Western Australia’s state government plans to pay up to $4 million to Austral Bricks to reopen its Cardup brickworks, a move aimed at easing supply pressure as home building activity rises across the state.
Austral, a Sydney-based company, shut its WA facility in mid-2023 after demand dropped. With the closure, Midland Brick became the state’s only brickmaker, and the government says detached home construction starts have since grown by more than 50 per cent, leaving supply struggling to keep up.
Treasurer and Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti said the funding is designed to support a critical part of the construction supply chain and help manage rising brick costs. Under the plan, the state will provide $3 million to restart the plant. The government says reopening is expected to lift brick production by up to 15 per cent.
The package also includes incentives tied to timing and output. Austral is set to receive an additional $500,000 if operations resume by March, plus another $500,000 if it produces at least 17 million bricks in its first year.
Builders at the announcement welcomed the extra manufacturing capacity, while stressing that shortages remain. ABN Group managing director Dale Alcock said the company had about 100 sites waiting on bricks. He also pointed to an allocation system that signals supply still isn’t meeting demand, adding that availability has become the bigger concern for the industry than cost.
Workforce constraints are also part of the bottleneck. Master Builders WA CEO Matt Moran said trade numbers need attention, including stronger promotion of apprenticeships. Housing Industry Association WA CEO Michael McGowan urged homeowners to expect delays for the next 12 months and to stay patient while bricklayers and builders work through the pipeline.
Curtin Business School’s Steven Rowley said the subsidy highlights how fragile the construction supply chain remains. He added that ongoing pressure on brick availability is pushing some Western Australians to rethink double-brick homes as they weigh speed and cost against traditional preferences.
Read the full, original article from abc.net.au here.