CCF WA News

Fuel pressures hit infrastructure pipeline

Alexa Asilo — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 02:44:50 GMT

The Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) is calling for targeted, practical support to help manage the impact of rising fuel prices on infrastructure delivery across Australia.

Civil construction is one of the largest users of diesel in the economy, with CCF members consuming around one billion litres annually to deliver vital infrastructure. With fuel accounting for up to 12 per cent of project input costs, recent price increases are already placing significant pressure on project delivery.

Early analysis indicates additional fuel costs of over $100 million across the civil construction industry in the first month alone, with further impacts expected as volatility continues.

At the same time, many contractors are operating under contracts that do not include rise and fall provisions, limiting their ability to share cost increases across the supply chain. As a result, some contractors are now exposed to delivering projects at a loss.

Without support from Commonwealth, State and Local Governments, these pressures risk flowing through the industry, with smaller contractors particularly vulnerable. There are growing concerns that sustained cost increases could lead to insolvencies and a loss of delivery capacity, particularly in regional areas.

CCF is calling for governments to engage constructively with industry, including consideration of this issue through National Cabinet, to ensure infrastructure delivery remains sustainable.

CCF National CEO, Nicholas Proud, said practical, measured responses are needed to keep projects moving.

“Civil contractors are absorbing significant cost increases in real time, and that is not sustainable without adjustment,” Mr Proud said.

“This is about maintaining the delivery of essential infrastructure and ensuring the industry remains in a position to deliver for communities.”

Infrastructure numbers

Construction requires 3.4b litres of diesel per year of which around 60% is used by civil infrastructure plant and equipment.
Construction is the most reliant Australian industry on diesel with 79% of its energy coming from diesel.
Like agriculture, construction uses around 10% of total diesel usage today.
Construction contracts are largely fixed price and with government – with low margins of around 1% for $1b plus jobs and there is not a huge amount of room for additional costs.
- Our fuel calculation indicates that fuel is roughly 7.5% of the cost of a project.
- In this respect the increase since the conflict started has added around $50m to the price of a $1b project.
To today, analysis indicates additional fuel costs of over $100 million across the civil construction industry in the first month alone, with further impacts expected as volatility continues.

Utility Providers Code of Practice review

Andy Graham — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 06:05:38 GMT

CCF WA represents civil contractors on the Utility Providers Services Committee (UPSC), which brings together all the major utility asset providers (including Water Corporation, Western Power, ATCO, Telstra and NBN) to engage with key industry and government stakeholders.

One of the UPSC’s primary functions is maintaining the Utility Providers Code of Practice, which documents best practice and provides essential information and guidance in managing and undertaking works associated with the provision of underground utility services in public road reserves. The Code of Practice is an authoritative reference for utility services providers, local governments, developers, and contractors throughout WA.

The UPSC is currently reviewing of the Code of Practice. The aim of the review is to enhance its relevance and longevity as a living document by:

Ensuring clarity and relevance to all users.
Streamlining and removing unnecessary information
Using diagrams and visual aids, where possible, to convey critical information.

The review will also look at how the Code can emphasise the importance of collaboration between utilities and service providers in project planning.

CCF WA welcomes your input on how the Code of Practice can be updated and improved. Please email ccfwa@ccfwa.com.au with your comments or to arrange a meeting to discuss.

CCF rejects ACTU push for national heat rules, backs existing state based safety frameworks

Alexa Asilo — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 01:27:45 GMT

The Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) has warned that calls from the ACTU for nationally mandated temperature shutdown rules would directly delay major infrastructure projects across regional Australia, while duplicating and undermining existing state based safety frameworks that are already managing heat risks effectively.

CCF National Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Proud said the proposal ignored both the realities of Australia’s climate and the way work health and safety is regulated and enforced across the country.

“Projects like the $8 billion Bruce Highway Upgrade, Brisbane Olympics infrastructure, the Eyre Peninsula Desalination Plant and the Reid Highway Upgrade are all delivered in environments where heat is a known, predictable and actively managed risk,” Mr Proud said.

“A blunt national shutdown trigger would take weeks of productive work off the table each year, regardless of the controls already in place and regardless of whether work can be done safely.”

Mr Proud said Australia already has a robust work health and safety framework that deliberately avoids one size fits all temperature thresholds, because heat risk cannot be reduced to a single number.

“Heat risk depends on a combination of factors including humidity, workload, air movement, clothing, acclimatisation and the specific controls on site. That is why regulators have adopted risk based approaches rather than arbitrary shutdown rules.”

He said state and territory guidance, including practical frameworks such as WorkSafe Western Australia’s Working safely in hot conditions, already provide clear direction to employers and workers on how to manage heat safely.

“These frameworks allow work to continue safely by adjusting start times, rotating tasks, increasing rest breaks, providing shade and hydration, and closely monitoring workers for signs of heat stress,” Mr Proud said.

“They are flexible, evidence based and designed to respond to real conditions on the ground.”

Mr Proud warned that imposing national rules from Canberra would override these established systems and disproportionately impact regional Australia, where heat is a regular part of daily life and construction windows are already constrained.

“Bureau of Meteorology data shows the mean number of days over 35 degrees each year is 28.8 in Perth, 13.9 in Darwin and 14.2 in Adelaide,” he said.

“In regional Australia, heat is not an occasional event. It is a normal operating condition that is already being managed safely through existing laws.”

Mr Proud said automatic shutdown rules risk creating perverse outcomes by encouraging rigid compliance rather than active risk management.

“Blanket rules replace judgement and consultation with a trigger point,” he said.

“That does not improve safety outcomes, but it does delay projects, increase costs and slow the delivery of the housing, water, transport and energy infrastructure communities rely on.”

CCF reaffirmed that worker safety is non negotiable and said the industry remains committed to continuous improvement as summers become hotter. However, Mr Proud said reform should focus on strengthening and supporting existing state systems, not duplicating them.

“We support strong safety outcomes,” he said.

“What we do not support are unnecessary national rules that cut across effective state frameworks and make it harder to deliver critical infrastructure safely and efficiently.”

Perth

https://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_009021_All.shtml

Adelaide

https://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_023090.shtml

Darwin

https://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_014015_All.shtml

Draft Excavation Work Code of Practice - belated opportunity for civil sector input

Emily Giglia — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 01:55:13 GMT

The State Government has published a draft Excavation Work Code of Practice, with comment due by Friday, March 13.

The Draft Code is available online at safetyline.wa.gov.au/consultations/draft-code-of-practice-excavation-work/

Like the harmonised Codes already in force in other Australian states, the draft WA Code is based on Safe Work Australia’s model Code of Practice for Excavation Work. However, the draft WA Code differs so significantly from the others that it barely qualifies as harmonised at all.

Some of the differences are hard to fathom. The section on ‘ground conditions’ is Part 6.1 of the model Code and all state Codes but is an appendix in the draft WA Code, while ‘adjacent buildings or structures’ is in Part 3 (planning excavation work) of every other Code but Part 5 (controlling risks) of the draft WA Code. Useful guidance in the model Code around plant operator protective structures has been omitted from the draft WA Code. There are many other major and minor examples.

In a recent discussion paper, Safe Work Australia noted that nationally consistent WHS laws simplify compliance and improve safety outcomes by making it easier for duty holders to understand and meet their obligations. The same logic applies to nationally consistent Codes of Practice.

Some inconsistencies are of course necessary to reflect WA-specific regulations, but others look like change for change’s sake. It would be helpful to understand the reasons for the many departures from the harmonised framework, but no explanations have been provided. CCF WA is unfortunately not a member of the Construction Industry Safety Advisory Committee (CISAC), which advises the WHSC on construction safety issues and was consulted during the development of the Code.

We will continue to advocate for a seat at CISAC on behalf of the civil construction industry. An initial review of the draft Code has already revealed a number of examples where more civil expertise may have been helpful. The scope and complexity of major excavation works on civil projects is not always appreciated by those outside our industry.

Guided by our Safety Committee, CCF WA will be reviewing the draft Code in detail over the next few weeks. A summary document is available here. This document also includes space for member comment on each section of the Draft Code and can be used to provide your company’s feedback to CCF WA.

Your company’s comment is welcome by February 27 (or earlier if possible) so that CCF WA can prepare a comprehensive submission by the March 13 deadline.

CCF WA Summary and Comment Template

Local Government Contractors Survey highlights industry frustration with WALGA panel

Andy Graham — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 08:41:33 GMT

CCF WA’s Local Government Contracting Survey shows most contractors believe councils will achieve better value through open tenders for civil construction works rather than using the WALGA Preferred Supplier Program (PSP).

While many contractors saw potential in the PSP concept to deliver value for money by streamlining local government works procurement, there were widespread concerns with the way it operates.

Currently, contractors pay WALGA a commission of 1% of the value of civil works contracts won through the PSP. Despite contractors having to factor in this extra cost, WALGA tells councils they will receive cheaper prices through the PSP. The survey results challenge this claim, with 88% of respondents saying councils don’t receive better value using the PSP. As one survey respondent commented: “The 1% must come from somewhere”.

The PSP commission on a $10 million contract can mean that either the contractor or the LGA (depending on who ultimately absorbs the extra cost) effectively makes a $100,000 donation to WALGA.

Two-thirds of survey respondents believe a fairer, more transparent system would be for WALGA to charge LGAs a fee for using the PSP. A fee-for-service payment structure would allow LGAs to make an informed decision, weighing the cost of using the PSP against any internal administrative savings.

Other findings from the report include:

Most respondents (69%) said LGAs are generally ineffective at communicating their forward pipeline. While there are some welcome exceptions, the general lack of pipeline communication means contractors are often given inadequate time to plan their workflows and allocate resources.

The quality of project designs and tender documentation prepared by LGAs is highly variable. Many respondents noted that the quality of designs and documentation often depends on the consultant engaged by the council, which creates a risk as the experience and qualifications of consultants varies widely.

While some LGAs clearly communicate their tender evaluation processes and reasons, there is generally room for improvement. An earlier CCF WA report, Transparency in Western Australian Local Government tender evaluation (July 2022) looked at this issue in detail. CCF WA has welcomed proposed legislative reforms to improve transparency (amendments to Section 5.23) and we look forward to their implementation.

LGAs are mostly regarded as fair and reasonable in their management of contracts and payments. A resounding 93% of respondents rated contract management and payment practices as always or usually fair and reasonable, although about half noted occasional issues. These issues tend to stem from the lack of certainty created by poor designs and documentation.

CCF WA has shared the survey report with all Local Government CEOs and Mayors/Presidents, Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley, and new Local Government Inspector Tony Brown. We hope this survey can be a catalyst for much needed changes in this important sector.

Click here to download CCF WA’s 2025 Local Government Contracting Survey.

Civil jobs underpin drive to help break crime cycle

Alice Graham — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 02:58:47 GMT

Innovative jail-based programs prepare employment-ready candidates to fill critical industry workforce needs by tackling stubborn prisoner reoffending challenges. By John Feary.

Two separate events at Karnet Prison Farm underline the significant progress being made to overcome the employment disadvantages facing ex-prisoners in WA, while at the same time helping employers in civil construction and other industries find keen and job-ready recruits.

Indigenous-owned and managed company Carey Training & Development will complete the 18^th program of its Carey Bindjareb partnership at Karnet, 65km southeast of Perth, in December, equipping participants with the Certificate II in Civil Construction and machine tickets ahead of their approaching release dates. They will follow 146 previous graduates since 2018 and precede the resumption next year of a similar partnership in the Pilbara region.

Meanwhile, specialist labour-hire organisation Reboot Australia will complete the third WA intake of its Breaking Through program. When released in November, the Karnet graduates will emerge ready to kick-start their new careers equipped with their Cert II in Civil Construction, new life skills, industry readiness and tickets or qualifications in electives such as working at height, gas safety and fire mitigation skills.

These are just two of a growing range of partnership programs linking industry, community groups and other government agencies with the WA Justice Department that aim to reduce the stubbornly high rates of reoffending by released prisoners while also addressing the critical shortages of suitable recruits particularly in WA’s construction and mining sectors.

According to a 2025 Australian Productivity Commission study, 30.8% of prisoners who were released in Western Australia during 2021-22 ended up back behind bars within two years. While this is at least better than the national average of 43%, the state’s Corrective Services Commission identified reducing recidivism as a priority in its recently released 2025-2030 strategic plan.

The programs recognise the importance of employment to keeping past offenders out of trouble. “With steady jobs, the prisoners have an opportunity to change their behaviour, break the crime cycle and enhance their successful reintegration into the community,” Department of Justice Assistant Director Prisoner Employment Programs Larry Smith said recently.

Carey Training and Development CEO Raphael Poole said its programs were built on the simple belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to achieve a meaningful future through training, employment and connection to community.

Carey Training is part of Carey Group, Australia’s leading indigenous-owned mining, civil and general construction contracting, engineering and training business founded by Daniel Tucker in Perth in 1995. The specialist training arm now led by Ms Poole has delivered vocational education and employment services for commercial clients as well as its programs for prisoners in WA and South Australia for two decades.

Through its partnerships with governments in both states as well as national employment services charity Workskil Australia, Carey Training equips both Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants with hands-on training, mentoring and close collaboration with employers.

“We believe that skill development and steady employment are key to breaking cycles of disadvantage and creating lasting change,” Ms Poole said. “We support participants, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to transition from the justice system to industry, regaining their confidence, purpose and self-determination along the way.

“For me, there’s nothing more powerful than seeing someone who’s been given a second chance step onto a worksite with pride, earning respect, providing for, and being a role model to their family, and contributing to their community.

“That’s when you see what our work is truly about. It’s not just about training and qualifications. It’s about restoring purpose, dignity and belonging.”

Equally importantly, Carey’s training is guided by deep respect and understanding of Indigenous culture and history. “For us, acknowledging Indigenous history is not a symbolic gesture,” she said. “It is a foundation for how we teach, how we connect, and how we build respectful partnerships between communities, government and industry.”

The close partnership with the Corrective Services Commission was highlighted when commissioner Brad Royce joined founder and current executive chairman Daniel Tucker, group CEO Moses Panashe and Ms Poole to celebrate the Carey Group’s 30^th anniversary this year. All took the opportunity to confirm their long-term commitment to the employment and self-determination programs.

Since its first Bindjareb program at Karnet in 2018, Carey’s comprehensive educational and mentoring courses leading to full-time career opportunities have achieved 54% success in terms of graduates who have not reoffended and remain in the community.

The courses draw on equipment and jobs support from Caterpillar mining and construction equipment dealer WesTrac in addition to the jobs pipeline offered by many supporting employers.

The Karnet Bindjareb model was extended to the Pilbara in 2023 as the Carey Maramara program, with an initial 10 indigenous inmates at Roebourne Prison graduating and being offered employment or further training pathways and achieving 80% success rates to date. After a pause this year, the Carey Maramara courses will resume in 2026 following the completion of badly needed infrastructure upgrades at the prison.

Carey Training’s more recently established Road to Redemption and Construct Your Career programs have had similar impacts in WA and South Australia, with 68% of the 165 Indigenous and 60 non-Indigenous male and female graduates remaining in full-time employment.

In SA, the Road to Redemption courses are integral to the state government’s commitment to reducing the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in jails and lowering recidivism rates through stable employment. SA now has the lowest recidivism rate in Australia, at 28.2%, and has set the goal of further reducing reoffending by 20% within the next year.

The Construct Your Career program, with its mix of Indigenous and non-Indigenous male and female participants, is gaining momentum in WA.

Graduates from both programs are recruited into state-funded infrastructure and construction projects for the many employers who support the group’s programs and vision.

“The successful reintegration into communities and employment of the graduates from these programs has helped to change the landscape and the appetite for prospective employers,” Ms Poole said.

“We are acutely aware that we are dealing with a vulnerable section of our communities. We don’t blow our own trumpet, (but) we quietly smile when we see a graduate step onto a worksite.”

“We don’t just dump ex-prisoners on employers. We work with employers, understand their needs...” – Anthony McShane, Reboot Australia

Reboot Australia’s Breaking Through program, now completing its third WA intake, has been run eight times nationally and delivered 98 graduates in just two years. Co-founder and general manager Anthony MacShane has just received the green light to run another three years of programs within WA.

Reboot’s programs develop relevant social, cultural, psychological and behavioural factors through mentoring, industry-relevant education and employer-tailored training before and after release. The three-phase, eight-stage plan connects the inmates with all services that can support their aim of building a life free of crime.

“Instead of duplicating existing services, Reboot Australia is the conduit that makes it as simple as possible for candidates, support services and employers,” Mr MacShane said.

“Working with candidates in prison allows us time to build trust, understand their unique situations and outline the key actions to achieve successful employment outcomes post-release.”

Mr MacShane stresses the holistic nature of the Reboot model. “It’s not just about getting someone a job,” he said. “It includes psychological, behavioural, cultural and social supports, helping them deal with barriers such as transport, housing, identity and the stigma of their past, as well as mentoring and continuing support post-release.”

It takes a similar attitude towards prospective employers. “We don’t just dump ex-prisoners on employers,” he said. “We work with employers, understand their needs, tailor programs and training to industry requirements, so the candidates are more ready, and employers get great workers who feel supported.”

Mr MacShane established the national not-for-profit with his son Jobe in 2022 after nearly five years of personal voluntary work in prisons across several states. He traces his impetus to a meeting with 12 indigenous men in a small classroom at Pinjarra back in 2017, when he was captivated by the inmates’ enthusiasm and openness as they listened and shared their own stories of challenges and learning.

But he also brings a uniquely varied life experience to the task. He has worked for more than 33 years across many industries, commencing in underground mining and progressing through civil and general construction to project management, running large-scale projects across WA. Along the way, he has also dealt with alcohol and drug addiction issues and served a prison sentence for drug dealing.

He emerged from all that determined to help others to break the cycle of incarceration. He volunteered and travelled to institutions across Australia wholly unfunded, speaking to near-release inmates about career opportunities and current job openings, what training they needed and how to keep a job.

Mr MacShane admits his personal background gives Reboot Australia credibility in the prison environment. “People listen because we’ve been there, made mistakes, and then turned it around,” he said.

By commencing training and mentoring prior to inmates’ release, Reboot develops trust and gives them time to plan. That leaves them having less idle time post-release, which also removes one of the main triggers for ex-prisoners to return to their old ways.

Along the way, the growing Reboot team has learned from small pilot programs while collecting data on educational and employment outcomes as well as longer-term recidivism that now help break down the stigma of employing ex-prisoners.

The challenges facing parolees are stark. In WA, the number of Indigenous people in jail is now 25% higher than the national average – and is growing at more than double the national average. An indigenous person in WA is 24 times more likely to go to prison.

National statistics show also 66% of people sentenced to prison were out of work at the time of the offence.

Mr MacShane compliments the WA Corrections Service for its “open arms” response to industry engagement, saying its enthusiasm has rolled on to its counterparts in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland – the other states where Reboot is active.

As for the response by employers, once the Reboot team explains the program and its 95% success rate to industry associations or individual companies, about 90% of businesses are on board with it. They can also see how it can help meet their environmental, social and governance targets, social procurement or social impact strategies.

“Many employers are now more open, especially in sectors with skills shortages such as construction and mining and where they see the need to improve workforce reliability and loyalty,” he said. “Employers need good people and at the end of the day we are opening up a cohort of workers who are largely overlooked, are local and desperate for work.”

Reboot Australia was named overall winner at the WA Social Enterprise Council awards in June, and Mr MacShane is confident its success will inspire other public and private sector groups. “There are some great companies doing some great work in this space,” he said. “Our successful model can definitely be replicated, and we hope it is by many. The problem is bigger than all of us, but we can all contribute.”

Originally published in the CCF WA Bulletin (Edition 3, 2025).

Industry feedback request for ISSA Collaborative & Standardised Contracts Initiative

Andy Graham — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 07:50:25 GMT

CCF WA is proud to be part of the Industry Sustainability Strategic Approach (ISSA) initiative, working in collaboration with the major transport delivery agencies (Main Roads, PTA and OMTID) and fellow industry groups CCA and Consult Australia.

The ISSA Collaborative and Standardised Contracts Working Group is seeking input from businesses that have worked as a head contractor, subcontractor or supplier on State Government transport projects.

This working group has established three key objectives:

Develop an overarching consistent approach for collaborative elements and requirements in Alliance Agreements, to be applied across all transport agency alliance projects during procurement and delivery
Extend these collaborative elements into mid-tier contracts between Head Contractors and Transport Agencies
Develop a framework for standardised subcontracts and supply contracts with collaborative elements for consistent implementation by Head Contractors on transport infrastructure projects

To achieve these objectives, the working group has identified several industry challenges:

Limited and inconsistent collaboration between clients and industry stakeholders
Inappropriate risk allocation across the supply chain
Lack of consistency across contracts and agreements
Increasing project complexity and scale
Resource constraints and market capacity

As the first stage of addressing these challenges and developing a collaborative framework that will enhance industry sustainability and improve project outcomes, your assistance is needed - please help by sharing your feedback on lessons learned from previous projects.

What worked well? What didn’t work well? How could the outcome have been improved?

Your feedback can help create lasting positive change in our industry!

Please complete the Project Feedback Form. Multiple responses (one per project) are welcome. Please email completed feedback forms to CCF WA CEO Andy Graham by COB Friday, January 30, 2026. Confidentially is assured.

Here’s how we worked for the industry in 2025

Emily Giglia — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 06:44:18 GMT

In 2025, CCF WA was busy representing, informing and connecting the industry. Here’s our 2025 top ten achievements.

We were the voice of the industry, consistently advocating for policies to support a healthy and sustainable civil construction sector.

We regularly met with Ministers and other key decision makers and participated in dozens of committees and advisory groups right across government, ensuring the civil construction industry’s specific concerns were understood.

With governments increasingly focused on responding to the housing crisis, we reminded governments that civil construction is the essential forerunner to housing construction, and that policies must support and encourage both. Our advocacy ensured the ongoing inclusion of civil occupations in the $10,000 Build a Life in WA relocation incentive and the WA Designated Area Migration Agreement.

With union influence in civil construction continuing to increase, we ramped up our IR support services to members, providing comprehensive advice on issues including right of entry and enterprise agreements.

We published a detailed report, the WA Civil Infrastructure 10-Year Outlook 2025-2035, designed to assist our members’ long-term planning and investment decisions and to inform our advocacy to government.

We ensured availability of industry-specific training for operators affected by new ‘excavator as a crane’ regulations and supported industry through implementation of the regulations. CCF WA has been a lone voice for sensible regulation since the licensing changes were introduced in 2022.

We collaborated with government agencies to again host the annual Civil Works Safety Forum, a full-day event dedicated to encouraging best practice in WHS on civil sites.

We kept our members well informed, with more than 80 E-Bulletins and updates emailed to key contacts, providing timely and targeted information assisting them to run compliant and profitable businesses, plus regular webinars on a wide range of important topics.

Our Women in Civil initiative continued to celebrate and support gender diversity in civil construction, with events, a mentoring program, and a new awards program.

In response to Members’ enquiries, we provided one-on-one advice on a wide range of issues including workplace relations, prequalification, safety compliance, contracts, and payments.

Our Member Portal, on the ccfwa.com.au website, continued to grow as a reliable and exclusive library of information and guidance for Members.

We issued regular updates to our highly popular Pipeline of Government Civil Works, the most comprehensive guide to upcoming contracting opportunities (and awarded contracts) available.

We brought the industry together to celebrate our projects and people at the Earth Awards and Industry & Training Awards.

Our busy events schedule also included the annual Women in Civil lunch, three industry breakfasts, two golf days, two sundowners and four boardroom lunches.

We’re proud of what we achieved in 2025 but we’re also driven to keep improving member services, with some great new benefits planned for 2026.

Keystart loan to support apprentices, graduates and new skilled workers

Andy Graham — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 08:49:58 GMT

Graduates, apprentices and other workers new to the industry can benefit from Keystart's new Skilled Start Home Loan, which offers a low 2% deposit, no lenders mortgage insurance, and lower mortgage repayments.

In a win for our industry, the list of eligible occupations includes plant operators and concreters, as well as civil engineers, drainers, carpenters and cable jointers. Click here to view the full list of eligible occupations.

The Skilled Start Home Loan is aimed at supporting people in the early stages of their career. To be eligible, they need to have started an apprenticeship, been working as a skilled worker in a building and construction occupation or graduated with a Certificate III qualification or higher within the past five years. For more details on eligibility criteria, click the link below.

CCF WA welcomes the inclusion of civil plant operators, who are officially regarded as “semi-skilled” (thanks to the outdated classification system) and so have historically missed out on skilled worker incentive programs. This and other recent due recognition of skilled civil construction occupations is a result of CCF’s sustained advocacy on behalf of our industry.

Civil apprenticeship attracting under 25s but deluge of dubious Cert IIIs a concern

Andy Graham — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 08:00:00 GMT

Just over four years ago, the Certificate III qualifications in Civil Construction, Civil Construction Plant Operations and Trenchless Technology were gazetted as three-year apprenticeships in WA, replacing the previous two-year traineeship. A key aim for the new apprenticeships was to encourage more school leavers and young people to take up civil construction as a trade career, and I’m pleased to say the latest National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) data indicates that this is happening.

Last year, 80 Western Australians aged 15-19 enrolled in a civil construction apprenticeship, an impressive fourfold increase on the civil traineeship enrolments for that age group in 2019. Annual enrolments of under 25s jumped from 75 to 190 in the same period.

Overall, under-20s jumped from 9% to 20% of all civil apprenticeship enrolments and under-25s from 33% to 46%. It’s encouraging the outlook for the new apprenticeship is so promising.

Unfortunately, there’s also some disappointing news in the new NCVER data. The future of the apprenticeship, and the quality and reputation of trade level training in civil construction, is being seriously undermined by a rising flood of ‘institutional’ Certificate III civil construction qualifications delivered to jobseekers and students in a matter of weeks.

In 2024, a staggering 5375 Western Australian job seekers commenced an institutional Certificate III-level civil construction qualification – a 40% increase from 2023 and nearly triple the enrolments in 2019 (see chart below).

These are exactly the same qualifications also delivered as a three-year apprenticeship. Unfortunately, the State Government also allows (and funds) the delivery of the Certificate III civil construction qualifications institutionally, typically over 11-12 weeks, based in a classroom/workshop with limited practical training on a simulated site.

The civil construction Cert IIIs were not designed for pre-employment training, and certainly not in such a compressed timeframe. These qualifications were designed to be delivered in the workplace, with apprentices developing genuine competency through repeated application on a real construction site, facing the real-world challenges of meeting quality and productivity standards. None of that is possible through short-term institutional delivery.

This is a problem unique to our sector. The civil construction Cert IIIs are the only trade-level construction qualifications that can be delivered as either a workplace apprenticeship, or institutionally in a fraction of the time. Imagine the uproar if trade-level Cert III qualifications in electrical, plumbing or carpentry could be completed in a matter of weeks, without any workplace experience! But apparently, it’s OK in civil construction.

Apart from the dubious quality of the training, institutional delivery of a full Certificate III civil qualification to thousands of jobseekers is a massive waste of time and resources – and underlining this point, the NCVER data shows completion rates are poor at around 20%.

Of course, we appreciate the good intent and celebrate such strong interest in civil construction careers. And yes, these institutional Cert IIIs sometimes lead to job outcomes. The point we make to government is, there are far more effective and efficient ways to provide work-ready training, that will deliver the same or better employment outcomes.

CCF WA advocates for more appropriate pre-employment training options, such as Job Ready Programs or the Certificate II in Resources and Infrastructure Work Preparation.

These courses are purpose-designed as pre-employment pathways, allowing jobseekers to progress to high-quality workplace training (such as the Civil Construction Apprenticeship) when they find employment.

Doing a true pathway qualification ensures job seekers are jobready while minimising their time commitment and ensuring meaningful, quality training.

For State and Federal Governments, which fund about 80% of institutional civil construction Cert IIIs, funding appropriate pre-employment training will mean more job-ready outcomes for less investment.

For our industry, this rising flood of quickie Cert IIIs erodes the reputation of the civil construction apprenticeship, and ultimately the credibility of civil construction training.

- Andy Graham, CCF WA CEO

Trust accounts to replace PBAs on State Government projects

Andy Graham — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 03:46:07 GMT

The State Government has announced legislative reforms that will replace the current complex and lengthy Project Bank Account (PBA) processes with simpler trust accounts that will provide the same protection to subcontractors.

The reforms will remove the heavy administrative burden of PBAs including the PBA Trust Deed Poll, PBA Agreement, and Deed of Release/Priority Deed Poll. The PBA will be replaced with a construction trust account, which can be any bank transaction or deposit account set up for the purpose.

It's proposed the deemed construction trust scheme will apply on State Government-led construction projects over $1.5 million, and will cover first-tier subcontractors/suppliers (the Government says cascading trusts, covering the entire subcontracting/supply chain, have proven burdensome and problematic when used in other states).

These appear to be welcome changes as PBAs have proved a nightmare to manage, and the trusts appear to be a simpler and equally effective mechanism. Member feedback is welcome.

New ‘head contractor statement’ provision

The State Government says this will strengthen the existing statutory declaration provisions on government projects. When lodging a payment claim, head contractors will be required to state:

whether or not they have paid the full amount claimed by each subcontractor
if not, details of the unpaid claim and why the full amount has not been paid.

Furthermore, the draft legislation then allows the Principal to withhold payments to the head contractor in some circumstances. We will be taking a closer look at these complex provisions and welcome all input.

Amendments to the Security of Payments Act (SOPA)

The Government says these are minor amendments to clarify several minor issues with the SOPA adjudication process, specifically in relation to serving of notices, adjudication fees and ‘pay when paid’ provisions in contracts. The Explanatory Memorandum (link below) has more details.

Have your say through CCF WA

The draft legislation and Explanatory Memorandum are available online here

CCF WA will be making a submission by the deadline of November 14. Please email us with any input by COB Friday, November 7.

CCF WA will keep Members well informed as these reforms progress to implementation next year.

Civil is probably doing better than you think, but we can certainly boost productivity

Andy Graham — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 09:41:04 GMT

Is the civil construction sector really such a laggard in productivity growth? Although overall construction productivity growth in Australia has undoubtedly been poor – with just 13% growth since 1994/95 compared to 49% for the whole economy – the headline figures hide a big disparity between building and civil construction.

Recent Federal Productivity Commission data (see chart below) shows that productivity in heavy and civil construction has achieved 44% growth over the past 30 years, only just below the economy-wide average.

While claims of a crisis in civil construction productivity may be exaggerated, there are certainly ample opportunities for improvement. Here’s a few things Governments can do.

Invest more in project planning and design
The #1 productivity killer on infrastructure projects is delays and rework, which most often result from insufficient planning and underdeveloped designs. Government agencies don't get the time and resources they need to properly plan and design projects prior to procurement. As a result, design and construct contracts are too often used as a risk transfer mechanism on projects with minimal opportunity for design innovation.

Encourage innovation through competitive procurement
The ‘productivity crisis’ narrative is employed to support calls for the aggregation of government capital works into very large, long-term program alliances, which we are assured will turbocharge innovation and productivity. Sacrificing a diverse, competitive marketplace is not the way to increase productivity. A broad spread of head contracting opportunities is essential to ensure a competitive market and drive continued innovation and productivity growth.

Relax specifications and share the risk of innovation
Government agencies want innovation but are not prepared to accept performance liability, so they default back to inflexible specifications that stifle productivitity. True innovation is unleashed when agencies accept outcomes which challenge the norm and are prepared to share the risk. Today’s innovation becomes tomorrow’s norm.

Streamline project procurement
Government project EOIs and RFPs have become bloated with management plans, even though preferred proponents are invariably selected based on their price, experience and proposed methodology. Issues such as culture and diversity, safety management and stakeholder management can be managed more effectively and productively through collaboration post-award.

Slash excessive compliance obligations
Compliance for compliance’s sake is anti-productive. Governments should reassess all administrative and compliance requirements on projects and eliminate those that are not adding any value or improving outcomes.

Manage contracts collaboratively, not punitively
Inflexible and adversarial contract management results in contractors being unfairly punished despite delivering a quality outcome. Time and resources are too often wasted by a bureaucratic approach to claims and variations. Instead of being resolved quickly, reasonable claims are delayed by assessment processes which often seem designed to defer a decision as long as possible.

Balanced approach to workplace relations
Union-friendly, government-mandated pattern agreements on major civil infrastructure projects damage the healthy employer-employee relationships that characterise our sector and severely constrain employers’ ability to incentivise and reward productivity.

- Andy Graham, CCF WA CEO

All the finalists in our biggest-ever Earth Awards

Alice Graham — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 06:12:12 GMT

The WA Earth Awards, proudly presented by PSC Insurance Brokers, is the Western Australian civil construction industry’s annual celebration of infrastructure project excellence –.

We're very excited to have set a record of 25 incredible entries in 2025 across all categories. The projects nominated are:

Enviro Infrastructure – Bridge 0629 Demolition and Associated Civil Works

DJ MacCormick Contractors – Seabrooke Ave, Rockingham Sewer Pressure Main Diversion

Tracc Civil – 125 Hay Street, East Perth

Brown Civil – Lee Road - Gravity Sewer Main Extension

DJ MacCormick Contractors – Barrambie Way, Ellenbrook New Sewer Pressure Main

Tracc Civil – Glendalough Green

DCI Group – East Intercourse Island CD2 Culvert Refurbishment

Saltire Infrastructure – Caves Road Water Mains Upgrade

Advanteering Civil Engineers – Scotch College Boatshed Construction

Neo Civil – Kalbarri Disaster Recovery Works

Georgiou Group – Bayswater Pressure Reduction Station

BMR Piping & Civil – Kathleen Valley - 48km Pipeline for Liontown

Rob Carr and NEWest Alliance – Anaconda Dr Sewer Pressure Main Realignment

Tracc Civil – Austin Lakes Stage 19

BMD – Belmont Park Redevelopment

Ertech – Kalgoorlie City Centre Transformation

Tracc Civil – Cassia Estate

Georgiou Group and Water Corporation – Alkimos Seawater Desalination Plant Enabling Works

SRG Global – Pilgangoora Tailings Storage Facility & Associated Infrastructure

Ertech – Spoilbank Marina Pk 4 - Landside Civils and Landscaping

Fitzroy Bridge Alliance – New Brooking Channel Bridge

Causeway Link Alliance – Boorloo Bridge

NEWest Alliance – METRONET Thornlie-Cockburn Line

Armadale Line Upgrade Alliance – METRONET Victoria Pack-Canning Level Crossing Removal Project

South West Gateway Alliance (SWGA) – Wilman Wadandi Highway

Join us to celebrate the winners and finalists at a gala dinner event on Friday, September 19 at Crown Perth's Grand Ballroom. There will be fine dining, networking, and entertainment from Perth band Atomic.

Don't miss our biggest-ever Earth Awards – book your table now at the link below! Ticket sales close September 11.

Event info Tickets

2025 Women in Civil Award winners

Alexa Asilo — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 03:38:29 GMT

The 2025 Women in Civil Awards were presented at the Women in Civil Lunch on Thursday, 17 July, by Minister for Women the Honourable Simone McGurk MLA and Main Roads WA Acting Executive Director Infrastructure Delivery Belinda Stopic, along with event sponsors Busy At Work, Geoquest and SWIP.

The 2025 winners are...

Women in Civil Industry Leader Award — Emma Moebius, BMD

Emma’s leadership as Regional Commercial Manager ensures high-performing, commercially sound outcomes while promoting fairness and sustainability across the supply chain. She champions diversity and inclusion across all levels of the business. She chairs the WA Regional Inclusion Working Group, represents the region on the national Women@BMD committee and leads initiatives that create meaningful, lasting change.

Women in Civil Emerging Leader Award — Mairead Breen, FSC Civils

As General Manager, Mairead exemplifies leadership, resilience, and a deep commitment to building a more inclusive, people focused civil construction industry. Her commitment to people extends to creating pathways for growth and mentoring. She directly supports the progression of team members, and has led recruitment reforms to prioritise potential over experience, creating opportunities for women entering or re-entering the workforce.

Women in Civil Trainee/Apprentice Award — Abbey-Lee Johnson, Apex Utilities

Motivated by a desire to expand her capabilities, Abbey-Lee’s completion of the Cert III in Trenchless Technology marks a groundbreaking achievement as the first female to do so throughout Australia. Abbey’s strong leadership qualities and deep understanding of trenchless techniques saw her rapidly promoted to Team Leader—a role she took on with professionalism, precision and pride.

Women in Civil Corporate Leader Award — BMD

In a sector where women have been historically underrepresented, BMD is committed to driving lasting change to advance gender equality and create opportunities for generations to come. In WA, women represent 22% of BMD’s workforce. This achievement reflects BMD’s values-led approach, outlined in its National Gender Equality Action Plan.

2025 Women in Civil Award nominees announced

Alice Graham — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 08:22:43 GMT

The Women in Civil Awards recognise exceptional women for their leadership and commitment to excellence within the WA civil construction industry. This year, we introduced four new awards: Industry Leader; Emerging Leader; Trainee/Apprentice; and Corporate Leader.

The nominees for 2025 are...

Emerging Leader

Mairead Breen, FSC Civils
Aimee Crofton, Georgiou Group
Leonie Cunningham, Georgiou Group
Tracey Daly, APEX Utilities
Jennifer Gaitan, BOS Civil
Katelyn Gibson, Brooks Hire Service
Emma Lauriston, BMD
Tessa McGrath, DM Civil
Hadiah Mojaddidi, Melchor
Libby O'Brien, BMD
Jordan Pedley, Barakee, MAX Plant
Melinda Preece, BMD
Meghan Roger, Western Geotechnical & Laboratory Services
Maria Vermeulen, CPB Contractors
Natasha Veurink, Tracc Civil

Industry Leader

Kate Chapman, CPB Contractors
Nancy Chen, Tracc Civil
Nayelly Garcia, CPB Contractors
Kim Haynes, SRG Global Infrastructure
Kelly Hillary, SJ Traffic Management
Jutta Klocke, Geoquest Australia
Anna Massey, BMD
Emma Moebius, BMD
Hilary Morup, Mallard Contracting
Barbara Tighe, CPB Contractors
Elizabeth Ward, CPB Contractors

Trainee/Apprentice

Elise Ewen, Georgiou Group
Abbey-Lee Johnson, Apex Utilities
Deborah Williams, Motivation Foundation
Brianna Fretwell, Laing O’Rourke

Corporate Leader

FSC Civils
BMD

The winners will be presented at the 2025 Women in Civil Lunch by Minister for Women the Hon. Simone McGurk MLA.

Tickets are on sale until 5:30pm Wednesday, 9 July.

Industry says looming drought of new major road projects must be addressed to ensure long-term capacity

Alice Graham — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 09:33:22 GMT

Western Australia’s peak civil construction industry group says planned major road projects must be brought forward to ensure WA retains the skilled workforce needed for an expected surge of infrastructure construction activity later this decade.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said the recent State Budget included many road projects scheduled to get underway around 2028 (see list below). Construction works on these projects will coincide with a forecast rise in public and private sector construction activity including Westport and Western Trade Coast enabling works (road and rail), Perth Airport runway and redevelopment, Clean Energy Link projects, Defence upgrades at Garden Island and Henderson, and development of Strategic Industrial Areas.

Mr Graham said bringing some road projects forward would help smooth the infrastructure pipeline and ensure WA retained workforce capability.

“We’re optimistic about the long-term pipeline of work but the next couple of years are a concern,” Mr Graham said.

“With the METRONET program wrapping up, more and more civil contractors and subcontractors are geared up and ready for work, but they can see very few new tendering opportunities in the next 18-24 months.

“The State Budget forecasts show Main Roads will spend about a billion dollars per annum statewide on road construction in 2027/28 and 2028/29, which is back to the levels of about ten years ago and a massive drop in real terms.

“It makes sense to bring some road projects forward. Otherwise, we’ll pay the price in skills shortages a few years from now. Civil engineers, supervisors and others will go east where the work is.

“We can’t expect to retain workforce capability if WA is pushing the pause button on new projects while other states are pushing ahead with big infrastructure programs.”

Mr Graham said CCF WA also urged the Federal Government to support any State Government initiative to bring forward road projects.

“Federal funding support will be essential,” he said. “And with WA currently set to receive only 5% of all Federal infrastructure funding from 2027 to 2029, there is undoubtedly plenty of scope for the Federal Government to step up with a fairer deal.”

Road projects that could be brought forward include:

Kwinana Freeway Widening ($700 million). Federal funding (50%) confirmed. New State Budget includes $460M to widen between Roe Highway and Mortimer Road, commencing 2027.

Tonkin Highway and Kelvin Road Grade Separation ($122 million). Funding and delivery timeline on this project not clear as State Budget aggregates Tonkin Highway improvement. Works originally scheduled to commence in 2024.

Great Northern Highway Bindoon Bypass ($275 million). Fully funded since 2019; delivery deferred as part of 2021 pipeline smoothing process. State Budget shows major works funded from 2027/28. May need additional Federal funding.

Canning Bridge Bus Interchange ($200 million). Federal funding confirmed in 2023. State Budget includes $140 million for construction, likely commencing early 2028. May need additional Federal funding.

Reid Highway and Erindale Road Grade Separation ($450 million). Federal funding (50%) recently confirmed. No significant State Budget funding for construction works until 2028/29.

Nicholson Road and Garden Street Grade Separation ($80 million). Was scheduled to commence early 2026 but new State Budget has no significant funding until 2028/29. Likely to need additional Federal funding.

West Swan and Reid Highway Interchange ($175 million). Federal funding (50%) confirmed in 2020. No significant State Budget funding for construction works until 2028/29. Likely to need additional Federal funding.

Roe Hwy/Great Eastern Highway Bypass Interchanges ($368.5 million): Design of interchanges at Roe/GEH Bypass and Abernethy/GEH Bypass is completed, but more Federal funding is needed for construction.

Pinjarra Heavy Haulage Deviation ($250 million). Federal Government withdrew funding support in November 2023. No significant works funding in this Budget cycle.

Federal Budget summary - funding in freefall, apprentices dudded

Emily Giglia — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 05:56:01 GMT

Federal funding of major transport projects in Western Australia is set to fall to less than one-sixth of current levels over the next four years.

CCF WA’s analysis of the Federal Government’s Infrastructure Investment Program shows WA will receive just $688.4 million in 2028/29 – less than 5% of the national total.

Confirmation of 50% funding for the Leach Highway/Manning Rd intersection upgrade and the Kwinana Freeway widening is welcome. It's been reported the Budget includes a substantial allocation for “decisions taken but not yet announced” so in the lead up to the Federal election we may also see a commitment to match the State Government’s $225 million commitment to fixing the intersection of Reid Highway and Erindale Road.

Disappointingly, there are no new major commitments to fixing WA’s regional roads.

The Federal Budget does include $1 billion in defence spending brought forward and an additional $10.6 billion in total over the next four years. Some of that is expected to go towards WA infrastructure upgrades needed for the AUKUS submarine deal – CCF WA is seeking more information on the details.

Civil apprentices miss out again

Our sector has again been dudded with civil construction apprentices not eligible for a $10,000 bonus (increased from $5000) while employers of civil apprentices will miss out on a $5000 Priority Hiring Incentive.

Civil Contractors Federation National CEO Nicholas Proud called for recognition and funding of the civil construction sector as a priority workforce, essential to unlocking both infrastructure investment and national housing targets.

“Until governments invest in the men and women who deliver roads, water, power, and subdivisions, the housing pipeline will remain stalled,” Mr Proud said.

“You cannot invest a dollar in housing until you invest a dollar in civil. Australia’s housing challenge cannot be solved without civil construction.”

What else is in the Federal Budget for businesses?

The Business Council of Australia says the 2025 Federal Budget should have done much more for business, including positive action to incentivise state and territories to undertake economic reform and improve productivity.

About 1 million small businesses (defined as those with annual electricity consumption of less than 50MWh) will receive a $150 electricity bill rebate.

The $20,000 instant asset write-off scheme will be cut to $1,000 from July 1.

Peak business groups criticised the Government’s decision to ban the use of non-compete clauses for employees earning less than $175,000.

CCI WA’s Aaron Morey said: “This measure will make it harder for businesses to protect their legitimate interests by ensuring workers do not unfairly use insider knowledge to help a new employer.”

Civil construction industry welcomes balanced response to security of payments review

Alice Graham — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 04:30:51 GMT

Western Australia’s peak civil construction industry body welcomes the Federal Government’s renewed commitment to fair and reasonable security of payments protections for subcontractors.

Civil Contractors Federation Western Australia CEO Andy Graham said today's Federal response to the 2018 Murray Review reinforces that security of payments protections are necessary in the construction sector. “As the Review stated and the response acknowledges, there is an inherent power imbalance in our industry between extremely large head contractors and small subcontractors,” Mr Graham said. “That’s why security of payment legislation exists in all states and territories.

"Here in WA, our State Government responded proactively to the Murray Review, implementing new security of payments legislation that aims to improve protections and provide more certainty for head contractors, subcontractors and suppliers.

“CCF has a unique perspective on this issue as our membership includes some of the largest head contractors and smallest subcontractors. More than most groups, we know how important it is to get the balance right and ensure that subcontractors are fairly paid, without tying all businesses up in complex and sometimes ineffective red tape.

“We share the Federal Government’s concern that project bank accounts and statutory trusts impose a huge administrative burden on all parties, while not really addressing key issues such as disagreements over contractual entitlement.

“CCF looks forward to further consultation with the Federal Government on this important issue, led by CCF National CEO Nicholas Proud, our representative on the National Construction Industry Forum.”

Enough is enough: When will Feds stop ignoring civil infrastructure trades?

Alice Graham — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 02:29:59 GMT

The exclusion of civil construction trades from a new $10,000 apprentice incentive shows the Federal Government still hasn’t grasped the need for more skilled workers to build housing enabling infrastructure, says the Civil Contractors Federation WA.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said apprentice civil plant operators and pipelayers deserved the same support from the new Key Apprentices Program as apprentices in the housing trades.

“While the Federal Government continues to announce generous funding for housing-enabling infrastructure, it has ignored the apprentices in the trades that actually deliver it,” Mr Graham said.

“Without housing lots, there’s no houses, and it’s critical we attract and retain the skilled tradespeople we need to build those housing lots.

“Do the Feds understand that building subdivisions requires a highly skilled workforce? Don’t they get that the apprentice plant operators and pipelayers building subdivisions are every bit as important as the bricklayers and carpenters building houses?

“If we sound frustrated, it’s because the CCF has been telling the Federal Government this for 15 years. Yet every time a new Federal apprenticeship incentive is announced, civil construction apprentices miss out.

“This month alone we’ve been snubbed twice – firstly excluded from the new GTO Reimbursement Program, and now this apprentice completion incentive.

Mr Graham said the consistent lack of Federal support for civil trades was in stark contrast to the strong support shown by the Western Australian Government.

“Our State Government consistently provides equal support for civil construction skills. It understands that you can't build houses without housing lots. For example, we’ve just seen excavator operators and pipelayers included as eligible for the $10,000 relocation bonus, aimed at encouraging interstate migration.

Mr Graham said the State Government was also a strong supporter of civil construction skills through its apprenticeship funding programs – unlike the Federal Government, which refuses all civil construction apprentices, including apprentice plant operators, access to its Australian Apprenticeship Incentive System funding.

CCF National CEO Nicholas Proud said the Federal Government had to start prioritising civil trades or risk further delays in addressing Australia’s housing and infrastructure challenges.

“We are building 60,000 fewer homes than we were in 2021, so it is baffling that the Government has chosen to defer action on civil trades,” Mr Proud said.

“Civil construction is the foundation of every housing project, enabling essential services like subdivisions, roads, sewerage, and water. Without a skilled civil workforce, the housing sector simply cannot function. The longer we delay investing in these trades, the further we fall behind on delivering the infrastructure and housing Australians desperately need.

“Unless the Government is intending to build homes without cleared lots, connective roads and utilities, we are not going to see any progress on housing until the Government prioritises the civil skills that unlock new homes.”

CCF National Media Release: VET-wide approach needed to tackle housing and energy enabling infrastructure

Alice Graham — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 01:00:00 GMT

The Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) welcomes the Government’s commitment to boosting Vocational Education Training (VET) and addressing skills shortages through the Free TAFE Bill 2024 but cautions that private RTOs – which play a crucial role in civil construction training – should not be disadvantaged.

CCF warns that a focus on TAFEs, to the exclusion of other VET providers, could exacerbate issues such as the lack of recognition and support for civil construction skills and the unique needs of contractors delivering housing-and energy enabling infrastructure.

CCF CEO Nicholas Proud said private Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) were often the only viable option for contractors seeking skilled workers to meet the demands of vital infrastructure projects.

"We urge the Commonwealth to broaden its focus and take further steps to support RTOs that specialise in civil skills training," Mr Proud said.

"Relying solely on TAFE risks overlooking the specific, industry-led training solutions that private providers offer, which are crucial for equipping workers with the specialised skills needed in our sector.”

In response to these challenges, the CCF is also calling on the Commonwealth Government to formally recognise the vital role of apprenticeships and trades within the civil sector, by funding civil construction apprenticeships through the Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System

"As a country we are waking up to the urgent skills shortfalls we need to address to deliver the housing-enabling infrastructure and renewable energy projects Australia urgently needs. We need to focus every strategy and dollar to tackle this crisis.

“This means not only prioritising support for the private RTOs that are training the skilled workforce to make it happen, but also addressing the current unfair funding policies that severely disadvantage civil construction apprentices compared to nearly all other construction trades

Without equal support for private sector training providers, and fair funding for civil construction apprentices, we risk falling short on the infrastructure and energy goals that underpin our nation’s future."

The CCF remains committed to working alongside the Government, training providers, and other industry stakeholders to develop a robust skills pipeline that supports the nation’s infrastructure goals.

Western Australian construction industry looks forward to new era of transparency in local government procurement

Andy Graham — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 06:36:37 GMT

CCF WA welcomes reforms to WA’s local government legislation that will improve transparency by requiring councils to publicly disclose how they assess tenders and why they have chosen a successful contractor.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said the civil construction industry applauded Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley for listening and acting on the concerns raised in a recent CCF WA report.

“Our report showed the lack of procurement transparency allowed by WA's Local Government Act is way out of step with similar legislation in other states,” Mr Graham said.

“The current commercial-in-confidence provision in our legislation is so all-encompassing, it basically allows councils to suppress all internal assessments and discussions related to contracts awarded.

“The new Act will strike a much better balance by allowing confidentiality where tenderers have shared commercially sensitive information, while ensuring councils can’t use the excuse of commercial-in-confidence to avoid any explanation of why they chose one tenderer over another.

“Happily there are some councils that already recognise the importance of transparency and accountability. Progressive LGAs such as Cockburn, Gosnells and Joondalup publish detailed information when awarding contracts, including prices bid, and explain how and why the successful bidder was chosen -- so for these councils the reforms will be business as usual.

"We look forward to all councils achieving a similar standard.

“For construction contractors, the increased transparency will provide invaluable insights. Contractors understand they’re not going to win every tender, but what really frustrates them is when they lose but have no idea why, because the council claims that information is confidential.

“It’s hard to see how greater transparency is anything but a good thing, not just for contractors who want to know how they fared in the assessment process, but also for ratepayers seeking to understand how their rates are being spent.”

Background to the Local Government Act procurement reforms

Section 5.23 (2)(c) of the Local Government Act 1995 currently allows local government authorities to close council meetings to the public for any discussions and decisions related to “a contract entered into, or which may be entered into, by the local government”. This effectively allows councils to withhold all information related to contract awards, typically in confidential attachments to council minutes.

Section 5.23 (2)(c) will be replaced by a new commercial-in-confidence provision – 5.23 (4)(c) – which will specify that councils can only withhold “information contained in a tender received by the local government for a contract to the extent that the information is a tendered price, or a tendered methodology for calculating a price”.

The Minister for Local Government’s office has advised that work is underway to progress the implementation of the new Section 5.23.

CCF WA: your voice for 50 years

Alice Graham — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 01:39:04 GMT

Next year CCF WA proudly celebrates our 50th anniversary of representing the WA civil construction industry. By John Feary

It was a meeting at the iconic Herdsman Lake pub in the Perth suburb of Wembley that changed the course of the earthmoving industry in Western Australia. The meeting was in June 1975, although it seems no one is sure of the exact date.

Given the historic liking of hard-working contractors for a cool drink on a hot day as well as the Herdy’s reputation as one of Perth’s most popular entertainment pubs in that era, it would be easy to assume this was a rowdy gathering.

But there was a serious purpose this time. This was the meeting at which many of Perth’s hardest working and most resourceful contractors agreed to set up the Land Development Contractors Association.

In June 2025, the Civil Contractors Federation WA branch will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of that meeting, recognising the establishment of the LDCA represents the foundation of the modern earthmoving and civil construction industry body in Western Australia.

The LDCA operated in Perth for just 12 years, fighting on behalf of its members for greater access to the emerging business opportunities. Then, in 1987, the growing influence of national decision-making on infrastructure development and issues such as industrial relations resulted in the LDCA members agreeing to become the WA branch of the national Australian Earthmovers and Road Contractors Federation. Eight years later, with WA delegates taking an increasingly important role in national decision-making, the AERCF transitioned into the modern Civil Contractors Federation with branches in all states and its national office in Canberra.

What was once considered rather fondly by many members as “a bit of a gentlemen’s club” has become a peak industry group for companies involved in all aspects of civil construction and a federally registered employers union providing balance on industrial relations issue.

In the coming months, the CCF Bulletin will explore the events, the decisions and the background to the transition, drawing largely on the recollections of some of the people who were there. Given the nature of the industry 50 years ago, written records are quite sparse but the available evidence demonstrates clearly how these giants of the past assessed the circumstances, recognised the opportunities and protected the industry in very challenging circumstances.

Minister for Planning and Infrastructure Hon. Alannah MacTiernan MLC with the WA Earth Awards winners, 2002.

Prior to the famous Herdy meeting in 1975, there had been several attempts by earthmoving contractors as well as equipment suppliers to form representative groups in Perth. Most were probably focused more on picking venues for long lunches than industrial politicking.

For, despite its critical importance to all aspects of construction, earthmoving as an industrial sector was barely recognised in the early years of Western Australian development.

When the first European settlers led by Captain James Stirling arrived off the Perth coast in June 1829, it should have been obvious that the task of building a new settlement from scratch in the vast landmass would require a large and trained workforce.

It should have been obvious, but within 10 years the critical shortage of skilled workers had left the economy on the brink of collapse due to the inability to clear land and construct roads.

While the Swan River Colony had been proudly planned and promoted as a free settlement, the colonists were now demanding access to convicts from the UK’s teeming prisons to save them.

Nearly 10,000 convicts were transported to Fremantle between 1850 and 1887 with the specific aim of creating a workforce for public construction and infrastructure. These were not all the uneducated, unskilled city vagrants of popular imagining. A number had experience as carpenters, blacksmiths and stonemasons, others had worked on farms before falling foul of the law.

In addition, the British authorities had set up skills training courses inside the UK prison hulks that would equip the law-breakers to work in brickmaking, construction of walls and simple buildings. The unskilled prisoners could be used to build roads, clear land and plough fields, produce crops and collect shells to crush for lime mortar.

During and after the convict era, prisoners who had completed their jail time (known as ticket of leave men) then became available to work for private citizens as well as on public projects. The state and federal government departments that were responsible for major public works relied heavily on private contractors, generally appointed through public tendering, to complement their large workforces.

Throughout the century that followed, the provision of essential services and infrastructure including roads, railways, ports, bridges and public buildings became increasingly critical to the growth of residential and industrial projects, land developments and the emergence of the mining sector.

The West Australian gold rushes that began in the 1880s and completion of the Goldfields water pipeline in 1903 helped underpin the state’s growth against further downturns, and there was a further dramatic economic recovery from the inrush of European migrants following World War 2.

By the 1970s, the growth in the mining sector and increasing government infrastructure investment was intensifying. One acute frustration for the more ambitious contractors was that state government departments such as Main Roads and the Water Corporation, as well as many local councils, refused to open jobs such as roadworks and utility works for outside tenders.

Under the leadership of inaugural president Ross Walker (1975-79) and subsequently by Dudley Campbell (1979-82), Mike Moloney (1982-84) and Jim Giumelli (1984-87), the LDCA lobbied strongly for earthmovers for the right to undertake a full range of work in land development.

The transition of the LDCA to the AERCF under president John Vincent (1987-89), followed by Alex Wolfe (1989-92) and Lance Croker (1992-94) delivered the independence as well as the national partnerships that the industry needed. Then, its next big step was to set up its own administrative structure.

AERCF National Executive Director Doug Huett at an AERCF National Council Meeting in WA, 1993.

Lance Croker (centre) accepting his CCF National Life Membership with CCF WA CEO Mike Morris (left) and President Philip Marsh (right), 1998.

The LDCA/AERCF originally operated as one of many industry units within the Confederation of WA Industry (subsequently the Perth Chamber of Commerce and Industry), which provided secretarial services and could be called on to lobby on the members’ behalf. However, the members became increasing concerned that part-time lobbying effort was not always effective, particularly when their issue might conflict with the views of the chamber’s bigger and more powerful member companies.

In early 1993, the AERCF recruited civil engineer Mike Morris from Victoria to be its initial executive director. Morris worked closely with Lance Croker and Reg Toohey, who was the state’s first delegate to the national body, in robust and occasionally heated national debates that ultimately led to AERCF making way for the new Civil Contractors Federation in 1995.

Over more than 13 years, Morris took responsibility for the introduction of high standards of occupational health and safety, training, environmental responsibility, human relations and compliance for the whole of the WA industry. He also built an extensive calendar of seminars, workshops, networking and social activities that became, and remain, a key factor in the CCF’s popularity.

The CCF Bulletin will trace other aspects of the last 50 years in its 2025 editions.

The voice of the industry for 50 years

Blaming the State Government for Federal migration blunders is unwarranted, says CCF WA

Andy Graham — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 02:29:22 GMT

WA’s peak civil infrastructure industry group says it’s unfair to criticise the WA State Government for the Federal Government’s failure to adequately address shortages of skilled excavator operators.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said the State Government should be commended for consistently striving to provide excavator operators and other civil construction workers fair access to migration and training incentives – in stark contrast to the Federal Government’s appalling record in both areas.

“There’s no doubt the Federal Government has again dropped the ball with the exclusion of excavator and crane operators from its Core Skills Occupation List,” Mr Graham said. “But for our industry, this is just another setback in a long history of civil construction skills shortages being ignored by the Feds.”

Mr Graham said the omission of skilled excavator and crane operators from the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) was inevitable given the Federal Government’s insistence on basing the list around the outdated ANZSCO skills classification system, which classifies all plant and machinery operators as unskilled and therefore ineligible. He said CCF had been advocating for years for the Federal Government to abandon this ‘computer says no’ attitude and recognise genuine civil construction skills shortages, with no success.

“But recent commentary that the State Government should share the blame for Canberra's mess makes no sense either,” Mr Graham said. “In fact, our State Government deserves a pat on the back for consistently acting to boost civil construction skills, and showing it understands that you can't build houses without housing lots, which requires skilled plant operators and pipelayers.

“We saw evidence of this only a few days ago when excavator operators and pipelayers were included as eligible for the $10,000 relocation bonus, aimed at encouraging interstate migration.

“And earlier this year, the State Government ensured the inclusion of excavator, loader and directional drill operators in its new WA Designated Area Migration Agreement, which helps employers bypass Federal migration roadblocks.”

“This State Government actually created the civil construction apprenticeship, upgrading it from a traineeship three years ago,” Mr Graham said. “And our apprentices enjoy the same level of Construction Training Fund financial support as the building trades.

“In addition, civil apprentices working in residential subdivision construction are eligible for the State Government’s ongoing Group Training Organisation Wage Subsidy program.

“With this track record of practical actions supporting civil construction skills, we think it’s absurd to suggest that the Premier and his Government are somehow responsible for the Federal Government’s continued failure to show anything like a similar level of support.

“By all means though, we encourage the Premier to use his influence to try to sway Federal policy – the more voices calling for common sense, the better.”

Tracc Civil wins inaugural Land Development Earth Award

Alice Graham — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 01:00:00 GMT

Tracc Civil’s Watermark Stage 1 Bulk Earthworks and Civil Works project is the recipient of the new WA Earth Award for Land Development projects.

WA Earth Awards Chief Judge Peter Rowles said the Watermark project was the strongest of three high-quality land development projects entered by Tracc Civil in the 2024 WA Earth Awards.

“It was great to see Tracc put forward three projects this year, as quite often we don’t see any entries from subdivision contractors,” Mr Rowles said.

“With this special Earth Award we want to celebrate excellence in land development and challenge the perception that building a subdivision is just routine civil construction.

“In many ways, it can be just as, if not more challenging to build a subdivision than a major government road project. Land development contractors need to manage earthworks, drainage, sewer, water, electrical, NBN, gas, pavements, concrete and other structural works as well as environmental, safety, and community engagement – often with minimal resources and sometimes to incomplete designs and very tight schedules and budgets.

“That’s why we think land development deserves an Earth Award. We hope other states agree and it can become a national award.”

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said it had been a pleasure to congratulate the Tracc team on their win.

“We originally thought of inaugurating this award next year, as part of our 50th birthday, but the judges were so impressed with the quality of Tracc’s work at Watermark that we thought it would be a shame to wait,” Mr Graham said. “It’s a project that certainly deserves to be recognised.”

Tao Bourton (Yolk Property Group), Frank Janssen (Tracc Civil), Earth Awards judge Peter Rowles, Simon Hull and Debarnab Shankar Roy (Tracc Civil) on site at the Watermark project.

CCF welcomes housing enabling infrastructure policy

Andy Graham — Sat, 19 Oct 2024 04:24:40 GMT

The Civil Contractors Federation commends the Federal Opposition’s $5 billion policy to fast-track the construction of housing enabling infrastructure.

CCF National CEO Nicholas Proud said: “You cannot spend a dollar on housing until you spend a dollar on housing enabling civil infrastructure. Water, sewerage, energy, and roads must come first for new housing estates, and infrastructure capacity upgrades are required in brownfield areas.

“Infrastructure constraints are a major reason housing supply is at decade lows. While other forms of stimulus have been tried, housing enabling civil infrastructure will be key to unblocking housing supply pipelines and unlocking doors.

“Such policies are not new, but they are highly effective. Post-World War II, state governments competed to provide housing enabling infrastructure to attract migrants. Since that time, we have shifted infrastructure costs onto the end consumer.

“The Federal Opposition’s policy recognises that the cost of enabling infrastructure is blocking the activation of land for housing. Addressing this ‘missing link’ will help revive housing starts.”

WA Earth Awards celebrate infrastructure excellence

Andy Graham — Sat, 21 Sep 2024 04:19:34 GMT

Major government transport, water and maritime infrastructure projects have been honoured at the Civil Contractors Federation WA’s annual Earth Awards for excellence in civil construction.

The Earth Award in the highest value category, for projects over $150 million, was a tight three-way contest between major transport projects Tonkin Gap, Yanchep Rail Extension, and the New Fitzroy River Bridge, with the Tonkin Gap project just prevailing.

In the $75 million - $150 million category, State-owned land developer DevelopmentWA’s Ocean Reef Marina Breakwaters project just edged out the Thomas Road Over Rail Bridge, while Water Corporation’s Quinns Main Sewer project claimed the Earth Award in the $30 million - $75 million category.

CCF WA Chief Executive Officer Andy Graham said the dominance of State Government projects in the high-value project categories underlined the importance of public infrastructure to the civil construction sector.

“Civil contractors love building iconic public infrastructure, and if that involves some unique challenges, then all the better,” Mr Graham said.

“Friday night’s Earth Awards gala dinner was a celebration of infrastructure achievements big and small, with 21 finalists across the seven categories.

“Congratulations to all the WA Earth Award winners and we wish them well at the National Earth Awards in Canberra in November.”

2024 WA Earth Award winners

Project Value up to $2 million: Neo Civil – Ocean Beach Seawall (Client: Shire of Denmark)

Works for the seawall included installation of 38 circular hollow steel piles; installation of a 75m retaining wall incorporating vinyl sheet piles with timber and steel walers and approximately 1000m of jarrah cladding. 1200 tonnes of core and armour rock were used. Local conditions and unforeseen delays in supply of materials presented challenges in staging the works, and the onset of winter necessitated acceleration of the construction programme for the seawall.

Project Value up to $2 - 5 million: DJ Mac Cormick Constructions – Baldivis Stillwater Drive Type 350 Pump Station (Client: BMD Constructions for Water Corporation)

Custom fabricated formwork, with an integrated safety platform, allowed working on each liner from the middle of the caisson up to the final pour height, ensuring safety and quality and allowing a fast-paced concrete pour sequence. Caisson shafts were constructed over 11m deep, with 10.4m being below the groundwater table, presenting significant engineering challenges. DJMC’s innovative approach included sacrificing entrance rings to prevent shaft flooding post micro-tunnelling, and a custom-manufactured pick attached to the clamshell excavator to prevent the caissons from sinking on an angle.

Project Value $5-10 million: Maritime Constructions – Carnarvon Dredging and Babbage Island Spit Stabilisation (Client: Department of Transport)

Access to the Carnarvon Fascine had become restricted following a cyclone in 2017. Dredged material was pumped to an outfall point on the Babbage Island Spit and directed through a network of temporary earthen bunds before the return water was released into the ocean. The design called for a dune shape mimicking a natural dune, including out-of-phase undulations along the dune. Operators were provided varied target levels with relatively large tolerances, so that the final surface appeared to have been shaped by nature.

Project Value $10-30 million: DM Civil – ATCO East Perth Power Station Pipeline (Client: ATCO Gas Australia)

DM Civil constructed around 7.6km of DN250 steel high pressure gas pipeline in two packages, using a mixture of horizontal directional drilling, pilot boring and open excavation. Significant challenges included simultaneous construction operations with many third parties, including major transport projects and another ATCO gas pipeline project; and works on extremely busy arterial roads and in tight suburban and industrial areas, requiring intensive traffic management. Innovative construction methodologies expedited the works and reduce the impact on stakeholders and the built environment.

Project Value $30-75 million: Quinns Main Sewer Extension & Associated Works – Rob Carr and Water Corporation (Client: Water Corporation)

This design and construct project featured 1.8 kilometres of tunnelling, including a technically challenging curved drive over 500 metres long beneath a freeway and railway. With shafts reaching depths of up to 27 metres, and the incorporation of two vortex structures, the engineering precision showcased was exceptional. Stakeholder management was crucial, involving coordination with schools, residents, and multiple government bodies to minimise impact and enhance community relations. Safety and environmental stewardship were paramount, constantly managing risk for the team, the public, and the national park.

Project Value $75-150 million: WA Limestone and Italia Stone Group Joint Venture - Ocean Reef Marina Breakwaters (Client: DevelopmentWA)

The JV constructed the breakwater and revetment structures with a combined length of 2km of seawall and 1km of revetment wall. The work scope included reuse of existing breakwater material; placement of geotextile, limestone core armour and granite armour; and excavation of dredging areas. Material supply was the biggest challenge for the project, with the management of importing 1.25 million tonnes of rock across more than 30 delivery sites impacting the delivery schedule. Working with inclement weather and completing significant trucking and earthworks within an urbanised area were also challenges.

Project Value >$150 Million: Tonkin Gap Alliance – Tonkin Gap Project and Associated Works (Client: Main Roads WA and Public Transport Authority)

The Tonkin Gap Alliance, comprising of BMD Construction, Georgiou Group, WA Limestone, BG&E and GHD, worked with Main Roads and Public Transport Authority to deliver a project that removed a well-known bottleneck and created thousands of jobs and better connectivity. The project delivered improved traffic flow and safety, and enhanced facilities for cyclists, pedestrians, and the community. Its supply chain involved over 300 subcontractors and suppliers delivering packages of work with a focus on local spend and supply, emerging and Aboriginal-owned businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Judges' Award: Fitzroy Bridge Alliance – The New Fitzroy River Bridge Project (Client: Main Roads Western Australia)

The original bridge was damaged beyond repair by floods in January 2023. Delivered by the Fitzroy Bridge Alliance comprising BMD Constructions, Georgiou, and BG&E for Main Roads Western Australia, the project began in February 2023 and the bridge opened to all traffic in December 2023, six months ahead of schedule. Strong collaboration with government, local and national suppliers and contractors, and the community contributed to the high quality and speed of the project delivery. Key outcomes included improving the safety and climate-resilience of the transport link and supporting social and economic development of the Fitzroy Valley.

For photos of projects and presentations, contact Emily Giglia egiglia@ccfwa.com.au

CFMEU ADMINISTRATION WELCOME STEP FOR CIVILITY IN CONSTRUCTION

Emily Giglia — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 04:09:06 GMT

The Civil Contractors Federation welcomes the appointment of Mr. Mark Irving KC as the independent administrator of the Construction and General Division of the CFMEU and its associated state branches.

CCF National CEO Nicholas Proud said: “This appointment marks a critical and long-awaited turning point in addressing the deeply ingrained culture of intimidation and coercion that has plagued civil construction sites across the nation.

“For too long, our members have operated under the shadow of these aggressive practices, which have stifled productivity, inflated costs, and created an environment of fear and uncertainty. The presence of an independent administrator of Mr. Irving’s calibre brings a renewed hope that the CFMEU can be steered back to its fundamental purpose—representing the legitimate interests of workers, rather than perpetuating a culture of hostility.

“The role of the administrator is not just procedural; it is pivotal in driving cultural change within the union. Mr. Irving has a massive and important responsibility to guide the CFMEU back to its core mission, ensuring that it genuinely serves the needs of its members and restores trust and respect within the industry. This is not merely about regulatory compliance; it is about re-establishing a culture of fairness, collaboration, and mutual respect on our worksites.

“For the members of the CCF, this development is a significant relief. It signals an opportunity to engage with the Fair Work Commission and other authorities without the looming fear of retribution or recrimination. It will ensure that Members can work again with confidence with union employees’ representatives in a collaborative manner to get on with building community enabling infrastructure and reconfiguring the settings to build the country out of the challenges we face today.”

Background

The CFMEU Construction and General Division is officially in administration in all states and territories in Australia, with 270 union officials removed from office immediately (none from WA) following the introduction of new laws last week. Click here to read the list of union officials removed from office (see Annexure B), as well as a list of those who maintain their position (see Annexure C).

Mark Irving KC has been appointed as the administrator, with broad powers.

Key aspects in the new laws include:

Prevention of officers who no longer hold office from being bargaining representatives. The Fair Work Commission can issue a certificate allowing the former officer to be a bargaining representative should they satisfy criteria
Powers of the Administrator:
- Suspension or removal of officers
- Termination of employees
- Alteration of the rules
The Administrator will be in place for a minimum of three years and a maximum of five years
The Administrator must establish a complaints procedure for reporting complaints against current or former employees, delegates, officers or members of the CFMEU. The procedure must prevent the disclosure of the identity of the complainant, to anyone other than the person receiving the complaint.
Removed persons must not become an officer or employee of a branch or organisation without a certificate from the Fair Work Commission. The Fair Work Commission must find they are a fit and proper person.
The Administrator must report to Federal Parliament every six months.

While in administration, the CFMEU can continue to:

Function as a union and represent employees
Hold of right of entry permits
Negotiate enterprise agreements

CCF Advocacy

CCF has been advocating at a national level, working very closely with both Senator the Hon Murray Watt, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Murray Furlong, General Manager Fair Work Commission, as well as the Federal Opposition to get the new laws passed. CCF has compiled a list of asks for further legislative change. To see the one-page summary, click here.

Here in WA, we have again urged the State Government to reconsider the WA Best Practice Industry Conditions (WA BPIC) policy, which will impose mandatory CFMEU rates and conditions on its major projects.

Walks like a duck, quacks like a duck…

Alice Graham — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 07:30:00 GMT

A recent CCF WA media release pointed out that the risks of implementing the CFMEU-friendly WA Best Practice Industry Conditions policy on Western Australian infrastructure projects far exceeded any potential rewards. When asked to respond, a State Government spokesperson took issue with our description of WA BPIC as a CFMEU enterprise agreement. Really? It could hardly be more obvious. Entire sections of WA BPIC are copied from CFMEU templates: the pay rates, the allowances, the CFMEU-specific benefits and conditions. BPIC even compels non-unionised businesses to check with the CFMEU before making decisions.

What has driven the State Government to take this extraordinary step of compelling private sector employers to replace their existing, lawful, Fair Work-endorsed enterprise agreements with a CFMEU agreement?

Well, according to the same government spokesperson, it’s to “provide decent working conditions” and ensure workers “are paid what they deserve”.

I'm sure it will come as a surprise to many that our industry's rates and conditions are so bad that this unprecedented government intervention is deemed necessary, and that Fair Work-endorsed EAs and the National Employment Standards are no longer decent.

The WA BPIC conditions are undoubtedly generous. There's the CFMEU-standard 36-hour week and fortnightly RDO. Employers must pay $5436.60 per year per employee to a CFMEU-nominated redundancy fund and for various insurances (as per the CFMEU template).

If this is how the State Government is going to define decent, then it risks setting an unreasonably high bar, which few employers in WA (including the State Government itself) can attain.

What about the claim that BPIC workers will be paid what they deserve? If that’s the case, then they will be some of the most extraordinarily deserving construction workers in WA. The only workers anywhere near as deserving are – you guessed it – those covered by other CFMEU enterprise agreements.

WA BPIC workers will receive about $10 per hour more than the typical over-award rates for civil construction workers on smaller government projects and residential subdivisions. They’ll also get up to $10 per hour more than Main Roads' own in-house construction workers, and experienced, diploma-qualified enrolled nurses in public hospitals.

That's a lot of less-deserving people.

Our State Government is a highly valued client, and civil contractors love creating important infrastructure. If the government wants all workers on major projects to receive CFMEU conditions and be paid CFMEU rates, we will of course oblige, and all of us as taxpayers will wear the cost (and with 5% annual pay rises locked in, that cost will keep growing).

But let’s not portray this policy as a means to achieve fairness and decency, and let’s call WA BPIC what it is.

CFMEU-friendly WA BPIC is all risk and no reward for our state: CCF WA

Andy Graham — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 16:18:07 GMT

Western Australia’s peak civil construction industry body has urged the State Government to shelve its WA Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC) policy rather than risk handing the CFMEU huge power on major infrastructure projects.

The Civil Contractors Federation WA (CCF WA) says the CFMEU WA branch may not be crooked and corrupt but it certainly can't be trusted with the excessive power being handed to it by WA BPIC.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said WA BPIC stipulated mandatory pay and conditions on infrastructure projects, and did not even go close to meeting the "genuine agreement" test for major project agreements laid down by Federal Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke this week.

"If BPIC didn't pass the sniff test last week, it's well and truly on the nose this week," Mr Graham said. "Minister Burke's investigators need to take a close look at this arrangement.

“Contractors and subcontractors on the Tonkin Highway Extension project have no choice but to comply with WA BPIC – they were not even consulted, let alone reached genuine agreement.

“Clearly though, the CFMEU was consulted, because the WA BPIC document is effectively a CFMEU pattern employment agreement.

"Mandating BPIC on the Tonkin Highway Extension is the first step to all government projects being 100 per cent union sites, no ticket no start, like we see on high rise building sites in the city, where as long as you join the union you're safe.

"We don't want that toxic culture in our sector. Companies and employees are of course always welcome to work with the union, but it should be their choice, not a government policy.

“CCF WA believes no government should be forcing law-abiding businesses, with existing Fair Work-endorsed enterprise agreements in place, to tear those agreements up and comply with a set of union-dictated terms and rates.

Mr Graham said the WA BPIC agreement gave the CFMEU excessive rights to interfere in business operations and included onerous consultation requirements which far exceeded those in the Fair Work Act.

“One BPIC clause requires businesses to give the CFMEU detailed advice at least 28 days before engaging any company to do any work, whether or not this will have any effect at all on employees. It’s not clear why the union needs all that information, nor what it will do with the information.

"That's just one example -- the CFMEU's fingerprints are all over BPIC."

Mr Graham said CCF WA freely acknowledged the CFMEU WA was better behaved than other states. "But they're still the CFMEU -- they still have a long history of using threats and intimidation to get their way. Their slogan is ‘whatever it takes’, and everyone in the industry knows that's a motto that some of their organisers still proudly live by.

“That's why there has to be a balance. But WA BPIC tips the scales way too far.

“We don’t even have to imagine what our project sites might look like when BPIC gives the CFMEU free rein to do 'whatever it takes' in WA. Just look over east at what’s happening in Queensland and Victoria under similar so-called best practice union-friendly policies.

“Construction costs have shot up and productivity has declined – why would we risk that in WA?

“Three years of BPIC in Queensland has emboldened the CFMEU to launch increasingly bitter and personal attacks on businesses and employees – why would we risk the psychosocial health of Western Australians?

“Weighing this all up, how can we even contemplate risking all of the destructive effects of BPIC – the added cost of infrastructure and housing, the inevitable industrial unrest and project delays, the stress on local businesses and workforces – just to satisfy a union’s expansion plans?”

CCF pushing back as draft migration list overlooks civil skills

Andy Graham — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 01:28:28 GMT

Federal Government advisory body Jobs and Skills Australia has copped some criticism this week for its draft Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), which will define the occupations eligible for the new Core Skills Pathway – a key component of Federal skilled migration reforms.

Jobs and Skills Australia published three lists: skilled occupations it’s confident should be on the CSOL; occupations it’s sure shouldn’t be; and occupations it was unsure about.

Looking at these three lists, some have wondered if Jobs and Skills Australia is aware there’s a housing crisis fuelled by critical construction skills shortages. The Urban Taskforce Australia asked why yoga instructors and dog handlers are on the ‘confident on’ list while bricklayers, glaziers and plasterers are not. Master Builders CEO Denita Wawn said : “We cannot build homes with wellness instructors, we need tradies, and they must be on the definite list for skilled migration.”

We agree, but there’s a more fundamental problem, and that is the total absence of trade-level civil construction skills from any of the CSOL consultation lists.

Before the bricklayers and plasterers can do their stuff, the civil construction trades have to do theirs first. Without housing-enabling civil infrastructure, new home builds cannot commence. But you won’t find any trade-level civil construction occupations on the CSOL.

In drafting the CSOL, Jobs and Skills Australia has only considered occupations classed at Skill Levels 1,2 and 3 in the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO). Civil construction occupations such as excavator operator and pipelayer are classed at ANZSCO Skill Level 4, so they weren’t even considered for the CSOL.

Frustratingly for our sector, this omission ignores the government's clear intent in its Migration Strategy, which states that the Core Skills Pathway may include “trades workers, machinery operators and drivers, and labourers”, i.e. Skill Level 4 and 5 occupations – subject to those occupations being on the CSOL and workers being paid above the TSMIT.

The writers of the Migration Strategy clearly signalled that they want to see common-sense skilled migration settings that break away from ANZSCO’s outdated and inflexible definition of ‘skilled’. Jobs and Skills Australia seems to have missed this signal.

When the Migration Strategy was published (December 2023), CCF welcomed the proposed Core Skills Pathway. We noted that civil construction 'tradies' had been locked out of our country’s skilled migration pathways for too long due to ANZSCO’s outdated classifications.

Now we find that Jobs and Skills Australia has decided to stick with the ANZSCO ‘rules’ despite the Migration Strategy clearly inviting a more flexible, common-sense approach.

As the voice of our industry, CCF has pointed all of this out in our submission to Jobs and Skills Australia CSOL consultation. But the terms of reference for the consultation made it clear that they are only considering ANZSCO Skill Level 1-3 occupations, so we're not hopeful.

Hopefully though this is just a roadblock and the Federal Immigration Minister, who has the final say, will rule in favour of common sense and include skilled civil construction occupations -- and bricklayers and plasterers too!

- Andy Graham, CCF WA CEO

Member Information: Federal EPBC Act reform

(Past member) — Thu, 23 May 2024 07:33:53 GMT

The Federal Government's planned overhaul of Commonwealth Environmental Laws, including the establishment of a National Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), continues to face delays. It’s been reported this decision was influenced by pressure from the WA Government, which expressed concerned about the potential for local backlash.

Current regulatory frameworks cause significant delays and productivity losses for contractors and principals awaiting project approvals. The proposed National EPA aims to streamline approval processes, including for renewable energy infrastructure projects, facilitating the path to net zero emissions by 2050. These reforms are poised to significantly impact the civil industry; we need clearer information regarding stages of implementation and how new regulations will affect their operations. CCF will continue to work toward achieving this clarity, remaining actively engaged in briefings and providing updates as more information becomes available. Members can expect further details on the consultation process, legislative review plan, and any roadmap to 2050.

Below are summaries of the five key areas comprising the reforms:

Establishment of a National Environment Protection Agency

A national EPA would issue permits, oversee project assessments, and enforce federal environmental regulations. It would ensure compliance with National Environmental Standards and possess enforcement powers akin to the Federal Police commissioner. The EPA could issue stop-work orders and audit businesses for environmental law compliance. Serious breaches could result in fines up to $780 million and seven-year jail terms. However, clarity is needed regarding Ministerial call-in powers. The current drafting allows Ministerial intervention without providing crucial information to project proponents. A mandatory advisory panel, comprising industry, scientists, environmentalists, traditional owners, and community representatives, should be established. Additionally, the Minister must consider various factors before making decisions.

Environment Information Australia (EIA)

EIA will provide independent environmental data to inform national decision-making, with information also being publicly available. New laws will appoint an independent head to oversee data accessibility, State of the Environment reporting, environmental-economic accounts, and trend tracking.

Regional plans

Regional Plans will use a traffic light system to classify areas by environmental value. Green Zones, with little to no environmental value, will generally permit development. Yellow Zones, with some environmental value, will require additional measures, with some projects possibly blocked. Red Zones, with high environmental value, will impose significant conditions, preventing most projects.

Restoration actions and contributions (formerly offsets) reform

These reforms aim to transform environmental offset systems for environmental gains and project efficiency. Proponents must fully compensate for significant impacts via restoration activities or contributions. The National Environmental Standard for Restoration Actions and Contributions will provide clarity on compensation rules.

Nature Positive Environmental Standards

New laws will include powers for the Minister to make National Environmental Standards and set out how standards apply to key decisions under the new laws. These new laws aim to preserve the natural environment while also reducing impediments to development by clarifying requirements and streamlining accreditation.

Our CEO Andy Graham comments on the State Budget

Alice Graham — Fri, 17 May 2024 00:00:00 GMT

By Andy Graham

CCF WA welcomes continued strong state government investment in civil infrastructure that's vital for ongoing economic growth. But there are challenges ahead, including an alarming decline in forecast investment and a damaging industrial relations policy.

In a sign of the times, the 2024/25 WA State Budget forecasts road and rail capital investment to decline year-on-year, as the METRONET peak passes and the government looks to prioritise investment in water and energy.

Reduced rail investment was inevitable, but the small number of major road projects in the project pipeline is a concern. Main Roads' capital investment in new civil works is currently forecast at just $450 million in 2027/28, compared to more than $2.3 billion this FY. We hope the state and federal governments can work together to fund some of the exciting and transformational metropolitan and regional road projects currently in the planning phase.

Across the board in fact, government infrastructure investment is forecast to dip alarmingly in the final years of the current Budget cycle, 2026/27 and 2027/28. We are hopeful some future announcements will boost those 'out years' but the government has to get better at providing a smoother and more certain pipeline of work. It’s gone backwards in that respect – we are used to seeing spending dropping off by 20-30% over the 4-year budget forecasts; this year it’s more than 60%. This makes it impossible for government contractors to invest in capability with confidence. And of course it's tough for non-government contractors to deal with the peaks and troughs of government spending.

The Budget has some welcome measures to address housing shortages but we believe there must be opportunities for more targeted initiatives to address the roadblocks constraining housing lot supply, which remains stagnant and well under what the state needs to put a serious dent in the housing crisis in coming years.

The elephant in the room for housing lot affordability, and for infrastructure affordability in general, is the state government’s WA Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC) policy.

BPIC is little more than a free kick to the unions with taxpayers and home buyers footing the bill – as any Queenslander will tell you.

The fact that BPIC is initially being trialled on one major project - Tonkin Highway Extension and Thomas Road Upgrade - is little comfort to the contractors who’ll be affected, directly or indirectly. And if the trial is declared a success – and we have no idea how that judgement will be made – and BPIC is rolled out across more government infrastructure projects, then construction costs will soar, leading to fewer civil projects and fewer jobs.

Construction costs have jumped 30-40% over the past few years; the state is getting a lot less bang for its infrastructure buck already. Now is not the time for the government to add fuel to the fire with a policy that will supercharge labour rates and throttle productivity.

Read on LinkedIn

WA State Budget 2024/25 wrap

Alice Graham — Thu, 09 May 2024 04:00:00 GMT

CCF WA’s annual analysis of capital spending by the State Government’s key civil infrastructure delivery agencies and corporations (in road, rail, water, ports, energy and land development) shows a forecast investment of just over $10 billion in 2024/25, a 7% increase on this financial year and 45% more than 2022/23. Targeted measures include a $400 energy credit for 90,000 small business.

Of course, those increases are much smaller in real terms due to unprecedented cost escalation in recent years, but government civil infrastructure investment has certainly been high by historical standards in recent years.

Looking ahead, civil infrastructure investment is forecast to dip alarmingly in the final years of the Budget cycle, 2026/27 and 2027/28.

Agency summaries

Below is a quick summary of key takeaways for the infrastructure agencies and corporations. Next week we’ll publish an update of our Member-exclusive civil works pipeline to include all new announcements.

Main Roads’ asset investment program is $2.15 billion in 2024‑25, down from $2.56B this year and an even more significant fall in real terms. There’s only one new project announced – the $38M Congdon St Bridge replacement. Main Roads’ capital spend is forecast to fall to $650M by 2027/28 – this will probably grow by the time we get there but it’s a worrying figure. We know Main Roads has plenty of projects in planning, and there’s no doubt strong ongoing investment in our road network is desperately needed. Where are the projects in the pipeline?

The Public Transport Authority's Asset Investment Program for 2024/25 is $3.05 billion – down from $3.64 billion in the current FY. Most of that will go towards the METRONET projects: Byford Rail Extension and the Armadale Line Upgrade top the list with over $500 million each in 24/25. The PTA’s spending plummets in the forward estimates, down to just $258 million in 2027/28.

Western Power’s asset investment program in 2024/25 is $1.37 billion, reflecting strong investment in decarbonisation initiatives, distribution networks, transmission capacity, and grid improvements. Unlike the transport agencies planned investment remains strong in future years up to 2027/28, the final ‘outyear’ in this Budget. Horizon Power will invest $189 million in 2024/25, with fairly strong investment in future years though not as consistent as Western Power’s.

Water Corporation’s $1.7 billion capital investment in 2024/25 includes nearly $600 million on the Alkimos Seawater Desalination Plant (ASDP) and associated works. A strong regional asset program includes $45 million for a new water treatment plant in Onslow and $43 million towards upgrading the capacity of the Burrup Seawater Supply Scheme. Water Corporation’s AIP will peak at just over $2 billion next year as the ASDP ramps up, declining to just over $1 million in 2027/28.

The five port authorities (Fremantle, Mid-West, Kimberley, Pilbara and Southern) are planning another strong year, with a combined asset investment of more than $800 million in 2024/25 followed by nearly $850 million in 2025/26. The Pilbara Port Authority will account for more than half of that through ongoing investment at Port Hedland and Dampier, with the Mid West Port Authority spending $270 million over the next two financial years on the Geraldton Port Maximisation Project.

The state government-owned land developer DevelopmentWA will invest $681 million in 2024/25, with a focus on industrial and affordable residential projects including $35 million for the creation of development-ready land in the Kimberley, Karratha and Goldfields, plus ongoing works at Ocean Reef Marina.

Complementing the State’s civil infrastructure spend is investments in building new and upgraded schools ($608 million) and hospitals ($864 million).

Budget measures for businesses

Not much targeted relief for businesses in this Budget. The State Government has committed to reducing green tape and streamlining approval processes for major projects, and 90,000 small business will receive a $400 energy credit.

CCF WA welcomes Industry & Training Award judges

Andy Graham — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 07:35:15 GMT

CCF WA is proud to acknowledge the panel of judges for this year's Western Australian Civil Construction Industry & Training Awards:

Tiffany Allen; Chief Executive Officer, Construction Training Fund
David Della Bona, Managing Director, WA Limestone and Immediate Past President, CCF WA
Jon Griffin; Regional Manager, DevelopmentWA
Nathan Hardwick, Head of Project Management, Water Corporation
Karen Ho; Director-General, Department of Training and Workforce Development
Sharon Kais; Chief Executive Officer, KAIS GROUP of Companies
Dennis Kickett, Director Aboriginal Engagement, Transport Portfolio
Peter Rowles; Chairman, Civil Construction Industry Training Committee and Past President, CCF WA
David Schlueter, General Manager, Enviro Infrastructure and CCF WA Vice-President
Belinda Stopic; Acting Executive Director Infrastructure Delivery, Office of Major Transport Infrastructure Delivery

We’re honoured to have such an esteemed group of judges to assess nominations across the twelve Industry Award categories and seven Training Awards.

The Western Australian Civil Construction Industry & Training Awards are our industry’s annual celebration of individual and corporate achievement.

Nominations close April 3, 2024 and the winners will be announced at a Gala Dinner on Friday, April 19, 2024.

It's the WA civil industry's biggest night out, with 500+ attendees expected again this year. Join us to celebrate the winners and finalists, network, and enjoy entertainment from Felix The Band.

Tickets are on sale now.

The Western Australian Civil Construction Industry & Training Awards are proudly supported by our Major Sponsor WesTrac Cat, supported by The Apprenticeship Community, Civil Train WA, CJD Equipment, Construction Training Fund, DevelopmentWA, Enviro Plant Hire, Halo Civil Engineering, Kais Hire, MiniQuip, NPE, Coffey Testing and Motivation Foundation.

Industrial relations landscape is changing rapidly

Alice Graham — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 09:25:34 GMT

(Published in the CCF WA Bulletin, 2024 Edition 4)

There’s a scene in the ABC TV show Utopia where the Nation Building Authority’s Tony Woodford visits a government project site to figure out why labour costs are double the original estimates.

“You pay peanuts, you get monkeys,” an employee representative tells him. “Peanuts? That guy’s going to be on $120,000 a year,” Tony replies, gesturing towards a traffic controller. He goes on to point out that the traffic controller’s wage is $50,000 more than the government pays a high school teacher.

I was reminded of this scene while reading a recent AFR opinion piece by John Lloyd, the inaugural commissioner of the ABCC. Mr Lloyd compares the standard weekly wage of a traffic controller on the Melbourne Metropolitan Tunnel Project, $126,200 a year, with the starting salaries of nurses ($72,000) and teachers ($78,000) in Victoria, and notes: “A workplace relations system that produces such bizarre pay relativities is in strife”.

Recent developments here in WA suggest we may be heading in the same direction. In October, Main Roads WA made changes to its Traffic Management Company Registration Scheme, mandating a minimum ordinary hourly rate of $37.24 per hour for all traffic controllers on state roads – whether they’re working on a Main Roads project, or for any other client.

Traffic controllers must also receive all relevant loadings and entitlements in the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020. An entry-level traffic controller’s base 38-hour week wage will now be $73,586 per annum, or $78,672 per annum with fares and travel allowance. Working a 50-hour week, they’ll be paid $116,851 per annum.

While the new government-mandated wage for traffic controllers is not at the absurd levels seen on eastern states major projects, it’s nevertheless way out of step with the typical wages for semi-skilled, entry-level Western Australian workers in construction and other sectors.

As our article on page 8 explains, Main Roads has acted in response to concerns about some isolated pay inconsistencies in the traffic management industry.

In our view, overriding the Fair Work system to impose a rate on the whole industry that’s 38% higher than the award is a massive over-reaction. The article explains why, and the effects this will have.

The seemingly random decision to overpay traffic controllers started to make a bit more sense in mid-November with the release of the Expression of Interest document for the Alliance Contract to design and construct Tonkin Highway Extension and Thomas Road Upgrade (Package 1 of 2). Under the heading ‘Industrial Relations’ the EOI notes: “Main Roads intends on mandating best practice industrial relations principles (BPIR) into the Project Alliance Agreement.”

At the core of BPIR is a government-sanctioned pattern agreement. In Queensland, it’s already in force and known as BPIC (best practice industry conditions). A typical BPIC agreement includes:

Base pay rates more than 80% higher than award rates.
A site allowance of up to $8.00 per hour (the maximum allowance kicks in at $700 million project value).
A Fares and Travel Allowance of $50.00/day, more than double the BCGOA rate.
A 36-hour week.
Mandatory employer contributions to various income protection, redundancy, and welfare trusts totalling around $200 per week per employee.

All up, $130,000 per annum for a 36-hour week with no trade qualifications required. Bizarre, indeed.

Queensland Government agencies are careful to point out that BPIC isn’t mandatory, but contractors fully understand that if they don’t play ball, they won’t win the work.

As a guidance note from Brisbane law firm Gadens explains, BPIC is integral to the tender process, and is then embedded in the contract: “(BPIC) is a mandatory evaluation criterion, with all contractors commonly required to demonstrate: how they will provide terms and conditions of employment, including specific pay rates, for their employees who will perform work on the project, which are at least equivalent to the BPICs for the project; and the best endeavours process they will use to engage subcontractors or sub-subcontractors who provide terms and conditions of employment, including specific pay rates, for their personnel who will perform work on the project, which are at least equivalent to the BPICs.

“The commitments made by successful tenderers … will be included in the terms and conditions of relevant contracts and subcontracts on a cascading basis.”

Main Roads isn’t sure yet how the BPIR requirement will be worded in WA, although it’s been suggested there will be no room for negotiation – it will be expected that everyone on the site is paid the BPIR rates.

WA’s first iteration of BPIR will include rates on a par with the current METRONET head contractor enterprise agreements, around 35-40% over the award. Looking at the current rates in Victoria and Queensland, it’s likely that award disparity will keep climbing until we reach 70-80%.

It’s reasonable to wonder why a government would insist on extremely high pay rates that will add to the cost of not only their own projects, but also the cost of land development and other private sector works.

Only a few weeks ago, Deputy Premier Hon Rita Saffioti MLA rightly noted that infrastructure projects in WA had not suffered the type of cost blowouts seen on the Eastern States.

Surely, one of the reasons we have avoided massive blowouts is that wages on our major projects have not exploded, as they have in some other states. Yet here we are, lighting the fuse.

According to Main Roads, BPIR is needed to attract and retain more experienced civil construction workers. The problem with that argument is the wages currently available on major transport projects are already high by industry standards and already attracting the best people from elsewhere. Ask any land development contractor how hard it is to keep good employees.

Of course, industry also wants a skilled, experienced and well-paid civil construction workforce. But we believe blunt instruments like BPIR/BPIC are not the best way to achieve it, and a better outcome can be achieved with industry consultation.

Andy Graham
CCF WA CEO

CCF welcomes the Federal Government's new migration strategy

Andy Graham — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 05:33:21 GMT

Australia’s peak civil construction industry body welcomes the Federal Government’s new Migration Strategy, which includes reforms that could greatly improve the civil construction sector’s ability to employ much-needed skilled plant operators and other skilled construction workers from overseas.

Under the new Strategy, civil construction plant operator and other blue-collar roles could be eligible through a new Core Skills Pathway, subject to meeting skills shortage and wage threshold requirements.

Currently, trade-level civil construction roles do not qualify for standard skilled migration pathways (such as subclass 482) as they are either mis-categorised or not included in the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).

Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) National President Mick Boyle said these welcome reforms acknowledge the importance of highly skilled workers in the civil construction sector, which has long been disadvantaged by the current system.

“We’ve been saying for years that ANZSCO needs urgent reform because highly skilled workers have been locked out of our country’s skilled migration policy settings by outdated and inflexible occupation lists.” Mr Boyle said.

“Now it looks like the new Core Skills Pathway system will have the flexibility to determine our migration priorities according to what’s best for the country – using an evidence-based approach, rather than being constrained by redundant red tape.

“We are excited by this development and look forward to working with the Federal Government and with Jobs and Skills Australia on developing and implementing this new system as soon as possible.

“We also urge the Federal Government to take a similar commonsense approach to reforming its training incentives system. Civil construction apprenticeships are currently excluded from the Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System, due to its reliance on the same outdated ANZSCO framework.”

City of Stirling takes the lead with new apprenticeships

Alice Graham — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 04:02:31 GMT

By John Feary

Leading registered training organisation Civil Train has achieved a significant breakthrough for Western Australia’s new civil construction apprenticeships with the signing of a new agreement with the City of Stirling.

Under the agreement, Civil Train is delivering training to Certificate III in Civil Construction and Certificate IV in Civil Construction - Supervision level for employees of the northern metropolitan local government area, Perth’s largest in population numbers.

Stirling has taken up the scheme first introduced nearly two years ago to extend the formal recognition of civil construction qualifications as a trade.

Above: Trainee Mark Wainwright operates an eductor truck in the City of Stirling.

A spokesperson said the agreement fits the City of Stirling’s commitment to the continued upskilling of its civil maintenance and construction staff.

“The training allows our employees to further develop their skills and overall helps to improves the services we deliver,” the spokesperson said. “This can also feed down to provide benefits for the industry in WA.”

One of the benefits of the agreement would be on safety. “Training often makes employees consider the work they are doing, with safety becoming front of mind. For longer-term employees, training has the bonus of refocussing attention.

“Employees working in the civil maintenance and construction areas deal with high-risk situations so training – tool box or prestart – can help with a safety focus.”

The agreement should also further expand the potential employment pool for the council, which already has a strong reputation for recruiting from a wide variety of backgrounds covering all ages from school leavers to people who have retired and come back to work.

Karyn Grant, the Operations Manager for Civil Train, said the agreement would deliver the advantages of the 36-month apprenticeship that puts civil construction on an equal footing with traditional building trades.

The training will be delivered via on-the-job assessment of operations that utilise specific tools and equipment as well as sessions at Civil Train’s Jandakot premises covering general small plant and equipment operation, hand and power tools as well as management and procedural activities.

Existing workforce members will also be able to take advantage of credit transfers for their demonstrated skills and prior learning in areas such as traffic management and plant operating.

Above: City of Stirling apprentices Jack Ayre and Stevan Trajkovski.

Ms Grant said the extension of training as a goodwill measure to Stirling’s current workers, as well as new entrants, would be an incentive for them to enhance their work skills and standards. The mature age people on the council include many from non-English speaking backgrounds.

Financial support for the program by the Construction Training Fund, which covers employers and employees for any wage difference in the transition between traineeships and apprenticeships, is a further impetus.

Stirling has 18 maintenance crew and four construction crew taking the Certificate III in Civil Construction plus four supervisors taking the Certificate IV in Civil Construction - Supervision.

The council expects the training initiative will set the City of Stirling apart from many other local governments. “It means that the city can present itself as a local government employer of choice for WA’s civil maintenance and construction industry,” the spokesperson said.

At the same time, it hopes the initiative will be taken up by other local government bodies.

“If the city is able to encourage more local governments to upskill their employees, then that can only be a good thing. It is certainly a program that the city would encourage other local governments to take up.”

From Edition 4, 2023 of The CCF WA Bulletin. See Publications for more.

Civil construction excellence recognised at CCF National Earth Awards

Alice Graham — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 04:41:49 GMT

Australia’s peak civil construction industry body Civil Contractors Federation Australia (CCF) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 CCF National Earth Awards. This year’s finalists and winners were recognised at the awards ceremony held on 10th November in Canberra. Congratulations to the 2023 CCF National Earth Awards winners:

PROJECT VALUE UP TO $2M

BridgePro/ Latrobe Council | Warrawee Suspension Bridge | Tasmania

Latrobe Council sent a Request for Tender for a contractor to undertake the design and construction of a new bridge. This bridge was to replace the existing trail bridge connecting the Latrobe to Railton section of the Wild Mersey Mountain bike park. The scope of the works was to deliver a new ‘high-level’ bridge that would be used for recreational use as well as part of the green-rated mountain bike trail in the Warrawee Reserve, whilst meeting all required environmental considerations from the Parks and Wildlife Service.

As the successful contractor, BridgePro designed and constructed the largest pedestrian suspension bridge in the southern hemisphere. Further environmental challenges arose throughout the project, including construction scheduled during the endangered Wedgetail Eagle nesting and breeding season. However, the project was successfully delivered on budget with a lasting impact on their business, staff and the local community.

PROJECT VALUE BETWEEN $2M AND $5M

Civilcraft | E.S. Marks Athletics Field Safety Upgrade | New South Wales

Civilcraft was engaged by Greater Sydney Parklands to finalise the design, and construct the safety upgrade to the historic E.S. Marks Athletics Field. Once the premier athletics facility in Sydney, the ageing venue was experiencing structural failings of the southern grandstand. It needed a new lease of life, and improved amenities.

The project involved the partial demolition of the grandstand and entry buildings to make way for a new 33-space carpark, on-site bus parking, architecturally designed ticket booth, and new ingress and egress routes. Construction amongst protected heritage trees required strict environmental controls, monitoring and design changes. The project was delivered to a high standard, providing an outstanding facility to benefit the community.

PROJECT VALUE BETWEEN $5M AND $10M

Ertech | Onslow Boating Precinct Stage 1A | Western Australia

Ertech’s scope of works included the dredging of 45,000 cubic metres of material to allow the construction of a rock wall revetment; two new boat ramps; and a floating pontoon holding jetty. Also included were a new stormwater drainage line, gross pollutant traps, sealed carpark and driveway, solar-powered street lighting, and associated road furniture.

Ertech’s alternative methodology involved a temporary earth bund, complete with dewatering systems, to protect the work area from the influence of tides. This allowed work to be performed up to 8 metres below high tide level, with most dredging and rock revetment works completed in dry conditions. The entire boat ramp construction was performed in the dry, hugely improving safety and efficiency.

PROJECT VALUE BETWEEN $10M AND $30M

Melbourne Water, John Holland-KBR Joint Venture, Interflow and Welltech Total Water Management | Epsom Main Sewer Rehabilitation | Victoria

Melbourne Water, John Holland-KBR Joint Venture, Interflow and Welltech Total Water Management delivered the high-risk rehabilitation of 1.6km of the Epsom Main Sewer. The project’s technical complexities were responded to by the team with an innovative, collaborative, and sustainable mindset. The project installed a bypass sewer network that surcharged flow upstream to minimise stakeholder impacts and designed and installed a mechanical plug to create a safer work environment.

They also winched the liner through previously lined sections to overcome off-set maintenance holes and responded to the extended 24 hour/7 day works due to unforeseen infiltration with a caring and people focus. The project was delivered on budget and time and met stakeholder commitments. The team ensured the experience of project impacts by community, businesses and stakeholders were minimised while the asset was upgraded for another 50 years of service.

PROJECT VALUE BETWEEN $30M AND $75M

BMD Constructions | Mt Crosby East Bank Water Treatment Plant Upgrade | Queensland

BMD Constructions was engaged by Seqwater as the principal contractor to deliver upgrade works at the Mt Crosby Water Treatment Plant in the western suburbs of Brisbane. The treatment plant is a critical asset for the safe delivery and supply of over 50% of the water produced by the utility provider for South-East Queensland.

The upgrades were critical to ensure the integrity of the water supply and compliance requirements for the next 25 years. Essential works included upgrading the ageing infrastructure’s filtration system, replacing the existing controller programme and moving all controls onto a new system. Given the project was undertaken in a fully operational water treatment plant, maintaining operations was key to the success of the project. Through careful project planning and innovation, BMD were able to deliver the project four months ahead of program with no interruptions to supply.

PROJECT VALUE BETWEEN $75M AND $150M

Seymour Whyte Constructions | Pacific Motorway Upgrade Varsity Lakes to Burleigh (VL2B) | Queensland

Seymour Whyte - on behalf of the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads - delivered the Gold Coast's first Diverging Diamond Interchange on the M1 Pacific Motorway's Exit 87 to ease congestion and improve traffic flow. Within the overall six-lane motorway widening upgrade, the project also delivered a positive biodiversity legacy and optimised resources towards circular economy outcomes.

Seymour Whyte's environmental ambition and decarbonisation strategy allowed the team to deliver Queensland's first Infrastructure Sustainability rating on a construct-only contract. Seymour Whyte's approach to 'working in partnership' with all project stakeholders was key in successfully delivering this project, injecting 98% of project value into the local economy, with 3.9% going to First Nations businesses. Seymour Whyte is recognised for outstanding achievements in developing safe, innovative solutions with a sustainability focus through project planning with minimal impacts on residents and commuters.

PROJECT VALUE GREATER THAN $150M

Fulton Hogan Construction | Princes Highway Upgrade Albion Park Rail Bypass | New South Wales

Transport for NSW engaged Fulton Hogan to design and construct the Albion Park Rail bypass – the largest infrastructure project in the region’s history. The 9.8-kilometre Princes Motorway extension between Yallah and Oak Flats bypassed the town of Albion Park Rail. With improved travel times, it completes the 'missing link' for a high-quality road between Sydney and Bomaderry.

Despite significant rainfall, complex traffic staging over live roads and railway, working under a flight path, at-house noise mitigation treatments, soft soils, and a net import balance; the Project was delivered ahead of schedule and on budget. The known risks were one thing, but the unforeseen challenges of geotechnical movement, an existing water leak, deer, an unexploded ordnance and asbestos contamination. The team worked collaboratively to resolve all the issues and deliver several legacy environmental, safety, and community initiatives.

CONTACT DETAILS

CCF President Mick Boyle is available for comment. Please call 1300 223 753.

IMAGES

Images of each winner are available and must be credited to Hiebl Photography.

Federal Government must not back away from its infrastructure funding responsibilities

Emily Giglia — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 02:34:21 GMT

Australia’s peak civil construction industry body is pleased that the Federal Government has finally presented the findings of its infrastructure funding review.

Civil Contractors Federation President Mick Boyle said it is understandable that states and territories were upset at the cuts to their project pipelines. Clarity is required on the timing of funds set aside for delayed projects.

Mr Boyle said each state and territory would need support to deliver the infrastructure it needs, and the Federal Government may need to accept that its $120 million infrastructure commitment over 10 years is no longer sufficient to deliver a strong nationwide pipeline of road and rail upgrades.

“The reality is that construction costs have increased dramatically,” he said. “Labour, concrete, steel, asphalt, fuel and other inputs are all significantly more expensive than they were a few years ago. The Federal Government needs to adjust for that reality.

“States and Territories have limited ability to raise funds for the infrastructure they need to meet the growth of our nation. The Federal Government’s new 50/50 funding rule for regional projects will put an additional burden on the states, compromising the viability of nationally significant regional projects.

“CCF requests that the Federal Government reconsider the new 50/50 funding rule for critical regional projects which may need more Federal funding to be viable.

Mr Boyle said the Federal Government needs to be clear and transparent around the ‘national significance’ threshold of $500 million, to ensure it does not disadvantage the local and regional contractors and communities the government says it wants to support.

“That threshold could rule out far too many worthy projects, especially in the regions but also in metropolitan areas,” he said. “The guiding principles for the Federal Government should be that projects are cost-effective and have a strong business case. By all means, set a minimum amount to keep the pipeline manageable, but $500 million is too high.

“Research has shown that ‘mega projects’ are the most susceptible to cost blowouts, so the last thing the Federal Government should be doing in setting its funding threshold, so it creates more ‘mega projects’.

“CCF is prepared to work with government as they implement the Infrastructure Policy Statement to find workable productive procurement solutions for industry to ensure that the process creates project sizes for Australia’s local and regional contractors so they are able to deliver Australia’s infrastructure.”

Nicholas Proud appointed as CCF National CEO

Emily Giglia — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 02:03:15 GMT

Nicholas Proud has been appointed as National CEO of the Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) and will commence in the CCF Canberra Office early in the New Year.

Mr Proud brings to the role 20 years of diverse experience in policy, advocacy and finance within peak bodies and industry associations.

CCF National President Mick Boyle said: “There has never been a more important time in Australia for civil contractors and the Civil Contractors Federation. With that in mind we undertook an extensive recruitment process for this important role and Nicholas was the standout candidate. The National Board and I are really looking forward to working with Nicholas who has a wealth of experience and an impressive track record of strong leadership and effective advocacy in similar roles.”

Mr Proud said: “I have really enjoyed my last 8 years as CEO with PowerHousing Australia, effectively advocating for housing affordability and building great communities. This next dynamic role is focussed on national infrastructure delivery across the transport, water, and energy sectors all of which are so important for communities and affordable housing. I am looking forward to my National CEO role at the Civil Contractors Federation and building on all the great work my State and Territory colleagues are doing around the country to work with government and advocate for our members at a federal level here in Canberra.”

Mr Proud will commence his new role on Monday 29 January 2024.

2023 WA Earth Awards celebrate infrastructure excellence

Andy Graham — Sat, 07 Oct 2023 04:10:55 GMT

WA’s historic Forrestfield-Airport Link rail project has won the $150 million-plus project value category at the 2023 WA Earth Awards, the civil construction industry’s annual awards for project excellence.

Now known as the Airport Line, the Forrestfield-Airport Link project involved two tunnel boring machines tunnelling for 8km -- the longest tunnels ever built in Western Australia.

The congestion-busting Leach Highway and Welshpool Road Interchange project won the $75-150 million category, while two other State Government Transport Portfolio projects took out the under $2 million and $5-10M categories respectively.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said the dominance of transport projects again this year -- with four out of the seven category winners -- underlined the importance of road, rail and harbour works to the state’s civil construction sector.

“Another hugely important sector for our industry is resources construction projects, and it was pleasing to see our member company Whittens win the $30-75 million category for works at Fortescue’s Iron Bridge project,” Mr Graham said.

“Rounding out the category winners were two projects delivered for other highly valued State Government clients -- Water Corporation and DevelopmentWA.

“We were thrilled to welcome State Government members of Parliament Hon David Michael MLA and Hon Pierre Yang MLA to the event, and to share in celebrating the winners with them.”

Another major transport project, the Mitchell Freeway Extension, was presented with the Judges’ Award.

The Earth Award category winners will now represent WA at the National Earth Awards, to be announced in Canberra on November 10.

The seven category winners and Judges Award winners are listed below with information about the projects. More information, and high-resolution images of the projects and award presentations, are available on request.

2023 WA Earth Awards Winners

Project Value more than $150 million: Webuild-NRW Joint Venture, Forrestfield-Airport Link

Now known as the Airport Line, the $1.86 billion project is the first new train line to be introduced into the Public Transport Authority network since 2007.

Construction involved two tunnel boring machines excavating directly under Perth Airport’s runways, from High Wycombe to Bayswater, reaching around 27m below ground at its deepest point. The TBMs each spent approximately 900 days underground, placing more than 9000 concrete tunnel lining rings that had been manufactured in a local facility.

The project also delivered three new stations, three emergency egress shafts, 12 cross passages, two dive structures, rail infrastructure and systems.

The project did not stop at all through the COVID pandemic. Webuild-NRW effectively managed the global supply chain issues, delivering the project within budget.

Project Value $75-150 million: Leach Welshpool Alliance, Leach Highway and Welshpool Road Interchange

This project addressed one of Perth’s most congested and dangerous intersections.

Main Roads WA’s delivery methodology involved a sole-source Alliance Development Agreement phase, which allowed the early involvement of constructor Georgiou Group, designer BG&E, and geotechnical consultant Golder & Associates. This resulted in a range of beneficial value outcomes, including earlier design enhancements – such as a more efficient and sustainable roundabout design for Welshpool Road, replacing the original signalised diamond.

Construction challenges and solutions included a non-traditional three-span post-tensioned bespoke tapered bridge over live rail. LWA created innovative temporary support systems across each stage of the bridge installation. LWA meticulously staged 32 traffic switches to ensure two lanes each way remained active on Leach Highway throughout construction.

Project Value $30-75 million: Whittens, Iron Bridge Project Earthworks and Concrete – Port, Concentrate Handling Facility & Concentrate Diversion Pond.

Whittens delivered the earthworks and concrete for the Concentrate Handling Facility and Concentrate Diversion Pond in Port Hedland – self-delivering over 320,000 cu. m of earthworks and 10,700 cu. m of concrete, and managing a multitude of specialist subcontractors.

Whittens overcame the challenges of completing critical works during the pandemic through detailed planning and efficient execution. During the tender process, the project team identified cost savings could be achieved through smarter scheduling, efficient methodologies and the use of alternative materials.

Whittens’ project team had a clear understanding of client Fortescue’s objectives, and maintained open communication with the client while creating a positive atmosphere. Through early identification of project risks, Whittens anticipated necessary actions and mitigation measures, reducing costs and avoiding disruptions.

Project Value $10-30 million: RJV, Princess Margaret Hospital Demolition & Remediation

This was one of the largest projects of its kind undertaken in an urban setting in WA. It was also one of the most high-risk, requiring significant asbestos removal, innovative solutions for managing the works close to residential areas, and the sensitive treatment of heritage elements.

With 56,000 tonnes of concrete and bricks to be removed from the site, as well as 15,000t of steel, many months of planning went into the careful management of the demolition process.

From the outset, minimising disruption to stakeholders and residents was identified as critical to the successful delivery of the project. Managing dust was a key concern and special care was taken to limit its spread using water mist cannons and scaffold containment sheeting.

To manage the extent of asbestos onsite, various innovative and advanced techniques and methods were employed.

Project Value $5-10 million: Ertech, Onslow Boating Precinct Stage 1A

This multi-stage upgrade to the boating facility and supporting infrastructure included the dredging of 45,000 cu.m of material to facilitate the construction of a rock wall revetment; two new boat ramps; and a floating pontoon holding jetty. Also included were a new stormwater drainage line, gross pollutant traps, sealed carpark and driveway, solar-powered street lighting, and associated road furniture.

Ertech’s alternative construction methodology involved a temporary earth bund, complete with dewatering systems, to protect the work area from the influence of tides. This allowed work to be performed up to 8m below high tide level, with 70 per cent of the dredging and rock revetment works able to be completed in dry conditions. The entire boat ramp construction was performed in the dry, hugely improving safety and efficiency.

Project Value $2-5 million: Rob Carr and Water Corporation, Belmont Park Optus Stadium DN500 Water Link

This project included the construction of a new water distribution main connecting to an existing DN500 water main located in the northern precinct of the Optus Stadium site; and micro-tunnelling under the PTA rail corridor and Graham Farmer Freeway to connect to a proposed DN400 water main located in the Belmont Park Development site.

The proposed pipe alignment extended across an area historically used as a landfill and a concrete batching site. Both controlled and uncontrolled fill were encountered across the site. The area was known to contain remnants of cinders and fly ash from the decommissioned East Perth Power station. This required onerous controls to manage the safety and environmental outputs. Rob Carr showcased exceptional expertise in managing a mix of ground conditions along the tunnel alignment.

Project Value up to $2 million: Enviro Infrastructure, Leighton Embankment Remediation

Enviro remediated a failing limestone embankment, which was causing debris fall and posing a risk to rail operations on the Fremantle Line. The embankment was cut almost 100 years ago in the early development period of Perth’s rail network, and years of weathering had caused sectional undermining and erosion to the limestone rock face.

Not only was the remediation footprint located within the structural clearance of the rail line and its high voltage Overhead Live Equipment, but a redundant 600mm asbestos water main was identified as running through the full extent of the 325m long remediation alignment. Despite extensive logistical and planning challenges, the project was delivered on time, on budget and with zero HSEQ incidents or quality non-conformances.

Judges Award: Mitchell Extension JV – Mitchell Freeway Extension

The extension of the Mitchell Freeway in Perth’s northern suburbs encompassed the 5.6km extension of the freeway, duplication of Wanneroo Road, new freeway access points at Lukin Drive, Butler Boulevard and Romeo Road, shared paths, underpasses, and a bridge over the Butler railway.

Sustainability was a priority focus, with the joint venture engineering innovative solutions to reduce the project’s carbon footprint. This included the first successful trial of EME2 sustainable asphalt for Main Roads WA, and sharing materials with METRONET’s Yanchep Rail Extension project to reduce waste.

Showcasing exceptional innovation and agility throughout the program, the JV employed cutting-edge techniques to optimise cost effectiveness for on-time delivery of a seamlessly executed project, with two major additions to the original scope.

Targeted cost escalation relief for builders is not fair, says CCF WA

Alice Graham — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 04:01:58 GMT

Today’s announcement of $13 million in relief payments paid to State Government building contractors is no comfort to civil construction contractors whose businesses are ineligible for the escalation relief scheme.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said the Government’s Head Contractor Relief Scheme was narrowly limited to construction works procured through the departments of Finance and Communities.

“Those departments mainly procure building works, such as schools and housing,” Mr Graham said. “This means the scheme has effectively been targeted at the building sector. It’s provided little or no relief to our members in the civil construction sector, who construct Government road, rail, power, water, port and land development projects.

“Some State Government civil contracts already had built-in escalation clauses, but many more didn’t. The relief scheme could have been a godsend to local civil contractors who – just like their fellow contractors in the building sector – have had to bear the brunt of extreme and unforeseen escalation over the past couple of years.

“The Government media release notes that building industry groups have welcomed the relief scheme, which is perfectly understandable as the scheme provides targeted relief for their members. But the release doesn’t explain why the scheme doesn’t provide any support to hundreds of other hard-working construction businesses who deliver civil works for the State Government.

“It’s not too late to address this glaring oversight.”

Civil contractors applaud Govt support for developers

Alice Graham — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 05:43:47 GMT

Western Australia’s civil construction industry welcomes a new State Government initiative to help property developers meet the cost of essential enabling infrastructure works for housing developments.

Through the $80 million Infrastructure Development Fund, announced today by Premier Mark McGowan, the Government will contribute to the cost of utility headworks (including water, wastewater and electricity) for certain metropolitan infill developments and priority regional housing.

Civil Contractors Federation CEO Andy Graham said the fund is a welcome boost for developers who are stepping up to help the State meet its policy objectives for infill developments and regional housing.

“The high cost of complex enabling civil works can be a major obstacle for developers,” Mr Graham said. “This fund will help our private sector clients offset those costs and will directly incentivise more developments.

“CCF WA congratulates the Property Council WA for championing this initiative, and thanks the State Government for responding decisively.

“WA’s civil construction sector is proud to provide the essential infrastructure works that facilitate all residential construction.”

For further media enquiries please contact CCF WA by email at ccfwa@ccfwa.com.au

CCF National Media Release: Infrastructure cannot risk an industrial relations epidemic

Alice Graham — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 06:30:01 GMT

Australia’s peak national body for the civil infrastructure sector says the Federal Government’s Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 has the potential to cripple the infrastructure sector by causing widespread industrial disputation, threatening the livelihoods of thousands of civil construction companies and the workers they employ.

Civil Contractors Federation National CEO Chris Melham said: “Within 48 hours after confirming its commitment to retain the $120 billion, 10 year rolling infrastructure investment program, the Federal Government has thrown a grenade into the infrastructure sector by confirming its intention to dissolve the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) and create industry-wide uncertainty by introducing industry-wide pattern deals.

“The most disappointing aspect has been the lack of open and transparent consultation by the Government in the formulation and delivery of this Bill to the Parliament, which has caused significant industry uncertainty. It is also unreasonable for the Government to use the Jobs and Skill Summit as the platform for justifying the introduction of this Bill. This Bill in its entirety was not presented to the Summit, but rather a high level of indication regarding jobs, skills and productivity.

“CCF supports this Bill being referred to a Senate Inquiry to allow stakeholders an opportunity to consider its content in more detail and put forward their respective positions; a process that should allow sufficient time for widespread consultation between industry groups and their members.

“The infrastructure sector showed great resilience and commitment to the Australian economy by working non-stop through the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping hundreds of thousands of workers in a job, and this Bill in its current form now threatens the livelihoods of those workers and their employers. It will potentially become an industrial relations epidemic.

“One of the key problems facing the construction industry in the past three decades has been low productivity compared to other sectors including mining and transport; not because the workplace bargaining system is broke, but because of poor industry financial outcomes brought about by inefficient and costly procurement processes, unfair contractual conditions, risk allocation, price escalation and supply chain issues.

“Removing the ability of individual employers and their employees to negotiate working conditions reflective of the worksite will almost certainly worsen productivity because the construction industry does not operate in a one-size-fits-all environment."

Mr Melham said that contrary to claims that the ABCC was politicised, discredited and unnecessary, the following facts demonstrated the ABCC had been apolitical and extremely effective as an industry watchdog overseeing the behaviour of both unions and employers on construction sites, and contributing effectively to industry viability:

Between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2022, contractors reported 9,133 separate instances of delayed or unpaid payment claims to the ABCC.
The delayed or unpaid payment claims reported to the ABCC totalled $873 million.
Of the matters reported to the ABCC, the ABCC identified ‘potential issues’ in 58% of cases and achieved voluntary rectification in 97.4% of cases.¹

“Retention of the ABCC is paramount until the Government can demonstrate the alternative regulatory framework will deliver an even more robust compliance and enforcement regime," Mr Melham said.

“The CCF looks forward to working with the Government and the cross bench to ensure the avoidance of any unintended consequences that may cripple Australia’s infrastructure sector and jeopardise the livelihoods of thousands of civil construction companies and their workers."

For further information: Duncan Sheppard, CCF Senior Policy and Communications Advisor, 0438 330 039

¹Australian Building and Construction Commission Security of Payment 3-year Activity Report, between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2022.

Federal Government missing in action on civil construction trade shortages

Alice Graham — Thu, 06 Oct 2022 04:54:26 GMT

Statement by Andy Graham, Civil Contractors Federation WA Chief Executive Officer

Today’s release of the National Skills Commission’s 2022 Skills Priority List confirms widespread shortages in civil construction trades and again highlights the Federal Government’s failure to adequately respond through its training and migration policies.

The 2022 Skills Priority List shows that skilled operators of excavators, loaders, paving machines and other civil construction equipment are in shortage, both in Western Australia and nationally.

Yet in the face of these shortages, the Federal Government persists with training and migration policies that discriminate against civil construction trade level workers, on the basis of an archaic skills classification system.

According to the Federal Government’s outdated ANZSCO system, the workers who build our infrastructure – roads, railways, bridges and pipelines – are semi-skilled, while the workers who our homes are skilled.

The ANZSCO classifications reflect a bygone era, when civil construction work was largely regarded as labouring, and formal training pathways were still being established.

We’ve come a long way since then, and nowadays skilled civil construction trades such as plant operations, road construction and pipelaying are recognised as construction apprenticeships in most states, on an equal footing with the building trades.

The Federal Government’s reliance on ANZSCO when making skills policy decisions has two damaging effects.

First, it means civil construction apprentices receive no support from the Federal Government’s Australian Apprenticeships Incentives System (AAIS). Signwriters, locksmiths, gardeners, painters, bricklayers, plasterers and tilers can receive full AAIS funding, but civil construction apprentices cannot.

Secondly, it means our industry is denied access to temporary and permanent skilled migration pathways available to other sectors.

So we can’t bring in skilled tradespeople from overseas, and we can’t get funding support to train locals.

CCF has been advocating for an overhaul of ANZSCO for more than 10 years. We’ve had enough of writing submissions and endless reviews. It’s time for action, now. It’s time to stop discriminating against the skilled workers who construct our essential infrastructure.

2022 CCF WA Earth Awards celebrate infrastructure excellence, with transport projects dominating

Alice Graham — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 04:04:34 GMT

The bar for civil construction excellence in Western Australia has been raised again, with seventeen impressive infrastructure projects contesting the 2022 Civil Contractors Federation WA Earth Awards and seven category winners named.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said the Earth Award judges commented on the high calibre of entries this year and said they consider 2022 presented a significant milestone in civil construction excellence.

Transport infrastructure projects featured strongly on the night – five of the seven category winners were Main Roads WA projects, underscoring the importance of the State Government’s massive transport infrastructure program to the civil construction sector.

Water Corporation projects also featured strongly, with four finalists and one category winner. A special Judges Award was awarded to another Water Corporation project.

The seven category winners and Judges Award winners are listed below with information about the projects. More information, and high resolution images of the award presentations, are available on request.

Earth Awards for Excellence in Civil Construction Winners –

Project Value more than $150 million: Armadale Access Alliance (comprising Laing O’Rourke, BG&E and Main Roads Western Australia) for its Armadale Road to North Lake Road Bridge project.

This project comprised two grade separated roundabouts at Tapper Road and Solomon Road to create a duck and dive alignment, a new bridge over Kwinana Freeway, new freeway on- and off-ramps and collector-distributor roads, upgrades to Armadale Road, and improved access and parking for Cockburn Station. Major enabling works were required for the threespan bridge across Kwinana Freeway. The western abutment works required an anchored sheet pile wall to retain an existing high-pressure gas main, and the eastern abutment works required a diversion of a major telecommunications service. The bridge beam lifts and superstructure works were also particularly challenging.

Project Value $75 million to $150 million: Downer for its Denny Avenue Level Crossing Removal project.

Downer to completed a multidisciplinary project involving the removal of the Denny Avenue Level Crossing, construction of a rail bridge and road underpass, upgrade of the surrounding road networks and revitalisation works in the Kelmscott town centre. After award, the client requested a program change, bringing forward the closure of the dangerous level crossing.

Through innovative products and working methods, Downer achieved this key milestone four months ahead of schedule, even with the challenges of complex service removals and COVID-related logistical issues. Downer’s collaborative approach not only delivered a high-quality project; the company also successfully trialled new products and working methods – increasing safety, sustainability and efficiency; and leaving a lasting legacy for the local community, the Public Transport Authority and the wider civil construction industry.

Project Value $30 million to $75 million: Georgiou Group and Main Roads Western Australia for the Karel Avenue Upgrade project.

The project involved the widening of Karel Avenue, over Roe Highway and the freight railway, to create a dual carriageway. From a design and construction perspective, the most challenging aspect of the project was widening the existing grade separation over rail, to accommodate the Thornlie to Cockburn passenger lines next to the existing freight lines. Another significant consideration was the interface with live services, including a high-pressure gas main and a fuel line servicing Perth Airport. Through clear communication with the client and the key stakeholders, coupled with regular planning workshops and programming meetings, Georgiou delivered the programmed works without any impact on these assets.

Project Value $10 million to $30 million: Georgiou Group for its Kwinana Freeway Pedestrian and Cycle Path project.

This path not only allows an uninterrupted journey between Mandurah and Perth CBD, it also improves safety by eliminating conflict between traffic and path users. Georgiou constructed 700 metres of new shared path, including a new 45-metre underpass, and upgraded a further 455 metres of existing path. The project site was approximately 800 metres long and 20 metres wide, with the busy Kwinana Freeway to the east and residential properties to the west. Georgiou overcame numerous challenges, such as protection of an existing water sewer main, live services and the tight project boundary. The company’s innovative approach not only influenced the final design, but also the construction methodology, saving the client time and money.

Project Value $5 million to $10 million: Rob Carr and Water Corporation for the Gnangara Branch Sewer Section 2 project.

As part of significant upgrades to the sewer network in Perth’s northern suburbs, Rob Carr was engaged by Water Corporation to construct a new branch sewer along Lancaster Road in Wangara. The location and proximity of the existing infrastructure, of in-ground services and of structures along the alignment itself created a number of site access and constructability challenges. Rob Carr overcame a number of site access and constructability challenges created by existing infrastructure, in-ground services and structures along the alignment. Though the conditions were very challenging, the project was completed successfully and well ahead of the contract schedule.

Project Value $2 million to $5 million: Enviro Infrastructure for its Hector Street Footbridge Refurbishment project.

Main Roads engaged Enviro Infrastructure as head contractor to undertake remedial works to this footbridge, which spans the Mitchell Freeway and Joondalup rail line in Osborne Park. Enviro’s scope of works included protective coating maintenance, weld inspection testing and repairs, and deck plank end repairs. To deliver these essential remediation works, Enviro and its key subcontractors worked almost 7 months onsite, all works being nightshift, with no impact on road and rail users or assets.

Project Value up to $2 million: Foundation Engineering for its Multi-Unit Development, 147 Hastings St Scarborough project.

Foundation Engineering provided an alternate shoring system using steel piles and chemical grout injection for the development of a series of dwellings on the Scarborough beach front. Due to the sloping nature of the site, some piles were required to support the existing structures either side of the property during the excavation. However, there were other sections of the site that required the piles be exposed up to several metres. The installation rig required was able to handle the tricky site conditions resulting from having such a steep, sandy surface. In comparison, a traditional CFA pile installation rig would have struggled to install concrete piles along such a steep run.

2022 WA Judges’ Award: SRG Global for its 20ML Karratha Water Tank and Associated Works.

The Judges Award is a discretionary award for a project which scores highly and which the judges consider to be worthy of special recognition. SRG demonstrated commendable planning, design and execution of the works to build a staged concrete structure with an expected lifespan of 100 years in a region where extreme weather events are prevalent.

The seven 2022 WA Earth Award category winners will represent the state at the CCF National Earth Awards on November 11 in Canberra.

Civil construction sector seeks trade skills recognition at Federal Summit

Alice Graham — Fri, 19 Aug 2022 01:29:29 GMT

Urgent reform to Federal Government skills classification system needed to adequately recognise skilled trade-level occupations in civil construction
Outdated ANZSCO classifications deny civil construction apprentices, and their employers, access to training incentives available to their peers in the building sector
CCF’s National CEO is meeting with Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King today to push for reform.
CCF WA has written to State Premier Mark McGowan and Training Minister Sue Ellery seeking their support ahead of the Federal Jobs and Skills Summit.

WA’s peak civil infrastructure body is calling for urgent changes to the Federal Government’s outdated skills classification system, to allow civil apprentices and their employers access to new training incentives available to other sectors with skills shortages.

The Civil Contractors Federation WA (CCF WA), in conjunction with CCF’s National office, wants civil occupations to be formally classified as skilled trades on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO). This is a pre-requisite for funding under the Federal Government’s new Australian Apprenticeships Incentives System (AAIS).

CCF National CEO Chris Melham will push the need for urgent reform today (August 19) at an infrastructure jobs and skills roundtable hosted by Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King ahead of the Jobs and Skills Summit next month.

Mr Melham said reforming ANZSCO to give civil construction apprenticeships fair access to training incentives would be an important step in addressing major skill gaps in the civil infrastructure sector.

“As part of CCF’s 2022 Infrastructure Market Capacity Survey, respondents were asked to rank a number of threats to the delivery of the infrastructure investment pipeline, ranging from the availability of raw materials, through to the availability of skilled and unskilled labour,” Mr Melham said. “In each state and territory, the highest ranked issue was the lack of availability of local skilled tradespeople and professionals to undertake construction projects.”

Mr Melham said access to AAIS subsidies would address this by directly incentivising civil construction employers to take on more apprentices.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said he had written to State Premier Mark McGowan and Training Minister Sue Ellery seeking their support ahead of the Federal Jobs and Skills Summit, which they will both be attending next month.

“Thankfully our state government, through the Construction Training Fund and other incentives, recognises that civil construction apprentices in skilled trades such as pipelaying, directional drilling and plant operations deserve to receive the same funding as their counterparts in bricklaying, tiling and plastering,” Mr Graham said.

“But it’s a different story with Federal incentives, where the building trades get AAIS funding and the civil construction trades miss out thanks to the antiquated ANZSCO skill levels.

“The Federal Government is a major funding source for the massive program of transport infrastructure projects that is transforming Western Australia, so they should be well aware of the critical need to incentivise training and skills development in civil construction.”

Mr Graham said other sectors had also been highly critical of the ANZSCO system’s failure to reflect the modern skilled workforce. A recent Federal Parliament Standing Committee Inquiry received dozens of submissions from companies and industry groups calling for ANZSCO to be abandoned as a basis for determining occupational skill levels. The inquiry recommended that ANZSCO should be either scrapped or completely overhauled.

“For the civil construction sector, ANZSCO reform can’t some soon enough,” Mr Graham said. “And in the meantime, the Federal Government should take a common sense approach and include civil construction trades in the AAIS.”

Local government transparency reform needed, says CCF WA

Alice Graham — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 09:04:54 GMT

A new report from WA’s peak civil construction body highlights the wide disparity in transparency by local governments when awarding works tenders, and recommends changes to bring WA into line with other states.

The Civil Contractors Federation WA report, Transparency in Western Australian local government tender evaluation, analysed the tender assessments, as published in council minutes and supporting documentation, of 29 of Western Australia’s largest metropolitan and regional councils.

The report awarded a Tendering Transparency Score out of 10 to each council, with points awarded for:

Publishing the names of companies that tendered and the prices they submitted
Publishing each bidder’s scores or ranking against price and non-price assessment criteria.
Explaining how the scores were determined, and any other relevant information about how or why the successful tenderer was chosen.

One council, the City of Joondalup, scored a perfect ‘10’ by providing all of the information above, with a detailed summary describing the tender evaluation process and how decisions were made.

The Bayswater, Cockburn, Gosnells, Kalamunda, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Perth, Rockingham, Swan, Wanneroo, and Dardanup councils also achieved a ‘pass’ mark of 5 or more.

Many councils surveyed in the report relied on the commercial-in-confidence provisions of the WA Local Government Act 1995 as justification for suppressing information.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said the WA legislation was out of step with local government laws in other states.

“The law in other states puts the onus on councils to explain why they have decided not to publish tender assessments,” Mr Graham said.

“Generally, other states only allow suppression where councils can show issues with confidential financial information or trade secrets.

“The South Australian legislation expressly bars councils from preventing disclosure of any reasons adopted by the council as to why a successful tenderer has been selected.

“We’ve recommended to the State Government that it replace the current blanket commercial-in-confidence provision with a modernised provision more in line with community expectations and with the practice in other states.

“The law in other states recognises that the very ‘local’ nature of local government procurement can make it more susceptible to probity issues and conflicts of interest, and therefore accountability and transparency are perhaps even more important than in other levels of government.

“Transparency of decision-making is of course a good thing in itself, but there are broader benefits too.

“We know that contractors highly value the feedback provided by published evaluations. They really appreciate getting a clear picture of where their submission was strong and where it wasn’t, and can use that feedback to improve their submission next time.

“For councils, this means that not only will they get a higher standard of submissions, but they will get more submissions, because there’s no doubt that contractors prefer to work for councils who are open and transparent.

“It’s even more important right now, with so much demand for construction work, that councils position themselves as a client of choice.”

Transparency in Western Australian local government tender evaluation is available for download online here.

Action needed to address cost pressures on all Government infrastructure projects, says CCF WA

Alice Graham — Fri, 13 May 2022 08:38:57 GMT

WA’s peak civil construction industry body says targeted relief for building contractors in the 2022/23 State Budget is no comfort for civil contractors on Government projects who are also battling rampant escalation of cost.

The Civil Contractors Federation Western Australia (CCF WA) says urgent action is needed to provide relief from onerous Government construction contracts that are forcing contractors to bear the brunt of recent massive cost increases and supply chain disruptions.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said the new $30 million scheme to assist building contractors working for the departments of Finance and Communities would not help hundreds of local businesses battling soaring costs on Government civil infrastructure projects.

“There is some cost relief for the civil construction sector in the Budget, mainly on a few high-profile, federally funded road and rail projects,” Mr Graham said.

“The budgeted cost of some major projects has increased by around 30 per cent, yet the allocations for all other transport projects has remained the same.

“CCF WA welcomes the acknowledgement of huge and unforeseen escalation on those major projects, but we are concerned that contractors on dozens of other Government projects are facing the same realities yet being forced to fight tooth and nail to have their fair and reasonable claims accepted.

“The standard watertight contracts used on many Government projects are designed to protect the budgeted project cost by any means possible. The contractor is expected to wear the cost of unexpected events or unavoidable delays that are out of their control.

“In normal times, we deal with that and take the occasional loss on the chin. But these are unprecedented times, and civil contractors can’t keep absorbing huge extra costs and mounting losses.

“It’s time to put aside the onerous contract and the legalistic mindset, work together and take an ‘open book’ approach that fairly reimburses all Government contractors for unavoidable extra costs.

“It’s certainly encouraging to see a $350 million provision for general construction cost escalation in the Budget – we now look forward to working with the Government to ensure this provision translates into timely action.”

Civil construction industry working to close the workplace gender gap

(Past member) — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 08:30:00 GMT

How to attract, retain and promote women working in the civil construction industry was the issue of the day at this morning’s Women in Civil annual breakfast held by the Civil Contractors Federation Western Australia (CCF WA).

With just 20 per cent of women making up the civil construction industry nationally and Western Australia having the biggest gender pay gap in the country, gender diversity leaders recognised while there was positive work being done, there was still more to do.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said the business case was clear – more diversity has a positive effect on productivity and financial performance.

“Since 2011, CCF WA’s Women in Civil initiative has supported and celebrated diversity in the Western Australian civil construction industry,” he said.

“We launched our inaugural Women in Civil Mentoring Program in 2021 which is dedicated to providing support, guidance and professional growth opportunities to women working in civil construction.

“We recognise part of this challenge is making sure civil construction careers are a genuinely viable long-term career option. It’s important we have these discussions and keep moving in the right direction to provide career opportunities for both men – and women.”

Special guest speakers included Minister for Women’s Interests Simone McGurk, Champions of Change Coalition Program Director Tania Cecconi, and Clough Vice President of Strategy and Development in the APAC region Carl Titchmarsh.

Minister McGurk has led the State Government’s Plan for Gender Equality, while Ms Cecconi has been instrumental in shifting the conversation from fixing women to fixing workplaces and Mr Titchmarsh spoke off the back of Clough’s second Employer of Choice for Gender Equality Citation by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

Themes raised included workplace flexibility for both women and men, gender agnostic paid parental leave, government funded female leadership programs on major infrastructure projects, and women’s safety and security.

CCF WA’s Women in Civil Breakfast was supported by Kais Hire, CJD Equipment and Sitech.

New crane licensing requirement for excavator operators won’t improve safety, says CCF WA

(Past member) — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 01:38:26 GMT

Western Australia’s civil construction industry has been blindsided by a new State Government regulation that from today will force thousands of excavator operators to obtain a crane operator’s licence before they can perform straightforward lifting tasks on sites.

With the introduction of the new Work Health and Safety Regulations, WA is the only state in Australia that requires operators of earthmoving machinery to possess a crane operator’s licence when lifting and shifting loads.

Civil Contractors Federation Western Australia (CCF WA) CEO Andy Graham said the industry had largely been caught unaware by the new regulation.

“The new WHS regulations, comprising 800-plus pages, were only gazetted a few weeks ago and this sweeping change to licensing requirements is tucked away as a footnote to a schedule,” Mr Graham said.

“We aren’t aware of any forthcoming advice from WorkSafe about this change, and industry doesn’t appear to have been consulted.

“Underlining the haste and lack of consideration with regards to implementing this change, the newly mandated crane operator training is not even designed to train operators of earthmoving equipment.

“The crane operator licensing training packages are designed around the harmonised national WHS system, which recognises that a crane is nothing like an excavator, and vice versa. Sending thousands of excavator operators off for a crane licence will certainly be a windfall for training providers but it will do nothing for safety.

“If the Government was serious about improving safety, it would ensure the appropriate training in excavator operations – which covers safe lifting techniques – was being delivered to a more consistent standard. This is the sort of unintended consequence of departing from the national framework, which could have been avoided with consultation.”

Mr Graham said the new regulation had been introduced with no consultation, no advice, and no transition period. He said it was out of step with safety and training frameworks in every other state in Australia and would not improve safety.

CCF WA has urged the Government to defer implementation of this new regulation pending further consultation.

“Ultimately, this regulation is unnecessary and should be removed,” Mr Graham said.

CCF WA welcomes announcement of new Civil Construction Pilot Program

(Past member) — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 06:50:42 GMT

The Civil Contractors Federation Western Australia (CCF WA) has welcomed today’s official announcement of the new Civil Construction Pilot Program by the Minister for Education and Training, the Hon. Sue Ellery.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said civil construction qualifications were now formally recognised as a trade, putting it on equal footing with traditional building trades, with civil construction apprentices receiving a trade certificate on completion of their Certificate III qualification.

“Together with our Civil Construction Industry Training Committee, it has taken considerable work and engagement to get to this point and is a huge step forward for the industry,” he said.

“With government investment in infrastructure at record levels and a strong pipeline of both public and private sector work, trade careers in civil construction now have the recognition they deserve. This is hugely important in attracting new people into the workforce, especially at a time of skills shortages in our industry.

“Not only is this an opportunity to increase both the number and quality of new workers entering the industry, but also to increase employer satisfaction with graduates.”

Mr Graham thanked the Construction Training Fund (CTF) for playing a vital role in helping to advance the proposal with the CTF now investing in wage gap funding to cover any wage difference between trainee and apprentice award rates, ensuring no business or apprentice will be financially worse off by transitioning to an apprenticeship.

“This will ensure the take-up of civil construction apprenticeships is strong and will help the pilot program’s success,” he said.

Probuild woes highlight crisis of profitability in construction

(Past member) — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 07:00:40 GMT

The decision by WBHO South Africa to put its Australian infrastructure business into administration highlights an ongoing profitability crisis right across the building and construction industry, including Western Australia’s civil infrastructure sector.

Reporting of WBHO Australia’s financial problems has understandably focused on the group’s high-profile Melbourne-based building division, Probuild. Closer to home, the group’s civil construction business, WBHO Infrastructure, is based here in Perth and a key player in the local infrastructure sector. WBHO Infrastructure’s excellence in infrastructure delivery has been recognised by multiple CCF WA Earth Awards, most recently last year for the Wanneroo Rd – Ocean Reef Road Interchange project. WBHO Infrastructure is currently part of the joint venture widening Mitchell Freeway from Hodges Ave to Hepburn Ave.

In a time of unprecedented infrastructure construction activity in Western Australia, it’s troubling that such a strong and capable civil contractor is thinking of closing its doors.

Our thoughts are with the WBHO-I team, who have to deal with this uncertainty on top of all the other pressures they’ve faced over the past two years during the pandemic.

This is a challenging time for all businesses in civil construction. We’re facing the disruptions and compliance burden of COVID-19 while in the midst of a boom in activity, with strong activity across the board in government works, in subdivision development and in resources construction.

While we have been fortunate in WA to have avoided project shutdowns, the pace of progress on projects has been significantly compromised by factors including border closures restricting the movement of people and companies; delays with the supply of materials and equipment; and rampant escalation in the costs of labour and materials.

All these factors have translated into totally unavoidable extra costs for contractors. With profit margins in the government infrastructure sector already wafer-thin, contractors can easily lose money on a project – and increasingly, that’s what is happening.

We are at risk of a profitless infrastructure boom, which will leave the local industry in worse shape than before.

In this environment, it’s more important than ever that when a contractor lodges a reasonable variation or delay claim, that claim is assessed fairly and quickly. Unfortunately, as WBHO alluded to in a statement this week, that’s often not the case, and contractors are all too often left carrying those unavoidable extra costs.

CCF WA believes it’s time for an urgent rethink of the way variation and delay claims are addressed. We need to progress from the current ‘just say no’ culture to a more balanced approach that recognises the importance of spending public funds wisely, while also ensuring that head contractors are not unfairly punished through delayed payment or non-payment where their claims are reasonable and justified.

The state government has been proactive in increasing protections for subcontractors through stronger security of payment laws, and rightly so. Now there needs to be a focus on speeding up payment to head contractors, many of whom must wait months or years to get their reasonable claims settled.

Despite the challenges, all civil contractors and suppliers appreciate the privilege of building the vital infrastructure that underpins economic development and improves our quality of life.

That’s why we do what we do, but increasingly more of our businesses are becoming unsustainable and more of our people are deciding they want a less demanding and stressful career.

The Government recognises this too, and in collaboration with industry is developing a long-term strategy for a sustainable civil contracting sector – a place where people want to work, where capable businesses are valued, and where there are pathways to growth.

The Office of Major Transport Infrastructure Development (OMTID) is leading the way by facilitating this strategy, and we look forward to working with them on its development and implementation.

WA leading the way in infrastructure tech and innovation

(Past member) — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 05:06:39 GMT

Western Australia was highlighted as being at the forefront of innovation and technology in infrastructure at an industry event facilitated by the Civil Contractors Federation WA today. Innovations in civil construction are improving the safety of workers, reducing travel times and contributing to positive environmental outcomes.

Manufactured aggregates, innovative traffic management applications and Perth’s Smart Freeway network all featured with several Western Australian and Australian firsts.

Manufactured aggregate is a product which will be produced from the Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) resulting from the Avertas Waste to Energy (WTE) plant in Kwinana – Australia’s first large scale waste to energy facility. The WTE facility will process household waste ordinarily disposed of at landfill and convert it into electricity.

Blue Phoenix Group will transform IBA minerals into safe and reliable aggregates which can be used in civil construction works as a replacement for primary material, such as road base. Blue Phoenix Group’s site development in Kwinana is the first IBA processing facility in Australia.

Perth’s first Smart Freeway Network went live in August 2020 and has reduced congestion on the Kwinana freeway, saving an average travel time of five minutes on the Smart Freeway section despite a 13 per cent increase in traffic since the onset of COVID-19.

The project included technologies of Stopped Vehicle Detection (SVD), Lane Use Management Signs (LUMS), Dynamic Message Signs (DMS), and Automatic Incident Detection (AID) which uses a combination of radar and thermal units to detect incidents and obstructions to traffic in real time – another Australian first.

In the traffic management space, products and devices such as mobile barrier systems, combined traffic lights and booms, and auto cone trucks are being adopted in an effort to save lives, including those of traffic controllers.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said it was pleasing to see WA pioneering innovation and technology in civil construction.

“There is some great work happening through Main Roads relationship with the Infrastructure Sustainability Council and a lot of good work going on through the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, the waste reform advisory group and the construction and demolition reference group, as well as a highly successful Smart Freeway project now being extended to the Mitchell Freeway southbound.”

Presenters included Blue Phoenix Group South East Asia Managing Director Ian Lynass, Kwinana WTE Project Operations and Maintenance Director for Macquarie Capital Alan Jones, Managing Director of JDN Consulting and Engineering Solutions and Director of Prizstine Consulting Jason Gavranic, and President of the Traffic Management Association of Australia and Managing Director of WARP Group Stephen O’Dwyer.

The event was sponsored by W.A. Limestone, Construction Training Fund and Kais Hire.

Western Australia’s best infrastructure projects celebrated at CCF WA Earth Awards

(Past member) — Sat, 02 Oct 2021 01:20:58 GMT

The CCF WA 2021 Earth Awards for Excellence in Civil Construction were presented to companies Enviro Infrastructure, Maritime Constructions, Vasse Joint Venture, WBHO SRG Joint Venture and Metropolitan Road Improvement Alliance last night at the industry’s gala dinner event.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said the 29th CCF WA Earth Awards featured a strong field of 13 finalists across six categories.

“It’s a busy time for our industry and resources are scarce, so we’re very grateful to all finalists for taking the time to support the Earth Awards and demonstrate their commitment to excellence in civil infrastructure,” Mr Graham said.

“With the State Government’s massive transport infrastructure program dominating our sector’s pipeline of work, it was only fitting that three of the six category winners were road projects.

“Two category winners were local government projects, highlighting the importance of local government works to our members. The other category winner was a project delivered for Water Corporation, another important client to the local civil construction industry.”

Earth Awards for Excellence in Civil Construction Winners –

Project Value more than $75 million: Metropolitan Road Improvement Alliance (comprising Main Roads Western Australia, CPB Contractors, Georgiou Group, W.A. Limestone, GHD, BG&E and AECOM) for its Murdoch Drive Connection project.

This project connects Murdoch Drive with Roe Highway and Kwinana Freeway, improving access and journey times to major hospitals and the Murdoch Activity Centre. Placing the huge 48.5-metre-long bridge beams straddling the Kwinana Freeway was no small task and took more than six months of preparation. The Alliance worked closely with Main Roads to reduce the environmental impact of construction activities as much as possible and environmentally sustainable crushed recycled concrete was used as pavement material on the Kwinana Freeway Widening portion of the works.

Project Value $30 million to $75 million: WBHO SRG Joint Venture for its Wanneroo Road/Ocean Reef Road Interchange project.

Collaboration, innovation, open and effective stakeholder engagement and sustainable delivery were the drivers to ensure project success. A constrained site and needing to lower Ocean Reef Road by four metres and raise Wanneroo Road by three metres required a range of complex services and utilities relocations and modifications. Constructing a multi-grade solution on the site required an innovative traffic management approach including the concept of ‘building a road, to build a road’ and the development of ‘the Kraken’, which enabled multiple complex refigurations to match construction staging.

Project Value $10 million to $30 million: Vasse Joint Venture (comprising Westforce Construction and JWI Contracting) for its Vasse Diversion Drain Upgrade project.

Primarily designed to protect against a one-in-100-year flood event, the upgrade will also lead to future improvements in water quality, waterway health, and management of an internationally significant wetland system. This project is a leading example of how innovation, problem solving, design excellence, dynamic construction and successful client/contractor collaboration can deliver outstanding civil construction, community and environmental outcomes. More than six kilometres of the Vasse Diversion Drain was upgraded, and the Vasse River Diversion Dam reconstructed, during the eight-month project delivery window which also included the design of the pedestrian bridge and redesign of the concrete lined drain section. Despite unforeseen challenges, this project was delivered eight weeks early and half a million dollars under budget.

Project Value $5 million to $10 million: Maritime Constructions and Shire of Esperance for its Esperance Replacement Jetty project.

An innovative overhand construction approach, which included a customised piling guide system, significantly de-risked this highly complex jetty construction which would have potentially been hampered by weather if using traditional jack-up barge construction. Use of the piling guide system also enabled construction of three types of bridge decks – including a timber heritage section – using just the one frame. The project offered an ideal training ground for the enhanced development of Maritime Constructions’ engineers and supervisors who visited site to witness the system in action, providing the company with enhanced skill and confidence in applying similar systems on future projects.

Project Value $2 million to $5 million: Enviro Infrastructure for its Bridge 34 Structural Refurbishment and Widening project.

The bridge’s location on the major heavy haulage transport artery between Perth and the Great Southern meant detailed traffic management planning had to be undertaken, particularly when the deck overlay was removed and highway traffic reduced to a single lane. Due to extensive propping required, the project team decided to hardstand the entire underside of the bridge to the extent of the clearing limits, installing culverts to carry the flow beneath the worksite and allowing clear access for machinery and propping equipment across the entire site. This allowed work to continue in almost all conditions, effectively eliminating weather delays to the sub-structure works.

Project value up to $2 million: Enviro Infrastructure for its Whitfords Nodes Fitness Staircase project.

Located in Hillarys in an area of high environmental significance, the new structure at Whitfords Nodes Park was designed to become the ‘Jacobs Ladder or the North’ and will help to revitalise the area, becoming a focal point for group fitness, young families and community events. Innovative solutions were developed to reduce the clearing footprint and implement a crane lift plan which cleared the Tuart trees that framed the staircase. An unexpected environmental issue meant a versatile approach was needed to swap out concrete footings from the design and replace them with screw pile foundations, with the construction team working in exceptionally challenging conditions to install them.

CCF WA welcomes strong infrastructure pipeline

(Past member) — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 02:34:30 GMT

The Civil Contractors Federation WA has welcomed Premier Mark McGowan’s first Budget as Treasurer, which shows a strong and consistent pipeline of civil infrastructure works over the next four years.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said despite the challenges of COVID-19, the State’s major infrastructure delivery agencies and corporations – Public Transport Authority, Main Roads, Water Corporation, DevelopmentWA and Western Power/Horizon Power – had partnered with industry to deliver a record $4.3 billion civil infrastructure program last financial year, nearly $700 million more than the previous financial year.

“That’s been a huge effort under the circumstances by all involved, and demonstrates the strong working relationship between civil contractors and suppliers and our major clients in State Government,” Mr Graham said.

“This financial year, those infrastructure agencies and corporations are budgeting to spend a combined $5.4 billion, out of an overall $8 billion State Government asset investment program.

“That’s going to be a huge challenge given the skills shortages our industry currently faces, which is why we endorsed the State Government’s proposal to smooth the transport infrastructure pipeline.

“In the short-term, however, it has resulted in fewer opportunities for some contractors with spare capacity who were keen to bid on the new projects that have been deferred. So we encourage the government to work with those companies and find ways to support them in retaining that capacity.

“Going forward, we will continue to advocate against excessive aggregation of major projects. It makes sense to encourage a sustainable local contracting industry by procuring projects as head contracts that align with local capacity. This requires the delivery agencies to be adequately resourced so they aren’t compelled to aggregate projects.”

CCF WA Joins in Renewed Industry Call for COVID Safety on WA Construction Sites

(Past member) — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 04:43:41 GMT

The Civil Contractors Federation WA has partnered with a coalition of Western Australian construction industry associations and trade unions to release an updated COVID-19 risk management guide. The group has renewed its call for constant vigilance and close observance of infection avoidance protocols on all WA construction sites.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said it was vital that civil construction sites in WA continued to follow COVID safety protocols around distancing and hygiene.

“As recent construction industry closures in other states have shown, we can’t afford to be complacent,” Mr Graham said. “COVID-safe protocols should be at front of mind on sites and observed at all times.”

The updated COVID-19 health, safety and wellbeing guideline for the Western Australian building and construction industry is available for download here.

The joint Construction Industry Leaders Group media release can be viewed here.

WA's civil construction industry needs thousands of skilled workers, says peak body

Alice Graham — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 04:00:00 GMT

The Western Australian civil construction industry needs 3,900 additional workers to help it deliver a strong pipeline of infrastructure projects, according to a survey conducted by the Civil Contractors Federation WA.

Plant operators are most in shortage, with more than 1300 skilled operators of earthmoving, paving and other machines needed to meet demand state-wide. There are also significant shortages of concreting workers, plant mechanics/fitters, and civil engineers/project managers.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said the wide-ranging labour shortages identified in the survey reflected the current healthy activity in private and public sector civil construction.

“There’s a good pipeline of government works, particularly in major transport projects, along with strong activity in new subdivisions and in mining construction,” Mr Graham said.

“When you combine all that with a highly competitive WA jobs market in general, and severely limited access to skilled workers from overseas and interstate due to COVID-related travel restrictions, the result is thousands of job opportunities.”

Mr Graham said civil contractors were actively working with their clients in government and in the private sector to ensure projects stayed on track where possible.

“We’ve had good discussions with the State Government on smoothing the transport project pipeline, which will take some of the pressure off the next year or two and free up more people and equipment for other work,” he said.

“Contractors and suppliers are also working with their private sector clients in land development, resources construction and other sectors to manage issues created by the buoyant civil construction market. Through a spirit of collaboration, we can minimise the effects of current labour shortages and escalating equipment and materials costs, and ensure businesses stay healthy and projects stay on track.”

Mr Graham said strong civil construction activity was good news for Western Australians, especially people looking for entry-level roles.

“The industry strongly supports the government’s ‘WA jobs’ focus. The Infrastructure Ready program, which will give hundreds of Western Australians a fresh start in civil construction, is a good example of how we’re working with government to create local jobs. Our message to Western Australians is, if you’re up for the challenge of working in civil construction, then we want to give you a chance.”

Mr Graham said recent additional government training incentives had been welcome and had led to strong take-up of civil construction traineeships, reinforcing the industry’s commitment to training.

“We expect the proposed introduction of civil construction apprenticeships, currently being considered by the Government, will create a clearer, stronger career pathway into our industry,” he said.

“But the reality is we’re short of skilled and experienced people, right now. Excavator, loader, and grader operators, for example, can take years to reach the level of skill and productivity required on complex infrastructure projects. Just like any other construction trade, it takes time. So we do need to look at increasing skilled migration to fill some of critical skills gaps in the short to medium term.”

For further media enquiries please contact Caroline Boyer, Ph: 0406 083 396, cboyer@ccfwa.com.au

CCF WA Western Australian Civil Construction Workforce Availability Survey

Summary of results

All civil construction/maintenance companies currently active in Western Australia were invited to

complete the CCF WA Western Australian Civil Construction Workforce Availability Survey during

June 2021. There were 49 respondents with a combined civil construction and maintenance industry

workforce of 4,274 workers, comprising 21 per cent of the total WA civil construction workforce of

20,358*.

Survey respondents reported a total of 964 unfilled job vacancies. Allowing a conservative 15% error

margin, this equates to at least 3,900 additional civil construction workers required state-wide to

meet current demand.

Other key survey findings:

88 per cent of businesses reported they had job vacancies (publicly advertised for two weeks
or more) that can’t be filled.
63 per cent of businesses surveyed said their ability to deliver existing contracts is
moderately to severely constrained, while 61 per cent said their ability to tender for more
work is being moderately to severely constrained.
The jobs identified as most in need are plant operators and concrete workers
(carpenter/joiners, concreters, and steel fixers).

CIVIL CONSTRUCTION JOBS	WORKERS NEEDED
Plant operators	1,334
Concrete workers	873
Other trade-level roles	518
Plant mechanics and fitters	424
Civil engineers, project managers, & other professionals	408
Site supervisors	188
Truck drivers	188

* Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics: Labour Force, Australia, Detailed – Employed persons by Industry group of main job (ANZSIC), Sex, State and Territory. The total construction industry workforce in WA (12-month average to May 2021) is 121,701. CCF WA calculates civil construction workforce from Land Development and Site Preparation Services (100% of total) and Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction (85% of total) workforce data.

CCF WA welcomes red tape-busting procurement framework

Alice Graham — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 04:00:00 GMT

Western Australia’s civil construction industry peak body welcomes the State Government’s new Western Australian Procurement Framework as a step towards simpler, smarter and more effective procurement of civil infrastructure works across Government.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said the Framework, supported by the new Procurement Act, could significantly streamline the way infrastructure projects are tendered and procured.

“This could be a game-changer that will reduce red tape, help create more long-term local jobs, and deliver greater value-for-money for taxpayers,” Mr Graham said.

“Let me be clear, though, that this is not about centralising procurement decisions – we know that doesn’t work, and we strongly support the proven principle that key decisions around project planning and design, contractor selection and project management are always best left to the agency responsible.

“What this is about, however, is getting government agencies on the same page where possible. For example, following agreed processes for advertising and evaluating tenders; using standard forms for safety and compliance; and using a standard construction contract with a consistent risk profile.”

Mr Graham said the Western Australain civil construction industry delivered large and small infrastructure projects for a wide variety of State Government agencies and corporations.

“They’re our industry’s biggest single client and we are of course grateful for the opportunities,” he said. “Right now though, all of these agencies and corporations do things very differently – their tendering processes and bid documentation vary widely and most have unique contracts and risk allocation, schedules, prequalification systems, and safety and environmental requirements.

“All of this translates to a massive waste of time and money for the contracting industry and for the Government, and a distraction from what we should all be focusing on – delivering high-quality infrastructure safely and efficiently.”

Mr Graham encouraged all Government agencies and corporations to embrace the new Framework and look at where they could start transitioning to the standardised templates and guides.

“Achieving standardised procurement practices right across Government will no doubt be a long and challenging journey, but the payoff will be worth it. Congratulations to the State Government for getting the ball rolling,” he said.

Corporate and individual achievement celebrated at Industry & Training Awards

Alice Graham — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 04:00:00 GMT

The Western Australian civil construction industry celebrated its eleventh annual Civil Contractors Federation Western Australia (CCF WA) Industry and Training Awards Gala Dinner last Friday, April 16, at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre with a record 68 nominations across 18 individual and corporate award categories.

The event was attended by more than 430 people from 50 civil construction and associated companies and government agencies, with the Minister for Education and Training, the Hon. Sue Ellery MLC as guest of honour presenting the training awards.

CCF WA Chief Executive Officer Andy Graham said it was an honour to have Minister Ellery in attendance and participating in the Training Award presentations.

“After the disappointment of having to cancel the awards night last year, it was a great thrill to see such a fantastic response this year, with 68 exceptional nominees. By taking the time to nominate and be part of this celebration of individual and corporate excellence in our industry, you have all helped ensure this night is a success.

Mr Graham said the event was made possible thanks to the support of major sponsor Dial Before You Dig and supporting sponsors Zenith Search, Iplex Pipelines, Lavan, Construction Training Fund, PSC Insurance Brokers, Major Motors ISUZU, CJD Equipment, Kais Hire, Development WA and the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia.

The winners of the eleventh CCF WA Industry & Training Awards are below, with a special feature on all of the high achieving nominees available online here:

Apprentice of the Year (sponsored by Construction Training Fund): Joshua Roche, DM Civil

Pictured: Construction Training Fund CEO Tiffany Allen, Joshua Roche (DM Civil), Minister for Education and Training Hon. Sue Ellery.

Aboriginal Civil Trainee of the Year (sponsored by Construction Training Fund): Blair Anderson, Fulton Hogan

Pictured: Tiffany Allen, Chris Hathaway (Fulton Hogan), Hon. Sue Ellery.

Certificate II Trainee of the Year (sponsored by Construction Training Fund): Cheyenne Cherry, Motivation Civil and Mining Academy

Pictured: Tiffany Allen, Cheyenne Cherry (Motivation Civil and Mining Academy), Hon. Sue Ellery.

Certificate III Trainees of the Year (sponsored by Construction Training Fund): Ericka Maxwell, Traffic Force and Andrew Joynt, Buckby Contracting

Pictured: Tiffany Allen, Ericka Maxwell (Traffic Force), Andrew Joynt (Buckby Contracting), Hon. Sue Ellery.

Certificate IV Trainee of the Year (sponsored by Construction Training Fund): Peter McGowan, BMD Constructions

Pictured: Tiffany Allen, Peter McGowan (BMD Constructions), Hon. Sue Ellery.

Training Coordinator of the Year (sponsored by Construction Training Fund): Dann Evans, WBHO Infrastructure

Pictured: Tiffany Allen, Dann Evans (WBHO Infrastructure), Hon. Sue Ellery.

Training Employer of the Year (sponsored by Construction Training Fund): Georgiou Group

Pictured: Tiffany Allen, Kristyn Roberts (Georgiou Group), Hon. Sue Ellery.

Safety Coordinator of the Year (sponsored by PSC Insurance Brokers): Brad Cole, RJV

Pictured: CCF WA President David Della Bona, Brad Cole (RJV), Rod Tonzing (PSC Insurance Brokers).

Safety Program of the Year (sponsored by PSC Insurance Brokers): Melchor

Pictured: Rod Tonzing, Dylan Ogilvie (Melchor), David Della Bona.

Workplace Health & Safety Award (sponsored by PSC Insurance Brokers): Buckby Contracting

Pictured: Rod Tonzing, Stephanie King (Buckby Contracting), David Della Bona.

Aboriginal Engagement Award (sponsored by Development WA): Central Earthmoving

Pictured: Development WA Chief Operations Officer Dean Mudford, Stephen Broad (Central Earthmoving), David Della Bona.

Environmental Achievement Award (sponsored by Public Transport Authority of Western Australia): Altona Group

Pictured: Paul Monaghan (Public Transport Authority of WA), Luke Calder (Altona Group), David Della Bona.

Admin Coordinator of the Year (sponsored by Dial Before You Dig): Karen Van der Walt, Georgiou Group

Pictured: Karen Van der Walt, Jason Stern, Kristyn Roberts (Georgiou Group).

Site Supervisor of the Year (sponsored by Dial Before You Dig): Richard Haddow, DM Civil

Pictured: David Della Bona, Richard Haddow (DM Civil), Justin Scotchbrook.

Engineer of the Year (sponsored by Major Motors ISUZU): Fionnan Beirne, BMD Constructions and Tessa McGrath, DM Civil

Pictured: David Della Bona, Fionnan Beirne (BMD Constructions), Tessa McGrath (DM Civil), Frank Johnston (Major Motors ISUZU).

Project Manager of the Year (sponsored by Major Motors ISUZU): Declan Tobin, Ertech

Pictured: David Della Bona, Declan Tobin (Ertech), Frank Johnston.

Plant Operator of the Year (sponsored by CJD Equipment): Vincent Dichiera, Enviro Infrastructure

Pictured: David Della Bona, Vincent Dichiera (Enviro Infrastructure) , Keith Shugar (CJD Equipment),

Women in Civil Award (sponsored by Kais Hire): Tanya Johnson, Red Dust Holdings

Pictured: David Della Bona, Tanya Johnson (Red Dust Holdings), Kylie Bronleigh (CCF WA).

CCF WA urges State Government to fast track important procurement reforms

Alice Graham — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 04:00:00 GMT

Western Australia’s civil construction industry peak body has congratulated the McGowan Government on being returned and called on it to prioritise procurement reforms that will reduce red tape, help create more long-term local jobs, and deliver greater value-for-money for taxpayers.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said the Government’s first term was notable for the introduction of important legislation that could provide a framework for comprehensive and much-needed reforms in procurement and security of payments.

“A hallmark of this Government has been its consultative approach, and we have appreciated the opportunity to contribute to the development of new legislation,” Mr Graham said.

“One important but possibly under-appreciated piece of legislation is the new Procurement Act, which has the potential to drive some revolutionary changes to the way infrastructure projects are delivered, right across Government.

“Full credit to this Government for setting the wheels in motion. Now it will require strong will and commitment at all levels to break down the procurement silos that have been built up over many decades.

“Most businesses that contribute to infrastructure projects in WA, whether as a head contractor, subcontractor or supplier, do so for multiple Government agencies and corporations. Every day, they must deal with a multiplicity of contracts, documentation and processes, from beginning to end of project procurement and delivery.

“All of this chews up time and resources and distracts them from their real job of delivering high-quality infrastructure safely and efficiently.

“Ultimately, this web of procurement red tape translates into much higher costs, both for the contractors and for Government itself, and increases the risks of mistakes being made.”

Mr Graham said the scope of the Act should be extended wherever possible to the major Government corporations that are major procurers of infrastructure works, including Development WA, Western Power, Water Corporation and the port authorities.

“If these corporations continue to operate as procurement silos, with unique contracts and processes, all developing their own versions of ‘best practice’, then these reforms will be half done,” he said.

“As the Government’s Procurement Reform website notes, ‘inconsistencies in procurement processes are challenging and frustrating for agencies and industry’. That frustration extends to dealing with the corporations too, and so we encourage them to get on board.”

Mr Graham said the other important procurement reform was the new Security of Payments legislation currently before Parliament.

“CCF WA welcomed the introduction of the Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Bill 2020 into Parliament last year,” he said.

“Security of payment is an ongoing issue in the construction industry and when enacted, this legislation will help ensure businesses get paid on time, avoiding company failures and saving jobs.

“Procurement reform will play a part in this too, as unnecessary complexity and duplication in Government procurement also contributes to business failures.”

Homebuilder extension will help soften the landing for subdivision sector, says CCF

Alice Graham — Mon, 30 Nov 2020 04:00:00 GMT

Western Australia’s civil construction industry peak body says an expected boost to subdivision construction activity from the extended Federal Government Home Builder incentive is easing fears of a ‘hard landing’ for Western Australian land development contractors and suppliers in early 2021.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said the HomeBuilder extension – providing a reduced $15,000 grant for contracts signed between 1 January and 31 March 2021 – would give land developers the confidence to commission more stages to meet demand.

“We’re already hearing that developers are looking to take advantage of the extended incentive – which when combined with the State Government First Home Owners Grant and stamp duty concessions, can mean a saving of close to $40,000 for first home buyers,” Mr Graham said.

“With both the State and Federal home building incentives previously requiring a contract signed by December 31 this year, there were concerns that the current high activity in subdivision construction would be followed by an abrupt downturn early next year.

“For the subdivision sector, which has been extraordinarily busy for the last six months, the Federal Government’s extended incentive will help ease the transition to more normal workflows.”

New Infrastructure Ready Program is delivering employment outcomes

Alice Graham — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 03:28:23 GMT

More contractors are sought for work placements

It was great to see Minister for Transport Hon Rita Saffioti MLA visiting North Metropolitan TAFE this morning to meet students taking part in the Infrastructure Ready training program - including some who have just completed their work placement (the final step of the program). Minister Saffioti and the Government are justly proud of this program and CCF WA has been pleased to be involved in its development from the outset, providing a vital industry perspective.

Program participants undertake a 3-week skill set (comprising 6 introductory-level units of competency, as recommended by CCF's Training Committee) followed by a 4-day work placement.

The feedback from contractors who have hosted work placements has been very positive. The robust screening process for Infrastructure Ready candidates, developed by industry in collaboration with Government, has proven effective, with candidates demonstrating they are 'work ready' and eager for an opportunity. Already we are hearing success stories, with some participants finding jobs directly with their work placement hosts.

I visited a number of our Contractor Members hosting work placements this week, including Enviro Infrastructure who are doing some works for PTA in East Perth. Pictured below are Enviro Infrastructure HSEQ Officer Joe Nash, Infrastructure Ready program participants Allan Holper and Paul Holmes, and Enviro Infrastructure Site Supervisor Cam Matthews.

Enviro Infrastructure's General Manager David Schlueter said: "We applaud the efforts of DTWD, OMTID and CCFWA in accelerating the prioritisation of upskilling initiatives such as Infrastructure Ready. Enviro are embracing the opportunity to redeploy workers from sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and retrain them in the challenging, diverse and highly rewarding WA civil industry.”

How you can help

The Government aims to put 250 people through the Infrastructure Ready program before Christmas, and potentially hundreds more next year, and has asked CCF to assist with finding companies to host work placements, whether this year or early next year. So if your company is willing to host a work placement, or interested in finding out what's involved, please contact the program facilitator at irp@dtwd.wa.gov.au. It's not expected that all hosts will be able to offer immediate employment to candidates, and we understand the Government is currently finalising an online portal where graduates can be 'matched' to potential employers.

Some background

CCF WA has engaged extensively with the Office of Major Transport Infrastructure Development (OMTID), the Department of Training and Workforce Development, and other Government stakeholders on the design of the Infrastructure Ready program. From the outset, OMTID has made it clear that it expects our industry to find jobs for hundreds of Infrastructure Ready graduates on its projects, and it will be setting contractual targets to ensure that happens.

OMTID has however also acknowledged that placing a high volume of entry-level workers on complex projects will affect productivity on those projects, and that contractors will need to be fairly recompensed for the reduced productivity of new workers, and the higher level of supervision they require. Those discussions are still ongoing.

While there will no doubt be issues to work through, the Infrastructure Ready program does offer an opportunity for our industry to work with government to help address skills shortages that are already hitting our sector and will get more severe in the coming months and years. Furthermore, this program, and the level of publicity it is getting thanks to Minister Saffioti and others, is also raising community awareness of civil construction and highlighting that our industry can offer fulfilling and rewarding trade-level and professional careers. Increasingly, civil construction is gaining broader recognition as an industry in its own right and not just an offshoot of the building or mining industries. I hope we can look back in a couple of years and recognise this program as a game-changer.

(And speaking of game-changers, our proposal to have Civil Construction traineeships re-classified as Apprenticeships is still being considered and we remain hopeful of an announcement soon. This would be another important step in raising the status of civil construction as a 'real' trade-level career.)

- Andy Graham, CCF WA CEO

CCF Online Masterclass

Alice Graham — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 03:31:50 GMT

CCF Online Masterclass: Advocacy in Action

Join us for this critical online event and receive insight to CCF’s latest advocacy work and achievements in representing the interests of our Members to Government, addressing key issues most pertinent to our industry within the COVID-19 environment.

Hosted by John Kilgour, CEO CCF Victoria, this webinar welcomes Special Guest Presenter Chris Melham, CEO of Civil Contractors Federation National, who will provide an overview of the activities and achievements of the Civil Contractors Federation National at a federal level over the past 12 months. Chris will focus on CCF National’s advocacy efforts to respond to the economic impacts of COVID-19, and to highlight the industry’s priorities in the lead-up to the 2020-2021 Budget.

Chris will also discuss:

The role CCF National plays to work on behalf of members to lobby for additional infrastructure investments from the Federal Government and to increase funding for skills.
The direct engagement CCF National had with senior ministers during the year, including the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Michael McCormack. Surveys undertaken during 2020 to demonstrate our sector’s strong capacity to take on more infrastructure projects and employ more workers to stimulate the Australian economy.
The formal submissions CCF National has provided to the Federal Government on a range of matters consistent with CCF National’s policy pillars, including infrastructure investment, skills, industrial relations, procurement and foreign investment.
CCF’s engagement with a range of government and non-government bodies to advocate for policies that support the civil construction sector.

Chris will also speak about CCF National’s future activities, including the development of an Infrastructure Report that will underpin ongoing engagement with governments at both the federal and state levels.

This is your opportunity to hear from and directly engage with the CEO of CCF National.

Special Guest Presenter:

CHRIS MELHAM - CCF NATIONAL, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Chris Melham has accumulated over 30 years experience as an industry advocate within the not-for-profit industry association sector. He has represented a number of industries at state, federal and international levels and currently represents Australia’s civil construction industry as Chief Executive Officer of Civil Contractors Federation National (CCF).

In his capacity as the CCF National CEO, Chris also sits on a number of high-level Federal Government Advisory Committees representing the interests of CCF including:

Australian Government Security of Payments Working Group
Australian Taxation Office Fuel Schemes Advisory Group
National Heavy Vehicle Regulator Industry Reference Forum
Standards Australia Council
Australian Construction Industry Redundancy Trust Fund

EVENT DETAILS:

Date: Thursday, 26 November 2020

Time: 6:00 am AWST (9:00 am AEST)

Venue: Online Webinar

Cost: CCF MEMBERS: FREE

NON-MEMBERS: $99 (inc. GST) per attendee

RSVP: Tuesday, 24th November 2020

TO REGISTER

Email your full name and email address (for each attendee), company name to events@ccfwa.com.au

Construction excellence celebrated at CCF WA Earth Awards

Alice Graham — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 03:34:34 GMT

The Western Australian civil construction industry gathered on Friday night for the industry’s ‘night of nights’, the Civil Contractors Federation WA’s 2020 Earth Awards Gala Dinner, an annual celebration of excellence in infrastructure project delivery.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said that after considerable uncertainty earlier in the year about whether the event could go ahead, it was a great pleasure to welcome nearly 400 people to the Gala Dinner.

“The Earth Awards have been a highlight on our industry’s calendar since 1993 and we’re happy that we didn’t have to break that run this year,” Mr Graham said.

“We were honoured that Transport and Planning Minister, the Hon Rita Saffioti MLA, joined us on the night.

“And it was especially appropriate as Minister Saffioti was closely involved in planning, procurement and delivery of two category winners – the Great Northern Highway Upgrade - Maggie Creek to Wyndham and the Subiaco Oval Demolition and Renewal – and two other category winners were State Government projects.”

The Earth Award for Excellence in Civil Construction – Project Value $30 million - $75 million went to WBHO Infrastructure and Main Roads WA for the Great Northern Highway Upgrade - Maggie Creek to Wyndham. The project involved the investigation, design and construction of 27 km of highway, including widening, reconstruction, and overlay; replacement and extension of culverts; construction of floodways and off-road drainage; reconstruction and realignment of the steep section known as Maggie’s Jump-Up; and construction of a passing lane at Maggie’s Jump-Up. The design and construction of the project required exceptional engineering and construction expertise. Both Main Roads and WBHO-I recognised that upon completion, regardless of its performance against traditional KPIs such as quality, safety, and schedule, this project would ultimately be measured against the success of its Aboriginal engagement outcomes.

The Earth Award for projects valued between $10 million - $30 million went to RJV Civil Infrastructure for the Subiaco Oval Demolition and Renewal project for Development WA. The demolition of Subiaco Oval was the largest such project ever undertaken in an urban setting in the State’s history. It was also one of the most high-risk, requiring significant asbestos removal, innovation solutions for a technically challenging location near residential areas, and sensitive treatment of a range of important heritage elements. The close constraints of nearby housing and busy thoroughfares required an innovative demolition approach. The solution was to demolish the stadium infrastructure from the inside out. All up, about 97% of salvaged materials were recycled.

The $5 million - $10 million Earth Award was won by Rob Carr for the Quindalup Infill Sewerage Project, part of Water Corporation’s Infill Sewerage Program. Rob Carr’s project team worked closely with Water Corporation and the lead designers to provide advice on design solutions and constructability, which enhanced project outcomes through reduced community impacts and client cost savings. Significant time and resources were invested in minimising impacts of the works on the environment and the conservation of significant or endangered fauna that inhabited the area. The success of Rob Carr’s efforts was reflected in the overwhelmingly positive feedback from residents to Water Corporation regarding the courtesy of the workers and quality of restoration.

The $2 million - $5 million category winner was MMM (WA) for the Hill60 Bank Remediation. Urgent major remediation and stabilisation works were required to the Swan River escarpment behind the Hill60 Apartment Buildings in Rivervale. A section of dual-purpose path next to the apartments had been heavily undermined. MMM had to ensure that the works had minimal impact to the Swan River and its spiritual and environmental values. Due to the extremely limited laydown area – just 120 square metres – MMM had to ensure materials hauled into the stockpile were relocated and placed immediately along the embankment. Scheduling of deliveries was imperative and played a crucial role in the success of the project.

The Earth Award for projects valued up to $2 million was won by Ellett Contracting - Cranbrook Grain Receival Site Expansion Project Subcontract Works. This project was a major expansion to an existing CBH grain receival site in Cranbrook, 320km south of Perth. The project was run over a tight time frame as it needed to be completed outside of harvest season to prevent delays to CBH’s operations. Delivering the project over the winter months created many challenges, including planning and preparing concrete pours around rain. The most technically complex aspect of the project was counteracting the high water table and associated drainage issues. This affected the earthworks and the installation of the elevator pits.

On the recommendation of the judges, a special Highly Commended award was presented to Altona Plumbing and Civil - HMAS Stirling Redevelopment Stage 3A – HY1. Altona’s scope of works comprised a major upgrade of the water, fire, and wastewater infrastructure on Garden Island, delivered in 16 stages and involving the installation of more than 65km of HDPE pipe, two complete fire systems, and the replacement and/or refurbishment of 14 wastewater pumping stations. The success of the project was pivotal upon delicate planning, effective risk aversion strategies, precise execution, and the careful management of stakeholders, in order to overcome a series of unique and intricate construction constraints and latent conditions.

Pictured: Michael Brunton (centre) from RJV accepts the Earth Award for Excellence in Civil Construction – Project Value $10 - 30 Million from CCF WA President David Della Bona (left) and Hon Rita Saffioti MLA (right). For more photos of the night and high-res images email ccfwa@ccfwa.com.au.

CCF WA Webinars

Alice Graham — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 03:38:48 GMT

Successful Recycling of C&D Materials

With David Beyer, Principal of ActiveSustainability.

Your business could be saving money, and helping to ensure a sustainable future, by using quality recycled Construction & Demolition (C&D) materials.

With over 1.5 million tonnes of C&D materials processed annually in WA, there is a large supply of recycled construction materials available.

This timely and informative webinar is presented by David Beyer, co-author of the recently released WA Construction Resources - Recovered Construction and Demolition Materials Resource Guide.

The Guide features information on what, where and how much construction waste is available for reuse in WA projects.

Mr Beyer will summarise the key points from the Guide. You’ll learn where to source recycled C&D materials, and how to put them to best use.

WHEN:

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15th 2020

11:00am - 12:00pm

REGISTER:

(Registrations now closed)

Cbus commits over $950 million and allocates a further $850 million to support Australia’s economic recovery

Alice Graham — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 07:30:00 GMT

Cbus Super, Australia’s leading Industry Super Fund for the building and construction industry, has a proud history of investing back into the industry and creating jobs for its members through Cbus Property^#.

Now, more than ever, Cbus’ commitment to investing in Australian projects and developments will be vital as Australia continues on its road to economic recovery.

Since March 2020, Cbus has committed over $950 million to Australian businesses through equity raising, debt finance and project financing. An extra allocation to the Cbus debt portfolio means Cbus now has a further $850 million in additional capital to invest in companies and project finance.

The fund has committed over $240 million in general corporate debt to Australian businesses and a further commitment of $260 million into debt funding for construction projects across Sydney and Melbourne including:

funding of $160 million for the development of over 390 new apartments and associated retail and commercial facilities over two locations in South Melbourne and the inner North East of Melbourne;
$100 million in a NSW based construction facility for a residential project close to the Sydney CBD.

In addition, Cbus has also injected over $450 million into quality Australian companies that were raising capital to continue operating and employing into the recovery.

More projects and investments ahead

Over the next 12 months, Cbus will continue to actively look for opportunities that create strong returns and jobs for its members, playing an important role in Australia’s economic recovery and supporting our members’ financial wellbeing during their working lives and into retirement.

Learn more about Cbus’ role in the road to recovery here.

This update was brought to you by Cbus, the industry super fund for building, construction and allied industries.

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Infrastructure Budget Welcome but Delivery of Projects Critical to Stimulus Success

Alice Graham — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 03:40:36 GMT

Australia’s peak voice for the civil infrastructure sector, the Civil Contractors Federation, has welcomed the Federal Government’s infrastructure investment package announced in the 2020-2021 Federal Budget and has called on governments to work with industry to roll out the funds in a fast and effective manner.

“CCF welcomes the $7.5 billion worth of new infrastructure investment, taking the total Federal Government commitment to $14 billion since the outbreak of COVID-19. This is in addition to the existing $100 billion rolling 10-year infrastructure investment pipeline,” CCF National Chief Executive Officer Chris Melham said.

“I would like to thank the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Michael McCormack MP and the Minister for Population Cities and Urban Infrastructure, the Hon Alan Tudge MP, for their constructive dialogue with CCF over many months leading up to the Budget and acknowledge their recognition of the important role the civil infrastructure sector can play in contributing to Australia’s economic recovery as evidenced in tonight’s budget.

“This investment reflects the significant productive capacity of the civil infrastructure sector, and its readiness to generate additional jobs as outlined in the CCF’s 2020-2021 Federal Government pre-budget submission. CCF has long argued for significant and sustained civil infrastructure investment to support Australia’s economic recovery efforts and the budget announcements reflect CCF’s policy."

Mr Melham also welcomed the Federal Governments ‘use it or lose it’ message to the States and Territories but he said it needs to go further by requiring ‘shovel ready’ infrastructure funds to be spent in a transparent manner across urban, regional, rural, and remote Australia – and not to be used for ‘pork barreling’ in the lead up to respective State elections.

“In addition, Federal, State and Territory government procurement policy must be more balanced by encouraging and maximizing greater participation of Tier 2 and Tier 3 head contractors, and I look forward to the Federal Government adopting this policy and its application to the release of infrastructure funds to State and Territory procurement agencies,” he said.

“While the Government has made it quite clear that it is targeting ‘shovel-ready’ projects across all States and Territories, creating opportunities for parties to work more collaboratively is the key to contracts being awarded earlier and to identify and manage risks."

Civil Contractors Federation National - 2020-2021 Budget Brief

Economic Highlights

Budget deficit is $213.7 billion in 2020-2021
Economy forecast to fall by 3.75 per cent in 2020
Unemployment is forecast to peak at 8 per cent in the December 2020 quarter
Establishment of a new JobMaker hiring credit - payable for up to twelve months and immediately available to employers who hire those on JobSeeker aged 16-35
Expanded asset write off incentives and new loss carry back measures

2. Infrastructure Investment

The Federal Government has announced:

an additional $7.5 billion for road and rail infrastructure projects in the 2020-2021 Budget (see Attachment A for a break down of new and additional funding commitments). The $7.5 billion investment includes new projects in each jurisdiction as well as additional funds for existing projects, and in most cases, requires matching funds from the respective State or Territory Government.
an additional $2 billion investment in road safety measures as part of a new Road Safety Program.
an additional $1 billion under the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program in addition to $500 million announced in June 2020.
$2 billion in new funding to build water infrastructure including dams, weirs and pipelines.
The Commonwealth’s investment in infrastructure since the outbreak of COVID 19 is approximately $14 billion.

3. Apprentices/trainees

The Federal Government has announced a $1.2 billion package in the 2020-2021 Budget to support the hiring of apprentices. The package is in addition to the previously announced $2.8 billion Supporting Apprentices and Trainees wage subsidy to help employers to retain their apprentices and trainees. Under the package employers will be eligible for 50 per cent of the wages for a new or recommencing apprentice or trainee for the period up to 30 September 2021, up to $7,000 per quarter. The subsidy will be available to employers of any size or industry, Australia-wide who engage an Australian apprentice or trainee from 5 October 2020 until the 100,000 cap is reached.

CCF WA welcomes Infrastructure Ready program

Alice Graham — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 02:00:00 GMT

Western Australia’s civil construction industry peak body welcomes today’s launch of the State Government’s Infrastructure Ready training program, which will offer a pathway into a civil construction career for hundreds of Western Australians.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said the four-week program would provide the first step to an exciting and rewarding career in civil construction. “There’s a very strong pipeline of road and rail infrastructure projects to be delivered over the next few years in WA,” Mr Graham said. “It’s an exciting challenge for our industry, and it’s also a great opportunity for Western Australians who might not have previously considered a career in civil construction.

“Everyone is aware of the traditional trade-level jobs in housing and high-rise construction, but there are lots of ‘tradies’ in civil construction too, with a wide variety of interesting and well-paid trade-level roles in areas such as plant operations, pipelaying, road and bridge construction, tunnelling, and utilities installation.”

Mr Graham said the industry and the TAFEs had worked together to devise a program that quickly and effectively delivers ‘basic training’ in civil construction, providing the foundation skills for working safely on infrastructure projects. The program will include a work placement that will provide hands-on experience on a major project.

“The work placement will also be the first step to helping participants connect with potential employers,” Mr Graham said. “After all, that’s what this initiative is all about – finding jobs for Western Australians in the thriving civil construction sector.”

Mr Graham said the State Government, through the Office of Major Transport Infrastructure Delivery (OMTID), would encourage head contractors and subcontractors on its projects to provide employment to successful graduates from the program. “OMTID is to be congratulated for its proactive approach in both driving the creation of this program, and incentivising the employment of people in entry-level roles on its projects,” he said. “These new workers will be the future ‘top guns’ our industry needs to ensure a sustainable, home-grown workforce for years to come.”

CCF WA welcomes Security of Payment Bill

Alice Graham — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 05:00:00 GMT

Western Australia’s civil construction industry peak body congratulates the State Government on implementing key recommendations in the Fiocco report through the introduction of the Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Bill 2020 into State Parliament.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said the industry welcomed the removal of the exemption for some types of resources sector construction work. “This will remove a grey area in the current legislation which has caused confusion,” Mr Graham said. “As a matter of principle, we believe there’s no justification for excluding any particular type of construction work from legislation that simply helps ensure contractors get paid for the work they have done."

Mr Graham said the revision to payment times, with a maximum 20 business days payment for head contractors and 25 business days for subcontractors, achieved a fair and realistic balance, while the complementary introduction of a payment schedule regime was a welcome step forward to ensuring greater certainty and security of payment.

“The payment schedule process is well understood by our industry and regarded as fair to all parties,” he said.

Mr Graham said the introduction of trusts for retentions was a reasonable reform that would protect retentions in event of company failure. “It makes sense for retentions to be held in trust as they are a portion of the payment that the contractor has already earned at the time of their retention,” he said. “Education will be key to the successful implementation of retention trusts and we look forward to working with Government on ensuring industry is well prepared."

The new legislation reduces the time available to make an application for adjudication, and also restricts the grounds for adjudication to matters included in the payment schedule. “These are both sensible reforms which will give claimants greater and earlier certainty, and will also encourage a shift back to a faster, cheaper and less complicated adjudication process,” Mr Graham said.

Revised Building Bonus deadline for housing lot construction will avoid boom/bust, says CCF WA

Alice Graham — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 08:07:57 GMT

The peak body for the Western Australian civil construction industry has asked for a small revision to the Government home building incentive eligibility criteria to avoid a ‘boom and bust’ in subdivision construction.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said the combined $45,000 State Government Building Bonus and Federal Government Home Builder incentives had created a welcome boost for civil contractors in the subdivision construction sector but had also brought fears that a short burst of heightened activity would be followed by a prolonged downturn.

He said the current guidelines required that new home buyers must be the registered owner of their block of land before December 31 to qualify for the incentive payments.

“This means the construction window available for new stages of subdivisions to be built, completed and handed over is effectively from now to mid-November,” Mr Graham said.

“Civil contractors who build subdivisions, and their suppliers, are facing a hectic few months ahead, with land developers hoping to bring thousands of extra lots onto the market to meet the surge in demand created by the incentives.

“While being busy is certainly not the worst of problems, there are growing concerns that this short boom will be followed by a longer bust, which will put jobs at risk.”

Mr Graham said around 6500 Western Australians were directly employed in land development and site preparation services, along with thousands of others in businesses providing goods and services to the sector.

“To protect these livelihoods, we’re asking for the guidelines to be revised to allow subdivision development activity to be spread over a more reasonable timeframe,” he said.

CCF WA has asked for the scheme conditions to be modified so that home buyers taking advantage of the incentive would still have to sign up by December 31, but could be registered as owners of the land any time before June 30.

“Rather than the current requirement for home construction to have started by June 30, the rules could be changed so that construction of the lot has to be completed by that date,” Mr Graham said. “This wouldn’t compromise the scheme’s core aim of rapidly boosting residential construction but would help avoid a potentially damaging ‘bubble’ in subdivision construction.

“We’ll still see plenty of home builds getting underway in the meantime on existing blocks of land and new blocks as they come to market, but those extra few months will make all the difference for the subdivision construction sector.”

New Buy Local Policy aims to give regional businesses more opportunities

Alice Graham — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 09:00:00 GMT

The State Government’s new Buy Local Policy, released today, is designed to change behaviours within Government and ensure procurement agencies achieve both the letter and intent of the policy.

The current Buy Local Policy got a poor review in 2017 from the State Auditor General, who wrote: “The full effect of the Policy is not achieved because agencies do not always consider the intent when applying specific aspects of it.” The State Government says that’s going to change. Launching the policy, Premier Mark McGowan said: “This is all about ensuring that local businesses are given every opportunity to carry out work for the State Government in their local area.”

The cornerstone of the Buy Local Policy is the Regional Price Preferences, which have stayed the same for construction contracts. The regional business preference, which is 5% of the tendered price up to a maximum of $250,000; and the regional content preference, also 5% of the tendered price up to a maximum of $250,000.

While those preference percentages and limits haven’t changed, agencies will now have the power to increase the maximum preference to $1 million “as a means of addressing social and economic government priorities”.

Generally, though the changes to the policy are more about giving it greater teeth and making it more likely to achieve effective outcomes.

The policy encourages agencies to consider regional businesses when forming procurement panels and says regional panel members based within the prescribed distance of the contract’s point of delivery must be invited to quote.

The policy also extends to managing contractors and others that procure on behalf of government, who will be “required to apply all appropriate requirements of the policy when seeking quotations or calling public tenders on behalf of the government agency”.

The State Government says it will offer training for regional contractors in understanding the policy and how to apply for contracts and will also provide then with 'look-ahead' lists of forthcoming tenders to allow local contractors more time to bid.

Agencies will sign up to new Implementation Agreements to underline their commitment. There will be increased reporting requirements to ensure the policy is being adhered to.

The new Buy Local Policy will be phased in over the next six months. During that time, The Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation is inviting industry feedback.

Click here to download the new policy

Show your support for Civil Construction Apprenticeships in WA

Alice Graham — Fri, 26 Jun 2020 05:00:00 GMT

CCF WA's Civil Construction Industry Training Committee has put a proposal to the State Government that Certificate III Civil Construction traineeships be re-classified as Apprenticeships in Western Australia.

The committee believes the introduction of Civil Construction Apprenticeships is essential to improve community perceptions of careers in civil. For many young people – and their teachers and parents – civil construction is seen as an inferior option to a building or mechanical trade.

We know that’s not the case – civil is a challenging and rewarding field with a variety of interesting career pathways. But how do we change those perceptions and ensure our industry attracts its share of the best and brightest tradespeople? The best way to start – as other states have already done – is to give Civil Construction qualifications (Plant Operator, Pipelayer, Road Constructor, Trenchless Technician etc) their due recognition as Trades, by re-classifying the Certificate III qualifications as Apprenticeships.

Some of the key benefits are:

Young Apprentices can be paid a junior wage under the Modern Award (currently, young trainees must be paid a full adult wage, making them a less attractive option for employers).
The nominal duration of the qualifications will increase from 24 months to 36 months. This will assist contractors to achieve ‘in training’ targets set by clients. Note competency-based progression will still be available, allowing an employer to fast-track progression for early sign-off where qualifications are required in a shorted timeframe. Feedback from RTOs is that the increased duration will allow more flexibility in delivering site-based training, allowing them to deliver higher-quality training.
Potentially, better funding support from Governments, which tend to regard Apprenticeships more highly – as we saw a couple of years ago when the State Government cut payroll tax for traineeships and described it as ‘closing a loophole’.
The qualifications would only be available through an Apprenticeship pathway, i.e. under a training contract with an employer. This will reinforce the status of Civil Construction skills as ‘proper’ trades.

For this proposal to be approved, we need to demonstrate to the State regulator that there is broad support from industry. That’s where our members and other industry stakeholders can help by providing a letter of support on your company letterhead.

The key point for the letter to make is that your company supports the re-classification of the Certificate III Civil Construction qualifications (Cert III Civil Construction, Cert III Civil Plant Operations and Cert III Trenchless Technology) to Class A Apprenticeships. You can also outline the key reasons you support this proposal. Click below for a document with some more background information to help. Contact ccfwa@ccfwa.com.au for more info.

Civil Apprenticeships - background info for letters of support.pdf

Federal HomeBuilder package a welcome boost for subdivision activity

Alice Graham — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 06:30:00 GMT

Western Australia’s civil construction industry peak body says new Federal and State Government stimulus payments will help support thousands of construction jobs in the subdivision development sector.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said the Federal $25,000 incentive and the State $20,000 incentive were already encouraging more project home buyers back into the market.

“This boost is very timely for the WA industry,” Mr Graham said. “Recently we saw the official forecast for dwelling commencements in WA this financial year revised down from 15,500 to 12,500."

“That was disturbing news for civil contractors and suppliers who rely on residential subdivision activity and may have been facing an uncertain future as current projects came to an end."

“By stimulating residential construction activity, the incentive payments will help ensure a stronger pipeline of work for subdivision contractors and suppliers, and in turn help those businesses to continue to employ Western Australians.”

DWER provides clarity on clean fill/uncontaminated fill

Alice Graham — Wed, 03 Jun 2020 02:00:00 GMT

CCF WA’s campaign for more certainty for the civil construction and associated extractive industries in the wake of the Eclipse decision has led to a constructive response from the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER). As we wrote in the recent CCF WA Bulletin Q1 2020, regulatory amendments since Eclipse had effectively addressed concerns that sand transferred from one site to another for land development could attract the waste levy (landfill levy). However, significant uncertainty remained where sand and other basic raw materials were offered for sale, and had led to the perverse outcome where long-term suppliers of high-quality construction materials were now being required to undertake regular and expensive testing to prove their product wasn't contaminated.

In response to CCF WA’s concerns, DWER has provided additional information supplementing the information provided in its factsheets: Assessing whether material is waste and Amendments to the Environmental Protection Regulations 1987 – clean fill and uncontaminated fill.

DWER has advised:

The 2018 landfill category amendments are only relevant to material that is defined as waste under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (EP Act) and Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007.

The amendments do not apply to material that is not waste, such as basic raw materials extracted from quarries (as part of extractive industries’ operations) and sold as products.
The amendments also do not apply to waste that is processed by recyclers and sold as a product.
Waste is defined in the EP Act. The Factsheet: Assessing whether material is waste sets out the matters that are relevant to determining whether material is waste within the meaning of the EP Act definition.
A key consideration in determining whether material is waste is whether it is wanted by the source/ producer of the material: If the material is sold by a producer to a third party for a fair value, this generally indicates that the material is a valuable commodity wanted by the producer for sale, and hence not ‘waste’. For example, material from bulk earthworks that is wanted by the producer for sale, and which is purchased by a third party at market value is not waste.
If the material is determined to not be waste, the uncontaminated fill thresholds and testing regime are not relevant, however it is still recommended that the end user ensures the material is fit-for-purpose including whether its use could cause pollution, constitute an unreasonable emission under the EP Act, or create a contaminated site within the meaning of the Contaminated Sites Act 2003.

Testing is not required for waste that meets the definition of ‘clean fill’.

Users should be able to demonstrate that the waste has been excavated or removed from the earth in areas that have not been subject to potentially contaminating land uses including industrial, commercial, mining or intensive agricultural activities.

In classifying waste material as ‘uncontaminated fill’, it is not necessary to test for every substance listed in Table 6 in the Waste Definitions.

The testing and sampling regime (Table 7) in the Waste Definitions allows for testing of substances based on the land use history of the site of origin for uncontaminated fill. This ensures that only likely contaminants are tested for, reducing the cost and complexity of the testing regime.
The sampling and testing requirements are based on minimum data requirements to determine a 95 per cent upper confidence limit (of the average) and the requirement to characterise each domain or stockpile separately. This ensures that only testing of relevant substances is undertaken, and that the results are practical in their application.
A user should be able to demonstrate that reasonable effort has been applied in determining that material is uncontaminated fill. It is recommended that records are maintained that demonstrate how information relating to the originating site’s historic activities was sought and considered in determining the list of substances to be tested for, together with the analytical results and any statistical assessment and data interpretation that has been undertaken.

State Govt principles for administration of works contracts during COVID-19

Alice Graham — Tue, 02 Jun 2020 08:30:00 GMT

CCF WA has been advised that in response to industry concerns, the State Government has implemented a set of guiding principles for all works agencies to assist in the collaborative and pragmatic approach to the administration of works contracts during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Important aspects of these guidelines include:

The potential impacts of COVID-19 will vary based on the type, nature and status of a project, as well as its location, workforce composition and supply chain arrangements.
Mitigating the impact of COVID-19 is a shared responsibility between government and industry. Early advice from contractors about potential issues is critical to managing project risks.
Contractors demonstrating genuine efforts to continue project delivery, after having taken steps to otherwise mitigate any potential impact, will be supported to put alternative arrangements in place, where appropriate.
Where existing contract terms do not give rise to any such entitlement, Agencies will consider claims from contractors for extensions of time and cost relief, where such claims:
- are directly attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic and have significant time and costs consequences; and
- cannot be offset by contractors, having regard to other potential or actual time and/or cost efficiencies on a project.
Additionally, Agencies will be open to considering reasonable requests from contractors directly impacted by COVID-19, particularly with respect to:
- more frequent payment claims and I or alternative payment terms; and
- substitute products and materials, arising from supply chain issues.

New era for professional development in Western Australian civil infrastructure industry

Alice Graham — Tue, 02 Jun 2020 03:00:00 GMT

Western Australia’s peak civil construction industry body has partnered with The Institute of Civil Infrastructure to launch the industry’s own continual professional development program for civil managers. In what is an historic, game-changing moment for the WA civil infrastructure industry, employers and individuals from leading hands to CEOs will now be able to access, anywhere in the State, civil industry specific learning, standards and recognition.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said the civil industry had a strong focus on improving the skills of its people. “The industry has recognised the need for ongoing professional development of our managers, including establishing recognised standards,” Mr Graham said.

“Such initiatives are most successful and valuable when driven from the ground up by the industry itself, and that is precisely what has happened here.

“We are delighted to be working with The Institute to launch in Western Australia an initiative which will support individuals, employers and the industry’s customers, such as the State Government.

“We are supporting the current generation of civil infrastructure managers and leaders, and constructing the next.”

The Institute of Civil Infrastructure was created as a not-for-profit organisation by the civil construction industry to provide industry-based standards, recognition and continuing professional learning for supervisors, manager and leaders.

“The Institute launched in New South Wales last year and has already proven itself with over 1000 continual professional development registrations,” Mr Graham said.

“Through this partnership with CCF WA, The Institute will now be offering their service across the entire State.

“As long as there is an internet connection, no one misses out due to location.”

The Institute delivers more than 70 courses that are selected by civil contractors to match industry’s needs. Courses focus on three categories: Technical Management, People Management and Business & Operations Management.

The Institute of Civil Infrastructure CEO David Castledine said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Civil Contractors Federation Western Australia for, through that partnership, all West Australians in the civil industry can now gain access to industry set standards and recognition that is uniform across Australia.

“The Institute offers a civil industry specific solution for individuals to control their futures, and employers to manage their risks and needs."

“The Institute is now open for all West Australians. Bookings can be made today.”

Visit iciaustralia.com for more information

Local Government Infrastructure Stimulus Welcome but ‘falls short’

Alice Graham — Fri, 22 May 2020 08:21:22 GMT

Australia’s peak voice for the civil infrastructure sector, Civil Contractors Federation National, today acknowledged the announcement by the Federal Government of a $1.8 billion local government infrastructure stimulus, but said further investment is required to stimulate Australia’s economic recovery effort.

The new $500 million Local Road and Community Infrastructure Program is a welcomed initiative but CCF National urges more money to be injected into this and other civil infrastructure programs across urban, rural and regional Australia.

CCF National has been advocating for the Federal Government to utilize the capacity of the civil infrastructure sector in Australia’s economic recovery efforts at a time when it has the capacity to undertake more projects and employ more workers,” said Chris Melham, CCF National Chief Executive Officer.

“Indeed, CCF National recently undertook a survey of its members which provided strong evidence that the sector has the capacity to take on more civil infrastructure projects and employ thousands more workers to stimulate the Australian economy.

“CCF National has been a vocal supporter for investment in civil infrastructure to manage the economic impact of COVID 19 and recently wrote to the Federal Government’s National COVID 19 Coordination Commission and the Expenditure Review Committee (ERC) confirming the sector’s ability to lead our recovery efforts.

In its submission to the ERC, CCF National’s recommendations were:

Bringing forward monies from the $100 billion Infrastructure Program to fund shovel ready civil infrastructure projects, such as road, rail, bridge, utilities, drainage and telecommunications projects.
A stronger focus on increasing the longer-term civil construction investment pipeline by using debt funding for productive infrastructure projects to stimulate the economy both during and after this economic crisis whilst interest rates are at historically low levels.
The redirection of a portion of any surplus funds from the ‘social infrastructure’ programs toward the medium and longer-term civil infrastructure project pipeline to provide the private sector with much needed investment confidence.
Where appropriate, larger infrastructure projects to be disaggregated and spread across as many tier 2 and tier 3 companies across all states and territories.

“On behalf of the civil infrastructure sector that contributes $135 billion to the Australian economy (8.1% of Australia’s GDP), employs 1.1 million Australians and comprises 345,000 businesses, CCF National continues to encourage the Government to better utilize the sector’s capacity in leading our economic recovery efforts,” Mr Melham concluded.

For further information: Mr Duncan Sheppard, CCF National Executive Officer, 0438 330 039

Industry and Police sign a PACT to beat construction site theft

Alice Graham — Thu, 21 May 2020 05:00:00 GMT

Construction industry groups have joined forces with the WA Police Force to launch the Partnership Against Crime Taskforce (PACT) with the aim of curbing theft on Western Australian construction sites.

The signatories to the PACT Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) are the WA Police Force, security specialists Braven Group Services, Master Builders WA (MBAWA), the Urban Development Institute of Australia WA (UDIA WA), and the Civil Contractors Federation WA (CCF WA).

Central to the PACT program is an online crime reporting platform, where building and construction contractors can quickly and conveniently report crime that may previously have gone unreported. There is also a 24/7 phone number for members of the community to report crime and suspicious activity.

Braven will work with WA Police, ensuring all incidents are recorded, and sharing information that will assist in investigating the crime and improve the likelihood of the offenders being caught.

WA Police Community Engagement Division Executive Manager Bernie Durkin said building site crime created a huge unnecessary cost to industry and the consumer. "There is a cost to repair damaged property, replace stolen items and a cost to conduct investigations," Mr Durkin said. "WA Police fully support this partnership to assist with building site crime reduction.”

Master Builders Executive Director John Gelavis said: “Building site theft and vandalism has been a major issue in the Building and Construction industry over many years. The significant financial costs to builders and consumers along with the emotional stress to delayed completion times impacts both the community and industry alike.

“The PACT program would allow incidences of site theft and vandalism to be reported and investigated more effectively, reducing crime while saving police resources."

UDIA WA CEO Tanya Steinbeck said: “From a developer’s perspective, this is such an important initiative given the obvious financial implications of theft and vandalism, however community safety is also critical, and at the end of the day we want to foster strong, cohesive and safe neighbourhoods.

“This pact not only addresses the significant cost impact of theft and vandalism, it adds a level of comfort for residents knowing that their street or neighbourhood is being closely monitored and any crime will be reported swiftly."

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said CCF WA was proud to be part of this important initiative.

“While theft from building sites is probably more visible to the community, civil contractors are also constantly under attack from opportunistic thieves,” Mr Graham said. “On civil sites the main targets for theft include fuel, plant and machinery, copper pipe and electrical cable. Often, the damage done by thieves will be worse than the theft itself – for example, they will cause thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to steal a few hundred dollars’ worth of diesel, or they will rip out newly installed underground cable, requiring costly and time-consuming rework in addition to the value of the cable.”

Braven Group Services Director Craig Pages-Oliver said partnerships such as PACT had enormous potential to reduce crime and provide a significant saving of police resources.

“PACT will provide a conduit for businesses and the community to report crime with minimal effort,” Mr Pages-Oliver said. “This will mean more crimes are reported and we can build up a more accurate picture of the extent of construction industry crime.

“We’ll be able to ‘map’ the incident reports to identify high-crime areas, and demonstrate where more policing resources are needed.

“And by doing some of the preliminary investigative work, we will assist WA Police to identify and apprehend offenders.”

Housing stimulus needed to save the subdivision sector, says CCF WA

Alice Graham — Fri, 15 May 2020 04:33:15 GMT

Western Australia’s civil construction industry has supported calls for direct Government stimulus to boost activity and save jobs in the residential subdivision construction sector.

The Civil Contractors Federation WA’s request came in response to a report released by the Housing Industry Forecasting Group (HIFG) today revising its forecast for dwelling commencements in WA this financial year down from 15,500 to 12,500. The HIFG report noted that COVID-19 “is likely to make an already bad situation worse”.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said the revised forecast could yet prove to be optimistic, with the full effects of COVID-19 still to be measured.

“What we do know is that new home construction activity in Western Australia, which was already at 20-year lows, is now going to fall at least another 20% this year,” Mr Graham said.

“That is deeply concerning news for those civil contractors and suppliers who rely on residential subdivision activity to stay in business.

“Most of these companies have ongoing projects in the short-term, which means they may not qualify for targeted Federal stimulus such as JobKeeper. But as those current projects come to an end these businesses are facing an uncertain future.

"Opportunities are drying up for the rest of this year, and next year, as land developers respond to reduced demand by deferring planned new stages.

“The last few years have been tough enough – a sustained downturn in subdivision activity will inevitably lead to substantial job losses.”

CCF WA endorses recent calls from building and land development groups for immediate stimulus including an increase in the First Home Owner Grant; an increase in the first home stamp duty concession; and fast-tracked development of community housing and affordable land developments.

CCF WA welcomes potentially game-changing procurement reform

Alice Graham — Wed, 13 May 2020 04:35:47 GMT

Western Australia’s civil construction industry congratulates the State Government for signalling a strong commitment to reducing red tape in infrastructure procurement by introducing the Procurement Bill 2020 into Parliament today.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said Finance Minister Ben Wyatt deserved praise for championing much needed and overdue reforms. “Tackling some of the entrenched practices in Government won’t be easy and it will take strong and committed leadership to effect change,” Mr Graham said.

“CCF WA has been saying for many years that procurement red tape is a significant impost on businesses in the civil infrastructure construction sector, and that more can be done to reduce that burden through greater consistency in contracts, tendering processes and prequalification requirements.

“The current wide variety of documentation and processes has long been a source of frustration for Western Australian civil contractors and suppliers who typically work for a number of different Government agencies, authorities and corporations at one time.

“And of course, it’s not just industry that bears the burden. This is a significant internal red tape issue for Government. The synergies and efficiencies that will flow from more consistent procurement will save the Government in areas such as tender evaluation, contract administration and legal reviews.

“Ultimately, higher bid costs and administration costs are reflected in higher costs to taxpayers.”

Mr Graham said a more consistent approach to risk transfer in contracts should result from the reforms.

“Common sense dictates that State Government instrumentalities should take a consistent approach to fundamental elements of contract risk such as delays, damages and latent conditions,” he said. “Standardised contracts would allow everyone in Government and industry to become more accustomed to their rights and obligations. This would mean less time managing and interpreting contracts and more time focusing on the safe and efficient delivery of infrastructure.

“Procurement reforms will benefit Government and industry alike, reducing red tape, boosting productivity, and realising greater value for money from every dollar spent on infrastructure.”

Construction industry associations and unions collaborate on COVID-19 guidelines

Alice Graham — Fri, 08 May 2020 08:00:00 GMT

A coalition of Industry Associations and Trade Unions have joined together to develop guidelines for managing the risks associated with COVID-19 on Western Australian construction sites.

The guidelines will be regularly updated and made widely available within the Building and Construction Industry.

The Building and Construction Industry employs over 120,000 Western Australians, 94% of who are employed in small businesses, and turns over around $33 billion each year.

As an essential service, WA’s building and construction industry has continued to operate during the pandemic, with appropriate physical distancing, hygiene and other controls in place to minimise the risk of transmission of the virus. To date, the industry has been successful, with no known cases of COVID-19 on construction sites.

Twelve industry associations and trade unions have agreed that maintaining up to date guidelines on how best to manage the health and safety risks from COVID-19 will support the industry’s continued safe operations, noting the need to manage these risks will be with communities and their industry for many months.

MATES In Construction CEO and coalition chairman Brad Geatches said: “While we’ve all been encouraged by the low number of COVID-19 cases in WA recently, publishing this guideline will help reinforce that the threat is still very real. The Federal Government’s new roadmap shows that physical distancing, hygiene and other COVIDSafe measures will need to continue to be observed on sites for some time.

“Our industry is large and diverse, so we decided it was important to capture the better practice COVID-19 risk management methods developed so far by the industry in one widely accessible
guideline.”

The guidelines address social distancing on site, hygiene, mental health and how to manage a range of possible COVID-19 related scenarios that could arise on a construction site.

The participating organisations are: CFMEU Construction & General Division WA; Civil Contractors Federation WA; Construction Contractors Association of WA; Construction Training Fund; Electrical Trades Union - Electrical, Energy & Services Division, WA Branch; Master Painters & Decorators Australia; Master Plumbers and Gasfitters Association WA; MATES in Construction; National Electrical & Communications Association WA; National Fire Industry Association; Plumbing and Pipe Trades Employees Union; and ReddiFund.

An up-to-date (as at 21/08/2021) COVID-19 health, safety and wellbeing guideline for the Western Australian building and construction industry is available to download below:

COVID-19 guide 08-21.pdf

Have your say on civil construction training package review

Alice Graham — Wed, 06 May 2020 04:36:27 GMT

The civil construction training package has undergone a major review. Significant changes to the structure of Certificate-level (traineeship) qualifications and units of competency are proposed, with the aim of ensuring the qualifications meet industry's changing needs.

The revision includes:

An update of ten qualifications to clarify and strengthen career progression pathways for workers in civil construction – from entry-level civil construction workers through to senior civil works designers and civil construction managers.
Deletion of one qualification, RII31215 Certificate III in Civil Foundations due to sustained low industry use and relevance.
Creation of eight new units of competency to address training product gaps relating to tunnel boring machine operations, temporary traffic management and piling.
Update of 166 units of competency used across civil construction and civil construction design to reflect current industry processes and requirements and clarify training outcomes.

Click below to view a summary of the draft changes:

Summary of draft training products_Civil Construction_20200504.pdf

Click here to download a zip file with details of proposed revisions to qualifications and units

(Or you can go to https://www.skillsforaustralia.com/project-page/civil-construction/ and click on 'Training Product Development'.)

PwC’s Skills for Australia is seeking feedback on the draft training products until close of business Friday 29 May 2020. You can email the team direct at info@skillsforaustralia.com. CCF WA Members are welcome to provide feedback to CCF WA at ccfwa@ccfwa.com.au.

Mid-tier contractors need more opportunities

Alice Graham — Fri, 01 May 2020 03:00:00 GMT

Fifteen years ago, Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan announced an “all-Western Australian consortium” of Doric and Brierty would build new railway stations at Rockingham and Warnbro, while another local company was awarded the Mandurah station contract.

A year earlier, the largest Mandurah rail line contract – for track laying and associated civil works – went to a consortium that included local contractors MacMahon and Multiplex.

These WA businesses benefited from a de-bundled approach, with design and construction of the Mandurah line packaged into nine separate contracts, giving local firms multiple opportunities to deliver key components of the project.

Times have changed, and nowadays most mega-projects – those exceeding $500 million in value – are delivered as single contracts. The Thornlie-Cockburn line and Yanchep extension have been bundled, despite being about 50km apart. The Morley-Ellenbrook line is also being procured as one main contract, albeit with some enabling works tendered separately.

These METRONET mega-projects are well beyond the financial capacity of local mid-tier contractors, which is why increasingly they are asking “what about us?”. Last week, recently formed lobby group Australian Owned Contractors lamented bundling of the Morley-Ellenbrook line “will once again result in a foreign tier one contractor delivering the project”.

The frustration is understandable. Proud Australian companies feel they are being locked out of major infrastructure projects in their own country.

The METRONET procurement strategy seems to conflict with the State Government’s strong commitments to local capability and jobs. When queried on this, it points to industry participation plans, which require head contractors to prove they are prioritising locals for subcontracting opportunities.

The reality is participation plans make little difference. Nearly all subcontracts on WA infrastructure projects are already delivered by local companies, mainly SMEs.

It’s WA’s mid-tier contractors – companies that have the financial capacity to deliver $10 million to $150 million projects independently, as head contractor – that miss out. These companies aren’t structured to subcontract and get no benefit from participation plans.

If we’re serious about building local capability, we need to provide more mid-tier head contracting opportunities for those local contractors that have continually demonstrated their commitment over many years to developing, training and maintaining a Western Australian workforce – not just on-site construction workers but also permanent management, engineering, administration and support staff in many and varied roles. Furthermore, they have built strong relationships with local suppliers of goods and services. In short, they are the lifeblood of the Western Australian civil construction industry.

This is not a jingoistic call for foreigners to be sidelined or for locals to be favoured. We’re asking for balance, and for a more equitable mix of contract sizes. CCF’s analysis of last year’s State Budget papers shows that $10 million to $150 million contracts could make up less than 15 per cent of WA’s major transport project pipeline by 2021/22 – down from about 40% currently – as the State Government ramps up METRONET.

Redressing this looming imbalance is vital to ensure we don’t lose local capability. In an infrastructure landscape increasingly dominated by billion-dollar projects, a creative and flexible approach is needed.

The New South Wales Government successfully de-bundled its massive $4.5 billion Pacific Highway upgrade into dozens of major contracts by hiring a tier one ‘delivery partner’ to assist with contract management. Here in WA, Main Roads has ensured at least some mid-tier involvement in the $800 million Bunbury Outer Ring Road project by strongly encouraging the inclusion of mid-tier contractors in the tier one-led consortiums – something that should have happened on the main METRONET projects. Main Roads is also considering a de-bundling strategy for the $275 million Bindoon Bypass.

The local industry doesn’t expect every infrastructure project to be de-bundled. There’s a place for mega-projects in the mix too. But if WA’s civil construction industry is to maintain our hard-won capacity and skilled workforce, we need a stronger pipeline of mid-sized contracts.

Andy Graham
CEO, Civil Contractors Federation WA

(This opinion piece was published in The West Australian, May 1, 2020)

Welcome boost for infrastructure sector, says CCF

Alice Graham — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 04:30:00 GMT

Fast-tracked tendering of about $2.5 billion worth of infrastructure projects, announced today by the State Government, will provide an important economic boost and help offset reduced activity in private sector construction, Western Australia’s peak civil construction body says.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said Main Roads’ new Statewide Road Construction Panel, which would be used to procure a range of projects up to $20 million in value, would greatly assist in getting these projects underway quickly.

“This will help the contractors involved to maintain continuity of operations and keep Western Australians employed,” Mr Graham said.

“Main Roads conceived this panel last year before anyone had heard of the coronavirus, but it’s certainly going to help them respond. The panel structure will allow tendering to be streamlined, cutting red tape when it’s most needed, while keeping the process fair and competitive to ensure value for money.

“For the larger projects in the pipeline, we applaud the State Government’s move to try and accelerate environmental and other approvals. While these approvals are of course necessary, they sometimes take far too long, especially when both State and Federal approvals are required.”

Mr Graham said the industry was encouraged by comments from Federal Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Alan Tudge this week that the Federal Government is considering more funding for transport projects in order to provide an employment boost that will help compensate for the slowdown in residential and commercial building construction.

“A recent nationwide survey of CCF Members showed that 90% had some spare capacity, mainly as a result of private sector projects being deferred by the COVID-19 crisis,” he said.

“All Governments understand that right now is a great opportunity to utilise that capacity in the civil construction sector to provide jobs and economic activity, while building infrastructure that boosts our productivity and quality of life.”

Projects include:

Bunbury Outer Ring Road - (budget $852 million)
Leach Highway Welshpool Road Interchange - (budget $93 million)
Stephenson Avenue (Stirling) - (budget $125 million)
Fremantle Traffic Bridge - (budget $230 million)
Roe Highway/Great Eastern Highway/Abernethy Road - (budget $180 million)
Albany Ring Road (budget $175 million)
Great Northern Hwy Ord River North Stage 3 & 4 (budget $89 million)
Lloyd Street Extension (budget $40 million)
Tonkin Highway Gap project (budget $290 million)
Mitchell Freeway Extension to Romeo Road (budget $215 million)
Mitchell Freeway Hodges Drive to Hepburn Avenue widening (budget $76 million)

Civil contractors working safely and supporting regional communities, industry group says

Alice Graham — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 07:00:00 GMT

WA’s civil construction and maintenance industry continues to work safely through the COVID-19 pandemic, delivering important infrastructure upgrades across Western Australia and supporting regional communities, says the industry’s peak body.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said the State’s civil construction workforce continued to travel around WA building and maintaining our big State’s essential road, rail, power and water infrastructure.

“We understand that some local residents have felt anxious about workers travelling between towns and regions at these extraordinary times,” Mr Graham said. “But the State Government has been clear that it wants us to keep working, upgrading vital infrastructure while boosting the economy at both the State and local levels, and making our regions safer, more productive and better connected.

“CCF WA Member companies are always conscious of supporting the communities they are working in, employing local workers and sourcing local goods and services where possible.

“Residents of regional WA can rest assured that civil infrastructure projects are among the safest of all construction workplaces, and the strict and effective safety systems and processes we’ve refined over many years are again proving their worth as we deal with COVID-19. It’s been made clear to all civil construction workers that they must implement social distancing and hygiene measures at all times – both on and off site.”

Perth-based CCF WA Member Enviro Infrastructure is currently delivering essential structural refurbishment works to Bridge 0034, on Albany Highway in Williams.

Enviro Infrastructure General Manager David Schlueter said the project team comprised a combination of Perth-based and local tradespeople, operating under a strict COVID-19 management plan and detailed operational protocols.

“Enviro are prioritising contracting opportunities for local businesses in their operations across Western Australia and are proud to keep the wheels turning through these tough times,” Mr Schlueter said.

“We’re working with Main Roads WA to ensure that the safety of our team, the local communities in which we live and work and the general public is the highest priority. One advantage of competing these essential works during the current crisis is that disruption to the public is being minimised due to the low traffic volumes.”

Busselton-based CCF WA Member Leeuwin Civil is constructing essential infrastructure for public access to the Lake Kepwari development, near Collie for the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA).

Leeuwin Civil Director Lissa Wypynaszko said the company’s scope of works includes roads, car parks, a boat ramp and other facilities. “The Lake Kepwari project also allows us to contribute to the economy of regional towns, like Collie, through subcontractors, materials, supplies, accommodation, meals, fuel and employment of locals,” Ms Wypynaszko said.

“Working in such a pristine natural environment, we already have extensive measures in place to limit our impact. This has been expanded to ensure we are not placing the Collie community at risk.

“We have previously undertaken contracts for DBCA in Collie and enjoy the opportunity to work on projects that will bring enjoyment to the community when restrictions are lifted.”

CCF WA Member Enviro Infrastructure delivering essential structural works at Bridge 0034, on Albany Highway in Williams.

CCF WA Member Leeuwin Civil constructing access infrastructure at the Lake Kepwari development, near Collie.

More info: ccfwa@ccfwa.com.au

Timely boost for construction trainees and apprentices, says CCF

Alice Graham — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 07:30:00 GMT

Western Australia’s peak industry body for civil construction has welcomed a new $24.5 million support package for employers of construction trainees and apprentices.

The package announced by Premier Mark McGowan, Training Minister Sue Ellery and Construction Training Fund (CTF) Chair Reg Howard-Smith today includes an immediate $2,000 payment to employers of civil construction trainees, and a further $2100 in monthly ‘maintenance payments’ comprising $350 per civil construction trainee over six months.

Civil Contractors Federation CEO Andy Graham said the State Government and the CTF were to be congratulated for moving quickly to support the continuing employment of trainees and apprentices in the civil construction sector through the COVID-19 crisis.

“Our industry is feeling the effects of the crisis, with some projects being deferred and margins on existing projects eroded due to higher costs,” Mr Graham said.

“This bonus payment will help civil contractors to maintain their workforces as they deal with these financial pressures. Access to skilled local workers will be essential in the years ahead as the civil construction sector constructs and maintains the infrastructure needed to keep our State prosperous.”

Click here to read the State Government announcement.

Click here for the full list of qualifications covered by the CTF COVID-19 support package and the payments available.

WA industry ready to work with government on infrastructure stimulus, says CCF

Alice Graham — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 05:30:00 GMT

The Western Australian civil construction industry is ready to partner with government to fast-track infrastructure projects and provide a much-needed economic stimulus, says the industry’s peak body.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said the private sector civil construction pipeline in WA was already feeling the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, with regular reports of projects delayed or deferred.

“Now is the right time for the State Government and Local Governments to step up and accelerate their project pipelines,” he said. “They will get great value for money, they’ll keep a vital sector of the economy healthy, and the community will benefit from upgraded infrastructure, improving productivity and quality of life for this generation and generations to come.”

Mr Graham said it was vital that any infrastructure stimulus package of projects provided a broad spread of opportunities for contractors of all sizes, particularly local mid-tier contractors who were the most consistent contributors to the local economy and a source of permanent employment for thousands of Western Australians.

“Now more than ever, we need to look after our own,” he said. “We’ve already seen too many government projects bundled up into large packages to suit the big internationals, leaving local companies to fight over the crumbs.”

Mr Graham said a firm signal of intent was needed soon from Government to maintain business confidence – not just contracting businesses but the thousands of local suppliers of construction materials and equipment and specialist services who depend on a strong pipeline of opportunities.

“Our message to Government on behalf of WA’s contractors, consultants and suppliers is – we’re here, geared up and ready to help deliver an accelerated program of essential infrastructure projects,” he said.

Mr Graham said the industry continued to demonstrate it can work safely and effectively through the COVID-19 crisis.

“We’re proud to say civil infrastructure projects are among the safest of all construction workplaces, thanks to a concerted effort over the past 15-20 years by our industry in partnership with Government agencies,” he said. “The clear and effective safety systems and processes we’ve refined over many years are again proving their worth as we integrate strict hygiene and distancing measures in response to COVID-19.”

COVID-19 update from CCF WA

Alice Graham — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 04:00:00 GMT

‘Hard’ border closure, regional travel restrictions

The State Government has tightened border controls from 11.59PM Sunday. Exemptions include:

Specialists required for industry or business continuity and maintenance of competitive operation where the service is time-critical
Persons responsible for critical maintenance or repair of infrastructure

Click here to download the form 'WA Entry - Request for Approval as an Exempt Traveller'

If you have any issues with key specialist employees being denied entry, threatening the continuity of a project, please let me know.

The State Government has also imposed travel restrictions between regions of WA from Midnight tomorrow night. People travelling to and from their workplace, or transporting freight, are exempt. Employees travelling between regions should be provided with documentary proof that they are travelling for work purposes, e.g.

A signed letter on company letterhead stating they are a contractor or employee, and the reason they are required to travel between regions, including name and location of project/worksite
A contact number for a person at the company who can verify this information
Photo ID

The restriction applies to travel between these regions: Perth/Peel (treated as one region); South West; Great Southern; Goldfields-Esperance; Mid-West; Wheatbelt; Gascoyne; and Pilbara

NOTE: Access to the Kimberley (including the entire Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku, and parts of the Shire of East Pilbara encompassing the communities of Jigalong, Martu homeland communities and Kiwirrkurra) have additional stronger restrictions in place.

The State Government will soon be implementing an electronic system ('Good to Go WA'), with individual travel licences being issued to enable authorised persons to travel across State, Regional and LGA boundaries in accordance with their exemptions and any associated quarantine requirements. There will be a bulk upload function for companies to use to load their employees that must travel and are covered by exemptions.

Civil construction to continue operating safely

Premier Mark McGowan has stated clearly that the construction industry will continue to operate despite other restrictions. Mr McGowan added: "Whilst tradesmen and workers within industry, in particular the construction industry, are exempt from the new intrastate travel restrictions, they must remain vigilant with social distancing practices and hygiene on site."

CCF WA has assured Government that our industry can continue to deliver works safely and productively through this crisis. The civil construction industry has historically led the way in implementation of safety management systems and safer work processes, and we’ve adapted quickly to the current situation and implemented tough and effective control measures.

CCF WA is also meeting with representatives of building and construction industry groups and unions. We have agreed to send a united message to government that our industry is responding sensibly to the COVID-19 crisis and is ready to continue operating while keeping our workers safe. We believe it’s important to get on the front foot as an industry and reinforce the message that an active construction industry is critical to the health of the WA economy, and we’re taking that responsibility seriously.

Now it is up to all of us to demonstrate our commitment to keeping civil construction workplaces safe, by adhering closely to infection control measures such as social distancing and hygiene.

Safe Work Australia has published a fact sheet on minimising COVID-19 risk and exposure in the building and construction industry, with practical and relevant advice on social distancing and hygiene in a construction setting, and on consultation and communication with workers.

Pipeline of works

CCF is engaging with State Government infrastructure agencies/corporations seeking more detail on any plans to increase/fast track their capital works programs. With the private sector pipeline already being affected, additional govt works will be welcome.

Government support for businesses and employees

The Federal and State Governments have announced numerous measures providing financial support during this crisis. These measures are detailed at the links below:

Federal Government support

State Government support

Coronavirus information for small business owners from the Small Business Development Corporation

CCF WA update on Bunbury Outer Ring Road (BORR)

Alice Graham — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 03:30:00 GMT

CCF WA is engaging with Main Roads through the BORR Local Business Advisory Group in conjunction with the South West Development Commission.

The State Government recently announced the two consortia that have been shortlisted

The Forrest Alliance (comprising CPB Contractors, Carey MC, Densford Civil, GHD and BG&E)
Southwest Connex (comprising Acciona, NRW Contracting, MACA Civil, AECOM and Aurecon)

Main Roads and Transport Minister Rita Saffioti has stated that maximising local business procurement is a key objective for the BORR project. Through the Advisory Group, CCF’s role is to represent the local industry’s view on how that can be achieved.

Our advocacy includes

Targets for local procurement - an overall target (by value) including specific targets for: local road works contractors; local specialist subcontractors; and local specialist materials suppliers
Discrete packages of work - CCF WA believes discrete packages (e.g. local road connections) will most effectively provide opportunities for local prequalified contractors, and local contractors with road-building capability.
Service relocation works - CCF WA has written to Water Corporation and Western Power recommending local business procurement as a key objective for BORR-related relocation/enabling works.

Lodge your Expression of Interest for BORR opportunities

The South West Development Commission is asking local businesses to register their interest in BORR opportunities via a brief online form -- click here to register

Local Capability Fund grants

The State Government has announced a new Local Capability Fund round to encourage and support South West businesses to tender for work on BORR. Small to medium businesses in the South West can apply for up to $20,000 to help them tender for work on the project.

Grants can be used to meet essential prequalification requirements for supply-chain entry, buy and upgrade essential equipment and engage consultants for a range of expertise. If you’re considering an HSEQ management system, CCF’s Civil Contractor Management System is highly regarded and recognised by Main Roads.

Strong focus on infection control essential as civil works continue

Alice Graham — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 02:00:00 GMT

A message from CCF WA CEO Andy Graham

In these difficult and uncertain times, CCF WA is focused on supporting our Members the best we can and continuing our role as the 'voice' of the Western Australian civil construction industry.

Many of you have contacted CCF in the past week. Your updates and insights on what’s happening in the market, and how your business is being affected, have been much appreciated and very useful in informing how we respond on behalf of the industry.

The main purpose of this message is to make it clear that civil construction activity has not been stopped by either the Federal Government’s latest restrictions on non-essential services or the State Government’s latest control measures. The construction sector (including businesses supplying construction goods, materials and services) have not been included in the list of ‘non-essential services’ that are prohibited. Therefore, the clear message is that we are in the ‘essential’ category and should keep calm and carry on.

At an advocacy level, CCF WA has written to the Premier and key Ministers responsible for infrastructure delivery, welcoming the ‘essential traveller’ exemptions to border closures announced on Tuesday, which will assist movement of essential construction industry personnel and freight.

We have further requested that civil infrastructure construction and maintenance activity be permitted to continue in the event of any further restrictions. The nature of civil infrastructure construction and maintenance operations – typically outdoors and with a low density of workers compared to other sectors – means that highly effective control measures can be implemented with relatively little disruption to workflows.

CCF has reminded the State Government that the civil construction industry has historically led the way in implementation of safety management systems and safer work processes, in partnership with our clients in Government and the private sector. We have adapted quickly to the current situation and implemented tough and effective control measures.

If our industry is to continue receiving this licence to operate, it is up to all of us to demonstrate our commitment to keeping civil construction workplaces safe, by ‘walking the walk’ and adhering closely to infection control measures, every minute of the day. We must integrate 'social distancing' into all processes and maintain separation of at least 1.5m at all times. These measures to reduce close contact should be supported by a stringent focus on hygiene, through regular hand washing/sanitising and industrial grade cleaning of common areas/equipment.

Managing the risks from COVID-19 – advice for employers from Safe Work Australia

Coronavirus (COVID-19) resources – fact sheets and downloadable posters.

Coronavirus and Australian workplace laws – latest advice from the Fair Work Ombudsman

Support for businesses

The Federal and State Governments have announced a wide range of measures designed to soften the blow to businesses.

These include:

Temporary relief for financially distressed businesses – a temporary increase to the threshold at which creditors can issue a statutory demand on a company and the time companies have to respond to statutory demands they receive.

Increasing the Instant Asset Write-Off – from $30,000 to $150,000 from 12 March 2020 until 30 June 2020, and now including businesses with annual turnover of less than $500 million (up from $50 million), along with accelerated depreciation deduction arrangements.

Boosting cash flow for employers – between $20,000 and $100,000 to SME businesses (annual turnover under $50 million) that make eligible payments, e.g. salary and wages.

State Government assistance includes one-off grants of $17,500 to businesses with annual wages between $1 million and $4 million

Supporting apprentices and trainees - businesses employing fewer than 20 full?time employees who retain an apprentice or trainee can apply for a wage subsidy of 50% of the apprentice’s or trainee’s wage paid during the 9 months to 30 September 2020.

Latest information on temporary changes to superannuation arrangements from CBUS

CCF WA is aware there is considerable uncertainty about how State Government departments, agencies and corporations will deal with contractual obligations that may not be met because of this unprecedented event. We have written to infrastructure delivery agencies/GTEs urging them to extend Government contracts without penalty if delays directly result from staff absences or supply delays caused by COVID-19, and to direct head contractors that they will only be granted such an extension if it is passed ‘down the chain’ to all subcontractors and suppliers. We would expect the same consideration is shown by clients in Local Government and the private sector. All businesses will be under financial pressure during this crisis. As a matter of principle, businesses must not be put under further pressure, or even fail, by being unfairly penalised. If you feel this principle is not being adhered to, then please let us know.

(Please contact ccfwa@ccfwa.com.au as our office may be unattended)

Rethink rushed industrial manslaughter laws, says CCF WA

Alice Graham — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 09:30:00 GMT

Western Australia’s peak civil construction industry group says WA’s proposed industrial manslaughter laws are significantly tougher than similar laws in other states and should be referred to a parliamentary committee for careful review.

Civil Contractors Federation WA CEO Andy Graham said industrial manslaughter laws in other Australian states and territories all required some level of negligence on the part of the person being prosecuted, while ‘gross negligence causing death’ was the test recommended in the influential Boland review into Work Health and Safety laws.

“In WA, however, a business owner or manager could be charged with industrial manslaughter – carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years jail – and the prosecution would not even have to prove negligence or recklessness," Mr Graham said.

"WA’s small businesses should be most alarmed as they will be most at risk. Experience in other jurisdictions shows that smaller businesses are more likely to be prosecuted than larger, more well-resourced businesses."

Mr Graham said CCF WA's other concerns with the legislation included:

No provision for prosecution of reckless or negligent behaviour by employees causing death - inconsistent with the principles of the legislation and shared responsibilities for safety.
Individuals or family businesses could be prosecuted in relation to the death of a relative
Inclusion of manslaughter offence in WHS legislation could compromise the common law privilege against self-incrimination

Mr Graham said CCF WA endorsed the Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s view (“Scrutiny must be applied to rushed industrial manslaughter provisions”) that further examination is needed of these critical provisions. CCF WA supports CCIWA’s recommendation that the Bill be referred to committee.

OPINION PIECE: We're on the road to better results

Alice Graham — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 02:30:00 GMT

(This opinion piece by CCF WA CEO Andy Graham was published in The West Australian, Monday, February 17, 2020.)

Infrastructure construction has been in the news recently with claims of major delays and even ‘chaos’ on some of the upgrade projects going on around Perth. As the industry group representing the sector, we believe it’s time to address a few misconceptions.

Perth’s major civil construction sites are far from chaotic. On the contrary, works proceed calmly, professionally and most importantly, safely. For Main Roads and its contractors there are three basics: projects must be delivered safely, with the least possible inconvenience to motorists and nearby residents, and to the highest quality (the remarkable quality and durability of our roads doesn’t happen by accident – Main Roads’ specifications are among the most rigorous in the world).

We have been surprised to read negative commentary around the apparent lack of workers visible on road upgrade sites. It’s important to understand that building a road is not like building a house; a lack of tradies swarming over the site does not indicate a lack of activity.

For construction contractors, time is money. Every extra day on site reduces their already tight margins. Contractors are highly motivated to finish a project as quickly as possible, so they can get paid and move to the next job.

The fact is, though, that complex brownfields projects can’t be rushed. There’s more to adding a lane than clearing some space and whacking down some hotmix.

Carefully identifying and relocating essential underground services such as power, gas and water can take many weeks. Water is the enemy of a long-lasting road, so thorough and time-consuming dewatering is usually necessary. Millions of cubic meters of sand must be excavated, removed and replaced with subgrade, sub-base, basecourse, and multiple asphalt layers, all of which have to be thoroughly and patiently compacted and tested.

All of this, and much more, goes on within incredibly constrained sites, typically with traffic whizzing by on one side and houses, shops, a railway line or a river just metres away on the other. The contractors who perform this juggling act deserve our admiration, not condemnation.

Any additional congestion during construction works is regrettable but it’s important to remember the congestion well and truly predates the works. Some of the sections of freeway and major arterials being upgraded have been major bottlenecks for years – which is of course why the works are being undertaken. Infrastructure Australia has forecast that by 2031, Perth could have seven of the 10 most congested roads in the country – including the top four – unless we act decisively.

Sure, some projects will open a little later than originally intended. That’s mainly because there have been substantial changes of scope to those projects. These scope variations make perfect sense – if other remedial or preparatory work is identified that needs to be done, the best time to do it is now, rather than causing lengthier (and more costly) disruption later.

Some people have wondered why all construction contracts don’t include damages to ‘punish’ the contractor for actions that lead to congestion. Financial penalties, it is argued, would create a strong incentive for the contractor to meet shutdown deadlines. Except, they wouldn’t.

The reality is that sometimes the best laid plans go awry, despite contractors making the best decision in the circumstances and with the information available at the time. Hitting contractors with onerous penalties won’t change that.

Not that governments are averse to penalties. The State Government is far from a soft touch when it comes to contract conditions, and we have long argued for fairer risk allocation in contracts – so that, for example, a contractor doesn’t have to bear the cost of relocating a gas pipe that wasn’t on the plans provided, or removing some buried asbestos that no one knew was there.

Increasingly, however, governments acknowledge that the ‘old way’ of onerous contracts and adversarial relationships does no one any good, least of all taxpayers. Recently the Transport and Infrastructure Council – comprising the Federal and State transport and infrastructure ministers – agreed that “collaborative-based approaches to procurement, project management and risk allocation promotes safer and more productive delivery”. CCF WA welcomes this progress towards a more collaborative approach, and a culture where clients and contractors work together to achieve the best outcomes.

Andy Graham
CEO, Civil Contractors Federation WA

Unfair to target road contractor, says CCF

Alice Graham — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 01:00:00 GMT

The Civil Contractors Federation WA says the contractor delivering the Smart Freeways project has been unfairly targeted following a delay in reopening lanes for traffic on the Kwinana Freeway Monday morning.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said it was disappointing to see commentary questioning the competence of the contractor, BMD Constructions.

“This company has delivered many billions of dollars’ worth of major road projects all around Australia over the past decade,” Mr Graham said.

“BMD is an experienced and highly competent road contractor. That’s why they’ve been entrusted with delivering the Smart Freeways project and other current freeway widenings in Perth – projects so complex and challenging that very few contractors were even willing to bid on them.

“There has been some suggestion that the contractor should receive a financial penalty for Monday’s events. There’s a very good reason that won’t happen.

“The Smart Freeways project is without doubt one of the most complex, high-risk projects ever undertaken by Main Roads. For that reason, the Government chose to deliver the project under an alliance agreement, where Main Roads, the contractor and design consultants work together collaboratively in a ‘no fault, no blame’ framework.

“On Sunday night, the unexpected happened, as so often does on risky and complex brownfields road projects. An existing cracked drainage pipe had the potential to create a sinkhole in the Freeway. The Alliance moved quickly to excavate and fill the area with quick-set concrete – the works were planned to ensure there was enough time allowed so that the concrete could gain sufficient strength prior to opening to traffic. Unfortunately, the concrete didn’t set as intended and the result was a frustrating delay for motorists. Despite that, the contractor acted reasonably to remove and replace the patch safely based on their vast experience.”

Mr Graham said the State Government’s ambitious infrastructure agenda was transforming Perth’s transport networks.

“It’s worth reminding ourselves why these works are being undertaken,” he said. “Without them, our growing city will soon grind to a halt every morning. Four years ago, an Infrastructure Australia report warned that without action, Perth’s major road arteries would be the most congested in Australia by 2031, causing massive ongoing congestion and costing the economy billions of dollars in lost productivity. These upgrades are essential, and unfortunately it’s inevitable they will cause some inconvenience. However, we’ll benefit for many years to come.”

CCF urges passage of Ensuring Integrity Bill

Alice Graham — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 05:00:00 GMT

The Federal Government is looking to reintroduce the Ensuring Integrity Bill into Parliament following the Bill’s defeat in the Senate late last year. The Government needs the support of the Senate crossbench to get the Bill through.

CCF's National office put forward a submission last year supporting the Bill and continues urge the Senate to vote in favour of the Bill.

Rogue union behaviour, and that of individual union officers must be brought to account and the Bill seeks to address that as follows:

By including serious criminal offences punishable by five or more years’ imprisonment;
By including a discretionary regime that allows the Federal Court to disqualify officials from holding office in certain circumstances;
By making it an offence for a person to continue to act as an official or in a way that influences the affairs of an organisation once they have been disqualified;
By allowing the Federal Court to cancel the registration of an organisation on a range of grounds including in relation to unlawful or otherwise improper conduct of the affairs of the organisation;
By expanding the grounds on which the Federal Court may order remedial action to deal with governance issues in an organisation and expressly provide that the Federal Court may appoint an administrator to an organisation or part of an organisation;
By introducing a public interest test for amalgamations of registered organisations.

Australia’s $100 billion pipeline of civil infrastructure projects needs a level of assurance and protection from costly delays and interruption caused by unscrupulous and unlawful individuals and unions who repeatedly exploit gaps in the current regulatory framework, which in many cases occur without the consent of their members and are not in the best interest of their members, or the general public.

The CCF acknowledges that the Government was re-elected with a clear mandate to implement its commitment to effectively deal with registered organisations that are dysfunctional or not serving the interests of their members, and therefore CCF supports the passage of the Bill through the Parliament.

Chris Melham
Chief Executive Officer
CCF National

INDUSTRY SURVEY – Have your say on the State Priority Occupation List

Alice Graham — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 08:00:00 GMT

CCF WA is seeking industry input on skills shortages and priorities in civil construction in response to the annual review of the State Priority Occupation List (SPOL). Please have your say by February 17 and help CCF WA and the Construction Training Council represent the civil construction industry's skills needs to Government.

WHAT IS SPOL?

SPOL is produced annually by the State Government Department of Training and Workforce Development (DTWD). SPOL helps the Government allocate its funding for vocational education and training (VET) in WA, including which qualifications receive additional subsidies. It also informs workforce development planning in the State and is used as a key source of labour market evidence in a number of important policy areas, including development of the Western Australian Skilled Migration Occupation List (WASMOL) and the Graduate Occupation List (GOL).

SPOL is also used to inform the development of WA’s State nominated migration program (SNMP), to help target those occupations in genuine need and where local workers cannot fill such jobs.

SPOL has five priority ratings:

State Priority 1 (the highest)
State Priority 2
State Priority 3
Identified Occupation (inconsistent or conflicting evidence for inclusion – being monitored by DTWD)
Not identified as a priority (no evidence for inclusion)

HOW DOES SPOL RANK CIVIL CONSTRUCTION SKILLS?

Traditionally, trade-level skills in civil construction have been assigned the lowest priority on SPOL, whereas building trades (e.g. bricklayer, carpenter, tiler, plumber) have always been assigned a State Priority level. The reasons for this disparity include:

The building trades are generally better understood and more easily identified and classified
The ANZSCO rating system (which forms the basis of SPOL) gives building trades a higher skill level.
ANZSCO does not even recognise some civil construction skills, e.g., pipelayer, trenchless operator, utility worker – meaning SPOL cannot recognise them either.

In response to recent industry input, some civil construction skills (e.g. Grader Operator, Excavator Operator) are now listed as ‘identified’ – this means that DTWD has acknowledged industry concerns but requires more statistical evidence.

If your business is affected by skills shortages, CCF strongly encourages you to contribute to the SPOL review by completing the brief survey below. Your response will assist the Construction Training Council to provide information to DTWD on our industry's skills needs, and may help ensure that any skills shortages in civil construction are more accurately recognised on SPOL in future.

Please respond to the survey below (or click here to open the survey as a separate page) by February 17, 2020.

Human capital the key to infrastructure challenge

Alice Graham — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 07:00:00 GMT

Meeting the growing demand for skilled employees will be the key challenge for Government and the industry as infrastructure construction activity increases in the coming years, according to the 2020 WA Infrastructure Report, released today by the Civil Contractors Federation WA and the Construction Contractors Association WA in conjunction with ACIL Allen Consulting.

Lead author of the report, ACIL Allen Executive Director John Nicolaou said infrastructure development was a key enabler of the State’s economy. “Targeted infrastructure investment can provide a significant stimulus in the short term through increased construction activity, but also over the longer term by driving productivity improvements throughout the economy,” he said.

“With engineering construction activity in WA forecast to grow at 7.7% per annum over the next four years, it’s imperative that the State Government focus its efforts on the sector’s human capital needs.”

Mr Nicolaou said vacancies for skilled construction workers in WA were on the rise, while the number of construction industry apprentices and trainees in training had fallen to historic lows.

“Current Government policy settings will limit the ability of international migration to address short-term skills needs where the supply of local labour is inadequate,” he said. “The high competition from the Eastern States for skilled construction workers – particularly skills around rail construction – is another factor affecting local supply.”

CCA WA CEO Peter Moore said the construction sector’s capability could be further challenged in the light of recent moves by the Federal and State Governments to bring some infrastructure spending forward and to provide additional funding.

“We see this as an ideal opportunity for the State Government to work collaboratively with the industry to ensure the works can be delivered efficiently and effectively, smoothing out the humps and ensuring the skills and resources are available to ensure value for money is achieved,” Mr Moore said.

The 2020 WA Infrastructure Report calls for deeper engagement by the State Government with industry to ensure the State’s approach to procurement is fit for purpose and it remains as a ‘client of choice’ in an increasingly competitive market.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said the report highlighted Main Roads’ frequent and structured engagement with industry as a model that other infrastructure delivery agencies could adopt.

“Our industry has certainly seen the positive outcomes from that regular exchange of ideas, and we believe all Government agencies and corporations can only benefit from closer engagement,” he said.

Mr Nicolaou said a closer relationship with industry could help address an ongoing and substantial underspend on State Government infrastructure.

“Over the past five years, the State Government has underspent a total of $5 billion on its budgeted capital works program,” Mr Nicolaou said. “If that rate continues, the actual capital works spend projected in the 2019-20 State Budget will be $3.6 billion lower over the forward estimates.

Mr Nicolaou said some of the factors influencing the actual volume of infrastructure spending versus planned infrastructure spending were outside the Government’s control.

“It is therefore important for Government to ensure those things which are within its control are managed effectively, to ensure it meets its capital investment ambitions,” he said.

The 2020 WA Infrastructure Report says the preconditions for a return to trend growth in the WA economy have become more evident over the past year. The resources sector continues to leverage from its most recent investments, which is realising significant export income for the State, while high commodity prices are also acting as a catalyst for the next wave of major investments in the sector.

At the same time, domestic conditions continue to improve, and the stronger financial position of the Commonwealth and State Governments provides the opportunity to progress important economic and social infrastructure priorities.

The improved investment outlook – both private and public – is reflected in the size of the current and future projects that exist in WA. Based on data sourced from the Business News Major Projects List and the Deloitte Access Economics Investment Monitor, it is estimated that there is approximately $160 billion in major projects that are either under construction or under active consideration in WA in 2019.

ACIL Allen expects that Western Australia’s GSP will expand by 3.1 per cent per annum between 2019-20 and 2022-23, with both iron ore and LNG sectors likely to remain the State’s growth engines over the outlook period. Double digit growth rates are forecast in these sectors, fuelled by the combination of both increased production and the new expansion projects.

The 2020 WA Infrastructure Report is available for download at:

2020 Infrastructure Report for web.pdf

New projects a boost for local industry: CCF WA

Alice Graham — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 05:00:00 GMT

The Civil Contractors Federation WA says the new road projects announced by the State and Federal Governments today will provide a much-needed boost for Western Australian businesses and help address the State’s infrastructure deficit.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said projects such as the widening of Mitchell Freeway southbound from Hodges Drive to Hepburn Avenue, the Apple Street-Great Northern Highway and Wanneroo Road-Morley Drive intersection upgrades, and three regional corridor upgrades would provide opportunities for many Western Australian contractors and suppliers.

“We’ve been calling for more contracting opportunities in the $10 million to $100 million range to put some balance into the mix, and these projects fit the bill,” he said.

Mr Graham also welcomed the Federal Government confirming its support for bringing forward the Bunbury Outer Ring Road, Albany Ring Road, Karratha to Tom Price Corridor and Tonkin Gap projects.

“The State Government has been working hard fast-tracking the planning and procurement of these important projects to get them all up and running within the next year, and it's great to know the Federal Government is on board to support the accelerated timelines,” he said.

Mr Graham said that today’s announcements would give confidence to the local industry and boost job prospects for Western Australians.

“There’s a lot more to do, though,” he said. “Australia has consistently under-invested in productive infrastructure over past decades. Our infrastructure deficit is massive and growing.

“With interest rates at historical lows, we must seize the opportunity to tackle that deficit through debt funding of productive infrastructure.

“We agree that ‘cash splash’ stimulus is not the way to go – the best economic bang for the buck will come from investment in infrastructure that will boost productivity and improve the quality of life for this and future generations.”

2019 Earth Awards winners honoured

Alice Graham — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 03:14:41 GMT

The winners of the 2019 CCF WA Earth Awards, Western Australia’s annual celebration of excellence in infrastructure, were announced at a gala dinner on Friday night at Crown Perth.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said the high quality of the 17 Earth Awards finalists was testament to the skills and diverse capabilities of WA’s civil contracting industry. “The Earth Awards are all about showcasing our fabulous local industry, and we’ve certainly achieved that aim again this year,” Mr Graham said. “our judges had a huge task in trying to separate all these great projects and find the winners.

CCF WA President David Della Bona said it was an honour to welcome special guest Chris Tallentire MLA, who attended representing the State Government. “It’s fitting Mr Tallentire joined us for this annual celebration of infrastructure excellence, because 11 of the 17 finalists were State Government projects. The number of Government infrastructure projects in the Earth Awards shows how important Government works are to our industry – and it also suggests that these projects are often the most interesting and challenging, and that they bring the best out of our industry.”

The Earth Award for Excellence in Civil Construction – project value $30 million to $75 million went to Civmec Construction and Engineering for the Matagarup Bridge Arches and Decks Fabrication, Painting and Transportation. Steel fabrication and modularisation for the project was brought back to WA when the overseas fabricator was unable to complete the job after working on it for almost two years. With the project at significant risk, Civmec’s highly skilled and dedicated workforce was engaged to deliver the works within an extremely challenging delivery timeframe. Transporting the fabricated steel components from Henderson to the project site at Burswood represented a significant challenge, especially the massive arch modules.

Left to right: Chris Tallentire MLA; Civmec Fabrication Superintendent Angelo Campisi; Allwest Plant Hire Managing Director Ian Priday; CCF WA President David Della Bona

The Earth Award for projects valued from $10 million to $30 million went to BMD Constructions for the Bow River Bridge Upgrade. BMD constructed a new 249m-long concrete bridge, approach embankments and road, improving safety and enhancing flood resistance. The project was a cultural and social success due to BMD’s focus on meeting unprecedented targets for Indigenous engagement by supporting reconciliation and making valuable contributions to leave a lasting legacy within two Indigenous communities.

Left to right: Chris Tallentire MLA; BMD Constructions Site Engineer Thomas Hiles; CCF WA President David Della Bona

The $5 million – $10 million Earth Award was won by Downer EDI Works for the Murdoch Health and Knowledge Precinct Stages 1A and 1B Civil Works. Downer developed six commercial lots within the Fiona Stanley Hospital Precinct, a highly visible and heavily congested brownfields environment presenting a wide range of environmental, safety and stakeholder management constraints. A major challenge was extending the existing freeway drainage storage basin, which was bordered by the freeway and off ramps, with minimal access for the removal of excess material. The impact of the complexities and challenges that arose on the project was significantly minimised in part due to strong communications, planning and relationships.

Left to right: Chris Tallentire MLA; Miniquip Director John Fenton; Downer EDI Works Project Manager Rod Findlay; Downer EDI Works Project Engineer Jiri Jilek; CCF WA President David Della Bona

The $2 million – $5 million category winner was Degrey Civil with the Utah Road Rehabilitation Stage 1 project. Rehabilitation of the road would require high environmental, safety and quality standards and could not impact export operations. The surrounding mangroves and soft ground meant that putting diversions and side-tracks in place was not an option, so traffic had to be carefully managed. The Pilbara Ports Authority chose a Foam Bitumen Stabilised (FBS) basecourse pavement that lifted the bar on design criteria and construction compliance to levels not normally seen in WA. DeGrey Civil completed the project safely, to a high standard, on time and on budget.

Left to right: Chris Tallentire MLA; Alcolizer Technology CFO Shannon Bell; DeGrey Civil General Manager & Director John Swioklo; CCF WA President David Della Bona

The Earth Award for projects valued up to $2 million was won by Cape Utilities for the 450mm PE Wastewater Pressure Main Upgrade. The pipeline corridor passed through a Bush Forever site that is also a wetlands catchment. To minimise the need for clearing and disturbance of potential acid sulphate soil, Cape’s EcoPlough was chosen as the most environmentally friendly option to install the pipeline underground. Cape achieved a first for WA by installing a large diameter, high wall thickness PE pipeline with a high degree of accuracy. Through the constant diligence of all involved, the Cape team accomplished the complicated project through a highly important sensitive ecosystem with no environmental damage.

Left to right: Brooks Hire Service Operations Manager Lenore Brooks; Chris Tallentire MLA; Cape Chief Operating Officer Greg Hutchinson; CCF WA President David Della Bona

On the recommendation of the judges, a special Highly Commended award was presented to the Water Corporation, Georgiou Group and BG&E for the Ellenbrook Water Tank project. With a diameter of 91m and height of 13m, the 80 million litre Ellenbrook Water Tank is the largest tank in the southern hemisphere. In a first for Water Corporation, the Ellenbrook Tank incorporates a vertically tapered tank wall, enabling improved material utilisation without compromising on durability or functionality. The base slab was constructed in a monolithic 92m-diameter pour, with concrete continuously placed over an 11-hour period involving 110 personnel, four concrete pumps and 30-plus concrete trucks.

Left to right: Chris Tallentire MLA; Georgiou Senior Project Manager Johnathon Lestone; CCF WA President David Della Bona

The five WA Earth Award winners will represent WA at the National Earth Awards, to be presented at a gala awards night in Canberra on November 22.

CCF WA thanks our Earth Awards Gala Dinner sponsors FT Workforce; Dial Before You Dig; Lavan; TFI Tyres; Allwest Plant Hire; MJB Industries; Brooks Hire; Alcolizer Technology; CR Kennedy; Ledge Finance; Miniquip Hire; and AV Partners.