WA Brick Crisis Sparks $7.5m Freight Subsidy for Builders
Western Australia's Cook Government announced a $7.5 million package on Tuesday to help builders import bricks and ease a shortage that is lifting prices and slowing home construction. Premier Roger Cook said the subsidy could save up to $5000 on an average double brick house.
The Western Australian Government on Tuesday announced a $7.5 million freight subsidy for home builders, as a brick shortage pushes up prices and slows construction. The brick crisis sparks $7.5m in support under a package led by Premier Roger Cook's Cook Government.
Small and medium builders will get a rebate of 50¢ a brick to import up to 10 million bricks from interstate and overseas. Large builders will receive 25¢ a brick for up to 10 million bricks.
What the subsidy means for homebuyers
Cook said the freight subsidy should save up to $5000 on the average double brick home. "These costs would have had to be met by builders if we did not intervene," he said.
Master Builders WA chief executive Matt Moran said the measure would stop some builders going bust. Many had fixed price contracts and could not deliver without bricks. "If they had fixed price contracts and they didn't have bricks, they couldn't deliver, and then they are at risk of folding," he said.
How the shortage built up
In September, builders were put on strict rations after Midland Brick said its shortage had grown to include maxi bricks. The same month, the Government announced $4 million for repairs and incentives to restart the Cardup brickworks in Byford, which stopped production in 2023.
The Cardup facility is expected to lift production capacity by 10 to 15 per cent in 2027. Treasurer Rita Saffioti said the brickworks would be re-established in the first quarter of next year.
She rejected suggestions that Government and industry should have seen the problem coming. "The whole industry, and I heard directly from builders, were caught by surprise by the allocation letters that were sent out a couple of months ago, so we acted immediately," she said.
Saffioti said the package aims to avoid "a massive escalation in cost" and to prevent stranded homes in the suburbs.
Industry view
Housing Industry Association boss Michael McGowan called more imports an important short-term fix. He said WA must keep moving away from the traditional method.
Double brick now accounts for about 70 per cent of builds, McGowan said, compared with about 90 per cent before COVID. More builders are looking at brick veneer options.
Even so, he said, a large share of homes are designed for double brick and are under fixed price contracts with delivery timelines. "We need to get them out the door," he said.
