Western Australia's building and construction industry is booming and the demand for skilled workers is growing!
The Construction Migration Office is a new service providing comprehensive support for building and construction sector employers in Western Australia looking to hire skilled migrants, and for migrants seeking to move to WA to work in the sector.
Our dedicated team provides end-to-end support, aiding in registering available jobs, offering educational resources, and connecting you to existing services.
Support for WA's building and construction industry
On 30 April 2023 the State Government announced initiatives to boost WA's building and construction workforce capacity, delivering additional skilled workers for this crucial industry that enables job growth across the state.
The following building and construction industry initiatives are available.
Construction Visa Subsidy Program
Through the new Construction Visa Subsidy Program, the State Government is supporting Western Australian employers engage skilled workers.
The $11 million Construction Visa Subsidy Program provides employers with grants to offset the costs of supporting skilled migrants to fill jobs in WA's building and construction industry from 1 July 2023.
We know that navigating Australia’s skilled migration system can be complex and expensive, especially for small and medium sized businesses which employ the largest number of workers in the construction industry.
Subsidies of up to $10,000 are now available to attract skilled migrants to the residential and commercial construction sector in 2023—24.
Amendments to State Nomination
Additional amendments will be made to the State Nominated Migration Program (SNMP) criteria for 2023—24, including:
- waiving the requirement to provide a six-month contract of employment for visa subclass 190 applicants for building and construction trade occupations;
- prioritising of invitations for applicants in WA to retain skilled workers in the State, with applicants residing in the rest of Australia and overseas ranked equally; and
- prioritising of invitations for industries with critical demand for skilled workers, including building and construction, health and medical, teaching, tourism and hospitality occupations.
Connect with skilled workers
The new Skilled Migrant Employment Register is a free initiative helping employers connect with migrants who want to join the workforce and build a life in Western Australia.
Through the new Migration WA Portal, the Register now offers an automated job matching function to get people into jobs faster.
Certification for Regional visas
The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494)(opens in a new tab) (SESR) allows WA businesses to sponsor skilled migrants to fill positions that cannot be filled locally, through the Employer Sponsored stream.
If you are a WA employer seeking to sponsor a migrant through this visa pathway, you need to lodge an application with WA Migration Services for Regional Certifying Body (RCB) advice.
Local Building and Construction industry peak bodies
Contact your local building and construction industry peak body, such as the Housing Industry Association Western Australia (HIA WA) and Master Builders Association of WA (MBA WA) who can connect you with services that specialise in sourcing skilled migrants particular to your business needs. This can include offshore skills assessments, meeting prospective skilled workers and providing visa advice.
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Visit the Employers build your workforce page(opens in a new tab) for more information about available support, visa pathways, finding skilled workers and other considerations.