The Australian Institute of Architects (Queensland Chapter) has provided a comprehensive submission to the Queensland Productivity Commission’s Interim Report on construction sector productivity. The Institute welcomes the Commission’s focus on reform but stresses that productivity must be defined by more than cost or speed. True productivity delivers housing and infrastructure that are efficient to build while remaining resilient, sustainable, and liveable for generations of Queenslanders.
The submission highlights the damaging effects of stop–start project pipelines, poorly aligned budgets, and lowest-cost procurement practices that lead to delays, rework, and reduced confidence across the industry. It calls for stable pipelines, better procurement training, realistic briefs, and design-led oversight to ensure public investment achieves value for money.
The Institute further recommends rebuilding in-house government expertise in design and construction to reduce adversarial contracting practices, improve digital adoption, and open opportunities for small and regional firms. On planning reform, the Institute supports streamlining but warns against reducing safeguards that protect housing quality. It advocates for state-wide good design guides, climate-smart exemplar housing types, and embedding architectural expertise in approvals to build public trust and community support for increased density.
Addressing workforce shortages is also critical. The submission calls for expanding regional education pathways in architecture, faster recognition of overseas qualifications, and targeted support for skilled migrants, especially women, to strengthen the talent pipeline.
Finally, the Institute strongly supports investment in modern methods of construction (MMC), such as prefabrication, to deliver higher-quality and more sustainable housing at scale.
Overall, the submission positions design leadership as central to improving whole-of-life outcomes. By embedding quality and resilience into every stage of project delivery, Queensland can lift productivity while ensuring communities benefit from safe, enduring, and affordable housing.