2028. The Victorian Government approved it in 2025.

Two new road bridges at Ferris Road and Hopkins Road are taking shape. Ferris Road features 14 beams (up to 49 tonnes) and 130,000 litres of concrete; Hopkins Road has 27 beams (up to 59 tonnes) and 310,000 litres poured. Both bridges open in 2026.

WA

Available for public comment online, the Master Plan forecasts annual passenger numbers to grow from 17.48 million to 30.8 million by 2046, with aircraft movements to grow from 160,800 to 222,800 per year and air freight to reach as much as 269,000 tonnes.

The fight to close down Australia’s only inner-city concrete batching plants, in East Perth, has hit a new high as locals collect evidence to show it is breaching its working hours.

🚀 Innovation, Digital & Futuristic Technology

Australia’s infrastructure sector is rapidly adopting AI and robotics, raising workforce security questions. Experts stress upskilling, digital readiness, and human-machine collaboration to enhance jobs, not replace workers. Strategic reskilling, government support, and intuitive tools are vital to ensure automation empowers rather than marginalizes Australia’s skilled workforce.

Demolition has always been a tough job—and some projects can pose an element of risk for workers. But robotic demolition is rewriting the rules. Instead of teams taking on backbreaking, dangerous tasks like breaking and crushing concrete, drilling, and cutting steel, robotic demolition is stepping in to do the heavy lifting. The result? Safer worksites, faster project completion, and unparalleled precision that contributes to a more sustainable demolition.

Contec Australia unveiled its first 3D-printed home, marking a step forward for more sustainable, more cost-effective, and speedier construction projects. One unique aspect of this recent build in Tapping, a suburb of Perth, is that it spans two stories instead of the single floor commonly featured with this building method, New Atlas reported.

"Safety at Scale 2025: Construction Insights from the Field" is HammerTech ’s first data-backed safety report. The findings in it, draw from analysis of more than 75,000 safety incidents recorded in the Hammertech platform between 2018 and 2024. The report found that three areas of safety or injury mechanisms account for more than 60% of incidents on jobsites. 

Crest Robotics and Earthbuilt unveiled “Charlotte,” a semi-autonomous, spider-like 3D-printing robot to build houses on Earth within a few years and eventually basic lunar shelters, showcased in prototype at IAC Sydney.

🌱 Sustainability ​& Environment

Ready Group powers all equipment with biodiesel and holds ISO 14001 certification. Since 2021, it offsets 100% of Scope 1 and 2 emissions, partnering with Greenfleet to reforest Queensland and Victoria. The company also champions circular waste management and eco-friendly practices, driving meaningful environmental stewardship in construction.

🌏 Around the World

Recent updates highlight major energy projects worldwide: $2.2B geothermal plants in Indonesia; Japan exploring AI for nuclear inspections; community solar grants in Canada; battery storage expansions in Spain; geothermal-lithium drilling in Germany; Romania’s largest wind farm advancing; and pioneering carbon capture in Eastern Europe—showcasing diverse clean energy progress globally.

Anduril’s $900M drone facility near Rickenbacker Airport, Ohio, will support autonomous aircraft for clients including the Royal Australian Navy. The expansion includes new hangars, taxiways, and ramps. Set to begin construction in 2026, the project strengthens Australia–U.S. defense ties and supports Anduril’s growing role in Australia’s autonomous defense capabilities.

Construction has halted in Milwaukee on what would be the tallest mass timber building in the United States. The project, named Neutral Edison, was unveiled in June of this year, designed by developer Neutral’s in-house design team. “Recent tariffs and broader inflation have materially increased key input hard costs,” said Neutral in a statement carried by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

📖 Miscellaneous

Emergency rescue teams head for the Hills Teams from around Australia and New Zealand will put their safety and rescue skills to the test this month in the South Australian Mines Emergency Response Competition (SAMERC).

Ausgrid, the state-owned electricity distribution giant that delivers power to 1.8 million customers across Sydney and beyond, has proposed a “Community Power Network” (CPN) that could shatter a century-old regulatory boundary by allowing the monopoly network operator to directly own solar panels and batteries, sell electricity in competitive wholesale markets, and redistribute the profits to local communities

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Alex

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