{"id":5094,"date":"2026-02-20T04:57:41","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T04:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/?post_type=resource&#038;p=5094"},"modified":"2026-02-24T02:43:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T02:43:10","slug":"au-construction-outlook-2026-what-leaders-are-saying","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/zh\/resource\/au-construction-outlook-2026-what-leaders-are-saying\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s Construction Outlook 2026: What Leaders Are Saying"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/23-1024x512.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5095\" srcset=\"https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/23-1024x512.png 1024w, https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/23-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/23-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/23-1536x768.png 1536w, https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/23-2048x1024.png 2048w, https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/23-18x9.png 18w, https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/23-600x300.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Australian construction sector is moving into 2026 with a growing sense of stability, tempered by realism about capacity,&nbsp;risk&nbsp;and delivery. After several years of volatility, industry leaders are no longer talking about recovery, but recalibration for the delivery wave ahead.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those themes came through clearly during&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/hubs.ly\/Q043XvFH0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Hubexo\u2019s&nbsp;Construction Outlook Webinar for 2026<\/strong><\/a>, where&nbsp;senior figures from&nbsp;development, architecture,&nbsp;construction&nbsp;and technology unpacked what the national construction pipeline is really&nbsp;signalling&nbsp;about the year ahead.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Panellists&nbsp;included:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Brook Monahan, Founder&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Managing Director at Mosaic Property Group&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stephen McGarry, Director at Carr&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Divya Mehta, Group CEO at Decode Group<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ashleigh Porter, President APAC at&nbsp;Hubexo<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The discussion coincided with the release of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/hubs.ly\/Q043XvFR0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hubexo\u2019s Construction Outlook for 2026<\/a>.&nbsp;The report&nbsp;draws on&nbsp;Hubexo\u2019s&nbsp;national project&nbsp;pipeline data from its&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/hubs.ly\/Q043XvGf0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LeadManager<\/a>&nbsp;platform,&nbsp;a Sentiment&nbsp;Survey&nbsp;and industry interviews to track activity across residential, commercial and hospitality,&nbsp;community&nbsp;and public buildings, industrial,&nbsp;infrastructure and transport, and&nbsp;energy and&nbsp;resources&nbsp;sectors.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\ud83c\udfa5 Missed the live session? The&nbsp;webinar&nbsp;recording is now&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/hubs.ly\/Q043XvL50\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>available on demand via&nbsp;Hubexo<\/strong><\/a><strong><\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sentiment:&nbsp;Stabilising, but deliberate<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<br>One of the defining shifts in this year\u2019s Construction Outlook data is the return of stalled projects to the pipeline, creating a renewed sense of stability despite ongoing cost pressure.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pipeline volatility has eased, project values are lifting across most sectors, and sentiment has improved, but this is not a return to speculative volume or rapid scaling.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, the market is moving forward more deliberately. Projects are being tested earlier and more rigorously, with feasibility, funding certainty and approvals now outweighing speed to market. The result is a steadier pipeline shaped by discipline rather than expansion.&nbsp;That shift was echoed by&nbsp;Hubexo&nbsp;President APAC Ashleigh Porter.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe pipeline is building again, and we\u2019re seeing project values step up across most sectors\u201d,&nbsp;Porter said.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>\u201cWhat&nbsp;we\u2019re&nbsp;seeing&nbsp;isn\u2019t&nbsp;risk appetite snapping back, but stalled projects coming back on stream as costs&nbsp;stabilise&nbsp;and planning and approval pathways become clearer.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFunding clarity,&nbsp;approvals and delivery confidence are now the deciding factors, not speed to market.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Development: Trust,&nbsp;delivery&nbsp;and long-term thinking<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<br>Recent years have fundamentally reshaped how risk, trust and responsibility are understood and shared across the development ecosystem.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Queensland-based developer&nbsp;Mosaic delivered and&nbsp;commenced&nbsp;around&nbsp;$2 billion&nbsp;worth of projects in 2025, but Monahan said scale alone is no longer the true measure of success.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With buyers committing early, trust has become the industry\u2019s most&nbsp;valuable asset, and heading into 2026 the challenge is not demand, but delivery capacity,&nbsp;productivity&nbsp;and&nbsp;labour&nbsp;availability.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou have to keep evolving\u2014skills, capacity, systems, people and culture\u2014across every part of the development and construction&nbsp;lifecycle\u201d,&nbsp;Monahan said.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s&nbsp;a hard industry to stay relevant, solvent and trusted over multiple cycles.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re&nbsp;continuing to invest heavily in our capacity to deal with whatever risks may be around the corner. There\u2019s always pressure across the business, but we&nbsp;remain&nbsp;optimistic about the future.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Architecture: Earlier\u00a0decisions, longer-term value<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Across the industry, architects are being pulled earlier into projects as clients become more\u00a0selective\u00a0and feasibility takes on greater importance.<br>Cost pressure,\u00a0labour\u00a0constraints\u00a0and planning uncertainty are pushing risk upstream, elevating the role of early collaboration and commercial rigour in determining what proceeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For many practices, this has meant recalibrating how and where they engage, focusing less on volume and more on depth, early-stage\u00a0involvement,\u00a0and long-term project viability.\u00a0<br>\u00a0<br>\u201cLooking ahead to 2026, our priorities are about deepening our presence, particularly in Queensland, but also placing much more emphasis on early collaboration and greater\u00a0rigour\u00a0around feasibility\u201d,\u00a0McGarry said.\u00a0\u00a0<br>\u00a0<br>\u201cWe\u2019re working through feasibilities across multiple states every day, sitting down with clients to really test how projects stack up and manage risk together,\u00a0because ultimately, that leads to better outcomes for everyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Construction:&nbsp;Capacity pressures increase<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Across the sector, builders are entering 2026 with demand firmly in place, but with delivery capacity under sustained pressure.&nbsp;Labour&nbsp;shortages&nbsp;remain&nbsp;acute, and while cost escalation has moderated, margin pressure and productivity constraints continue to shape how work is selected and delivered.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What is shifting, however, is industry&nbsp;behaviour. Builders and developers are collaborating more closely, sharing pressure rather than transferring it, and making more disciplined decisions about where to deploy people,&nbsp;capital&nbsp;and capability.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>\u201cIf we can make people\u2019s lives easier and build faster, why wouldn\u2019t we?&nbsp;We\u2019re&nbsp;embracing AI to improve processes&nbsp;and systems, and&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;a clear focus for us heading into 2026\u201d,&nbsp;Mehta said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe industry needs homes\u2014around 377,000 by 2029\u2014and&nbsp;we\u2019re&nbsp;only delivering about 40%&nbsp;of&nbsp;what\u2019s&nbsp;needed.&nbsp;That\u2019s&nbsp;a huge opportunity, but it also demands better collaboration,&nbsp;training&nbsp;and a shared approach to pressure across the system.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Innovation: From interest to execution<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Across the panel, technology&nbsp;emerged&nbsp;not as a&nbsp;\u201csilver bullet\u201d,&nbsp;but as a necessary capability.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Porter said interest in AI, data and digital tools is high, but adoption&nbsp;remains&nbsp;uneven. The&nbsp;organisations&nbsp;pulling ahead are embedding technology into everyday workflows and treating digital capability as a core&nbsp;organisational&nbsp;skill, not an add-on, a shift that will matter more as workforce pressures persist&nbsp;into&nbsp;2026.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Monahan said AI\u2019s immediate value lies in improving early decision-making, where risk and feasibility are either resolved or compounded.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>\u201cThe real opportunity with AI isn\u2019t novelty\u2014it\u2019s better coordination and faster, more informed decisions around risk\u201d,&nbsp;Monahan said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From an architectural lens, McGarry pointed to AI\u2019s growing role in early-stage analysis and&nbsp;optimisation, stressing that technology should support professional judgement rather than replace it.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>\u201cAt the front end, rapid site analysis and feasibility testing give clients confidence and help avoid issues later on site\u201d,&nbsp;McGarry&nbsp;said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Mehta, the focus is practical application. As housing demand intensifies, she said technology has a clear role to play in lifting productivity, removing friction from&nbsp;delivery&nbsp;and helping the industry scale more effectively.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Explore the latest pipeline data and industry insights in&nbsp;Hubexo\u2019s<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcicentral.com\/the-bci-construction-league\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/hubs.ly\/Q043XvPg0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Construction Outlook<\/strong><\/a><strong>. Take a deeper dive by downloading the report now.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/h4>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Australian construction sector is moving into 2026 with a growing sense of stability, tempered by realism about capacity,&nbsp;risk&nbsp;and delivery. After several years of volatility, industry leaders are no longer talking about recovery, but recalibration for the delivery wave ahead.&nbsp; Those themes came through clearly during&nbsp;Hubexo\u2019s&nbsp;Construction Outlook Webinar for 2026, where&nbsp;senior figures from&nbsp;development, architecture,&nbsp;construction&nbsp;and technology [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":5095,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"resource-category":[21],"class_list":["post-5094","resource","type-resource","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource-category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/5094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resource"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/5094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5122,"href":"https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/5094\/revisions\/5122"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"resource-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apac.hubexo.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-category?post=5094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}