Data Centres vs Housing

The construction of massive data centres is having a negative impact on the construction of housing throughout Australia.

The Housing Industry Association warns the boom in construction of data centres is creating a bidding war for tradies such as electricians.

It says the more lucrative data centre projects are luring them away from housing construction, causing a shortage of electricians and specialist trades.

HIA chief executive for industry and policy Simon Croft says the challenge is that data centres, homes and infrastructure projects are all drawing from the same pool of skilled workers.

“We are increasingly hearing from builders who are struggling to compete for electricians and specialist trades as demand intensifies across the economy,” he says.

“When a major project can pay significantly more for electricians, the rest of the economy feels the impact, including residential construction.”

“Housing, energy, infrastructure and data centres are now competing for the same critical trades. Unless we increase the supply of skilled workers, something has to give.”