07/08/2025

August 07, 2025

🏗 🚧 🌏 🛠 🚀 đŸŠș ♻ đŸ€– đŸ§± 🏛 🧰

THE MORNING PAPER FOR CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS AND TRADIES

🚹 Safety Updates

A man who is fighting for life after a horror worksite accident that killed his colleague has been left paralysed and with punctured lungs. Aymen Alahmad, 30, and Paulo Mau’u, 40, suffered critical injuries at a Meriton construction site on Pennant Hills Rd, near Shirley St, in Carlingford, in Sydney.

Mobile plant and pedestrians don’t mix SafeWork SA is warning operators of mobile plant of the significant risks to workers and pedestrians following 14 deaths in the past five years.

✒ Headlines & Industry

Australia faces a housing delivery bottleneck, with 30,000 approved homes stalled and construction times increasing. High building costs, slow approvals, and quality concerns threaten the federal target of 1.2 million new homes. Experts urge a focus on completing existing projects, improving productivity, and reforming planning, zoning, and taxation settings.

The Albanese Government is investing over $63 million in 23 road upgrade projects across regional and rural Australia through the Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program. Funding includes $22.4M in NSW, $19.5M in Victoria, $15.6M in Queensland, $4.8M in Tasmania, and $1.4M in Western Australia.

The Federal Government is investing $60.8 million in six new First Nations water projects across remote Australia: Woorabinda (QLD), Galiwin’ku and Gove Peninsula (NT), Halls Creek (WA), and APY Lands plus other self-supplied communities (SA). These upgrades will enhance water security for 9,000 people, create economic opportunities, and support Closing the Gap targets.

Three of Australia’s most influential construction leaders have called time on ‘survival mode’ and issued a rallying cry for reform to boost productivity and reset the industry’s commercial foundations.

Australia’s construction industry is sitting on a $60 billion-a-year productivity opportunity—and leaders say it’s time to start breaking it down and delivering real change.

đŸ—ïž Projects

ACT

The recently released business case for light rail Stage 2 showed the major project had a benefit-cost ratio of less than 1. Photo: Michelle Kroll. The Chief Minister has stated benefit-cost ratios are “not important at all” when it comes to choosing Canberra’s infrastructure projects.

NSW

The Norwegian oil and gas giant behind the last proposed offshore wind project remaining in NSW is expected to formally back away from the development by the end of the month, casting doubt over Labor’s plans for the technology in the state.

The cost to build the Central West Orana renewable energy zone (CWO REZ) has risen again – thanks to the soaring price of civil construction – and is now estimated at $5.5 billion, slightly more than previous estimates but a massive jump from the original $650 million.

Liverpool City Council Mayor, Ned Mannoun, has slammed a statement by the NSW Government announcing the proposed scope of its billion-dollar upgrade of Fifteenth Avenue in Sydney’s south-west, saying it fails to deliver for Liverpool residents.The Government yesterday confirmed company, WSP, had been awarded a contract for the Western Sydney International Airport precinct link’s concept design.

A $1.58 billion data centre development is now on public exhibition for 6-8 Julius Avenue, North Ryde. ISPT Pty Ltd proposes the project, aiming to deliver one of Sydney’s most significant digital infrastructure builds to date.

The City of Sydney Council opposed the plan but a NSW court has given it the green light.

A wind farm within the South West Renewable Energy Zone (SW REZ), has been approved by the NSW Independent Planning Commission. It is expected to create around 900 construction jobs and up to 40 operational jobs, with a construction period estimated to take around 55 months.

QLD

Irish company DP Energy has announced plans to develop a 1,400 MW renewable energy generation facility and four-hour big battery that would connect to the 1,100 kilometre CopperString transmission project being built by the Queensland government. The Windy Plains Renewable Energy Park, planned for a site about 40 kilometres southeast of Julia Creek in  Northwest Queensland, is to include almost 200 wind turbines that will collectively generate up to 1,400 MW of clean energy and a 500 MW battery energy storage system with a four-hour discharge duration.

The Queensland government has declared a new priority development area (PDA) at North Harbour in Moreton Bay, 40 kilometres north of Brisbane, which will see the delivery of 3,700 homes, including 200 dwellings fast-tracked through an early release area within the precinct.

South-east Queensland builder-developer McNab will redevelop the former 19th-century Dixon’s Tannery into a wellness-focused residential precinct after winning approval for the plan. The historic tannery at West End will be preserved and incorporated into The Tannery Residences, a 10-storey apartment project on the 4465sq m site at 439 Montague Road. 

SA

A contract has been awarded for the construction of a new link road that will remove a ‘dogleg’ at the busy South Road intersection in South Australia. Construction company BMD has been awarded the contract for the project which will remove the ‘dogleg’ movement for traffic travelling between Edward Street and Raglan Avenue.

VIC

The Allan Labor Government has begun building 26 new staff housing units in Bairnsdale to support East Gippsland’s largest employer. Backed by the Regional Worker Accommodation Fund, the project will attract and retain skilled healthcare workers, improving care access across the region and supporting local communities and small businesses. This is just one of five regional towns to receive a similar announcement,

The Albanese and Allan Labor Governments have awarded contracts for Stage 2 of the $318 million Barwon Heads Road Upgrade. Works will add new lanes, signalised intersections, pedestrian crossings, and cycling paths between Charlemont and Armstrong Creek, improving safety, easing congestion, and supporting growth across Geelong’s booming south-west corridor.

The Victorian government has green-lit the construction of a large housing precinct in Melbourne's outer north but community members have been left angered after approval for a new quarry was also granted despite their objections.

The Victorian government has today unveiled a new plan that will ensure small and medium heavy vehicle operators have an increased opportunity to trial and take-up low emissions vehicles. As part of the Victorian Freight Plan, Victorian ports and freight minister Melissa Horne met with more than 100 freight and logistics industry leaders to outline key actions that will support the sector and reduce emissions. The plan will see the state government deliver an $8 million Freight Sector Innovation Fund to help small and medium operators to trial and transition to low-emission equipment.

WA

The Western Australian government has announced that construction has begun on a large-scale battery energy storage system that is to help strengthen and stabilise one of the world’s most isolated grids.

🚀 Innovation, Digital & Futuristic Technology

3D printing is tipped to have a pivotal part to play in “a new era of nuclear construction.” The assertion comes after the U.S.'s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) successfully integrated 3D printing and AI into the smart manufacturing of nuclear infrastructure. 

Autodesk's "State of Digital Adoption in the Construction Industry" reveal that Singapore's construction sector is increasingly investing in technology.In 2025, firms allocated 28% of their expenditure to new technological solutions, a significant rise from 21% the previous year. This trend underscores the sector's commitment to digitalisation amid growing pressures for efficiency and safety.

This is the first major partnership announced for Project Kuiper, Amazon’s attempt to take on SpaceX’s Starlink service. NBN Co has struck a deal with Amazon’s Project Kuiper to roll out low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband to more than 300,000 premises across regional, rural and remote Australia from mid‑2026.

đŸŒ± Sustainability ​& Environment

Faced with multi-billion-dollar risks and a shrinking margin for error, coastal engineers are reengineering resilience from the ground up.

In Australia, engineers retrofit diesel trucks with hydrogen tanks and upgraded fuel systems, creating Euro 7–ready hydrogen engines that cut CO₂ by 85% and NOₓ by 90%. Dual-fuel setups blend hydrogen and diesel for flexibility, advancing sustainable transport while infrastructure and cost challenges remain significant hurdles for widespread adoption.

KUBO is taking a groundbreaking step in sustainable greenhouse construction through a new partnership with Underground Forest an organization that specializes in the use of wooden foundation piles that also serve as a method of long-term CO₂ storage.

🌏 Around the World

The New York City-based contractor grew revenue by more than 44% to $13.4 billion for the first half of 2025.  . Turner, which is a subsidiary of Germany-based Hochtief, has recently made moves focused around the data center construction boom, including the purchase of Ireland’s Dornan Engineering, which it completed earlier this year.

Heathrow Airport has submitted plans to construct a third runway and invest ÂŁ49bn ($65.04bn) in a major transformation of the UK's largest airport.

📖 Miscellaneous

Australia has its first ‘sky garage’ – but it won’t be the last

In ultra-luxe apartments in cities around the world, the ultimate amenity for car collectors is a sky garage. But no Australian building has boasted this extravagant feature – until now. Neue Grand in Melbourne features Australia’s first sky garage.

As many of its delegates pour significant investment into renewables systems, the keynote panel at this year's Diggers and Dealers conference suggests Australia's switch to a fully renewable grid is dead in the water. 

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released its final report into a freight train derailment at Traveston, Queensland, in February 2022, highlighting the importance of having serviceable environmental monitoring station equipment to provide an adequate response to extreme weather events.

đŸ‘·â€â™€ïž Tradies and Resource

After five years, Powerlink CEO Professor Paul Simshauser will retire in November 2025. He led significant renewable and battery project connections (~9,500 MW) and guided Queensland’s energy transformation. Leaders praised his commitment and achievements, wishing him success as he transitions to university research and later the private sector.

Across Australia, carpenters are facing the same challenges, finding consistent work, growing their businesses, staying connected, and navigating an industry that is rapidly evolving. But what if there was a way to tap into something bigger? A community of carpenters and industry professionals working together to create opportunity, drive progress, and give back where it matters most.

Thanks for reading,

If you have any comments or feedback, just respond to this email!

Alex

💰 Love Gooday Construction? Tell your friends and get a chance to win $20 amazon voucher ! We’re growing and the more we grow the more quality news we can get to you!

Want to advertise in Gooday Construction? 📰

If your company is interested in reaching an audience of Construction professionals and decision makers, you may want to advertise with us. Please reply to this email.