Australia’s $242 billion opportunity, and why we’re about to waste it

By Francisco Irazusta, Chief Executive Officer

Australia stands at a rare inflection point. With a $242 billion public infrastructure pipeline through to 2029, the construction sector has an extraordinary mandate, and a stubborn problem in the way of delivering it.

Productivity in Australia’s construction sector has barely moved since the 1990s, rising just 2.0% in 2023-2024[1]. Against a backdrop of tight labour markets, supply chain constraints and rising input costs, the stagnation is not just a frustration, it’s an existential threat. Companies that don’t change will find that the demand boom becomes a margin crisis, not a growth story.

The good news: the path forward exists. The harder truth: it requires the industry to fundamentally rethink how it procures, specifies and collaborates.

If we don’t act now, the demand boom will turn into a lost opportunity, and Australian homes, schools and hospitals will pay the price.

Why procurement models are the real innovation killer

The structural barries to innovation in construction are complicated and well documented, such as heavy reliance on subcontracting, lower workforce diversity, entrenched delivery models, low appetite for risk-sharing and fragmented procurement practices. But the root cause is simpler: when procurement is optimised for lowest cost and lowest risk, it leaves no room for smarter thinking.

Engineers are under time pressure and incentivised to stick with proven specifications, because the system places the full burden of innovation risk on the person holding the pen. The result is that genuinely better solutions, such as lighter materials, digitally integrated systems and more efficient site delivery, never make it to specification. The innovation gap isn’t a technology problem. It’s a structural risk and procurement problem.

One way of changing this is allowing suppliers to come to the table earlier. That means moving beyond transactional relationships towards genuine commercial partnerships, where ideas can be stress-tested, specification designed collaboratively and value unlocked before a single shovel hits the ground.

Where construction is missing the opportunity in steel

The steel industry has a long record of advancing materials science in service of construction. From 415 MPa rebar in the 1960s to 500 MPa in the 1990s, each transition delivered meaningful gains in structural efficiency. Each took longer than it should have. The shift to 600 MPa is no different: the capability exists, the performance data is there, and the industry is slow to move.

The missed opportunity is real. Higher strength reinforcing steel delivers the same structural performance with less material, meaning less volume, less weight, lower transport costs and 49% lower embodied carbon than the industry average. Digital traceability turns a reactive supply chain into a proactive one, where mill certificates, delivery sequencing and carbon reporting are managed in real time rather than chased manually across the project. That’s not a marginal improvement. It’s the difference between a specification that creates value and one that quietly destroys it.

The material is ready and the evidence is there. What’s missing isn’t technology or capability, it’s a procurement system willing to reward the better decision. Until that changes, the missed opportunity compounds with every project that defaults to the familiar spec and every dollar of value that gets left on the table.

What genuine innovation in steel actually looks like

Australia’s most significant reinforcing steel innovation in decades is now commercially available and it’s already challenging assumptions about what’s possible in construction.

SENSE Solutions® starts with SENSE 600®, a 600 MPa reinforcing steel that delivers the same structural performance as conventional 500 MPa rebar with less material. Less material means less weight on site, lower transport costs, reduced placement labour and 49% lower embodied carbon than the industry average.

But the steel is only part of it. SENSE Solutions® brings engineering advisory capability to the design phase, which is where the real value is unlocked. Our engineers work alongside project teams before specifications are locked in, identifying opportunities to optimise reinforcement design, reduce material volume and resolve constructability issues before they become site problems. This is the engagement the industry rarely allows for and the conversation that currently happens too late, if at all.

The digital capability being developed alongside SENSE 600® takes that even further. Full traceability from mill certificate through to site delivery means rebar schedules managed proactively rather than reactively, with real time visibility over sequencing, delivery verification and carbon reporting that currently gets chased manually across the supply chain.

SENSE Solutions® can only deliver these outcomes when it’s specified early enough to be engineered in, not bolted on as an afterthought. This is where the industry’s risk aversion becomes self-defeating. Conservative procurement defaults to familiar specifications. Familiar specifications lock in familiar outcomes, including cost overruns, carbon penalties and productivity losses the industry has been absorbing for decades and calling normal.

What a whole-of-industry change actually requires

Talking about change is easy. Doing it requires structural change on both sides of the supply chain. For asset owners and contractors, it means implementing procurement processes that reward value, not just price. It means allowing suppliers to contribute technical knowledge at the design stage, and asking not “who is the cheapest?” but “who can help us build smarter?”.

For suppliers like InfraBuild, it means showing up with more than a product catalogue. It means bringing engineering capability, digital intelligence and commercial creativity to the conversation, and being genuinely accountable for project outcomes. We are ready for this change today.

The opportunity is now

InfraBuild is uniquely positioned to drive this change. Our Sustainable Futures Strategy is built on the premise that innovation in steel is inseparable from innovation in how we work with our customers.

The question for the industry is whether you’re willing to seize the boom opportunity to build something more durable than the projects themselves: a smarter, more productive, more collaborative and ultimately more profitable construction sector.

Australia is about to spend $242 billion building its future. The only question is whether the construction industry will still be standing when it’s done.

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[1] IA25_Market Capacity Report_1.pdf