Infrastructure Australia’s market capacity work is a flagship of its policy and research program.

As reported in the 2023 Infrastructure Market Capacity report - the third report in this series - Australia’s 5-year infrastructure investment pipeline has slightly smoothed over the past 12 months, suggesting governments are actively managing their infrastructure pipelines. While the major public infrastructure spend is now valued at $230 billion over five years, a four percent increase on 2022, the updated outlook shows a 10% drop in the highest peak of expenditure across those five years and a shifting of investments into later years. Despite this slight smoothing of the pipeline, sustained cross-sectoral demand as well as regional demand hotspots and labour shortages will prolong the pressure on construction capacity. 

With major public infrastructure playing a key role in Australia’s economic ambitions, the 2023 Infrastructure Market Capacity report explains that a sustained focus on improving the productivity of the construction sector, increasing material and labour supply while continuing to actively manage demand, are crucial to the future success of the industry.