If 2020 taught Aussie tradies anything, it was that resilience is basically written into their DNA. Fast forward to now and the trade industry looks very different to those Covid lockdown days, but it’s every bit as busy, and in some ways facing an even bigger set of challenges.
Here at Fergus, we build job management software specifically for trade businesses, and we work with over 20,000 tradies across Australia and New Zealand every day. That gives us a pretty good front-row seat to what’s actually happening on the ground. Here’s a look at how 2025 landed for Aussie tradies, and what the second half of 2026 is shaping up to look like.
2025: Busy, But Not Without Its Pressures
The good news first: demand for trade services in Australia remained strong throughout 2025. The pipeline of residential construction, renovations and major infrastructure projects kept the phones ringing. The government’s ambitious target of 1.2 million new homes by 2029 means construction work isn’t going anywhere, and the renewable energy boom is adding another layer of demand on top, particularly for electricians.
The tougher news is that the labour market made life genuinely difficult for a lot of trade businesses. According to the September 2025 Occupation Shortage Report from Jobs and Skills Australia, Skill Level 3 occupations covering trades and technical roles had a fill rate of just 54.3%, making them the hardest category to recruit in Australia right now. In plain terms, for every two trade job vacancies advertised, employers were only filling one.
According to The Aussie Corporate, apprentice completions have dropped 38% over the last ten years, and in early 2025 just over 10,000 apprentices completed their training, the lowest figure in a decade outside of pandemic-affected years. That’s a serious pipeline problem that won’t fix itself quickly.
For trade business owners, this created a frustrating situation: plenty of work, but not always enough people to do it. The businesses that handled it best were the ones with tight systems in place, who knew exactly where every job was at, what had been invoiced and what was still outstanding. When you can’t add more people, getting smarter about how you run the team you have becomes everything.
What’s Driving the Work in 2026?
Heading into the second half of 2026, the conditions that kept tradies busy through 2025 are still very much in play.
Housing construction is picking up pace. According to Pitcher Partners’ January 2026 economic outlook, housing starts have started rising again following three interest rate cuts, with national home prices forecast to rise 6 to 8% in 2026 and construction activity expected to increase over the next 18 months. That translates directly into more work for builders, plumbers, electricians, carpenters and every other trade involved in residential construction.
The Housing Industry Association’s Trades Availability Index recorded a reading of -0.47 in the final quarter of 2025, consistent with what the HIA describes as an ongoing structural shortage of skilled trades, with the expectation that this shortage will deteriorate further as home building volumes grow through 2026 and beyond.
For Queensland trades in particular, preparations for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games are already starting to absorb labour, adding another layer of demand on top of housing and infrastructure projects that are already stretching capacity.
The renewable energy sector is also driving significant demand. According to Jobs and Skills Australia and industry bodies, the electrical sector alone is forecasting a shortage of around 32,000 energy and electrical workers by 2030, just to meet clean energy targets. For sparky businesses that are already booked out, this signals years of strong demand ahead.
So What Does This Mean for Your Trade Business?
More work sounds like great news, and it is. But more work without the right systems in place can hurt a business just as much as not enough work. Missed charges, invoices that go out late, jobs that fall through the cracks, a team that doesn’t know where they’re supposed to be or what they’re supposed to be doing. Sound familiar?
This is the problem Fergus was built to solve.
Fergus is all-in-one job management software designed by tradies, for tradies. It brings everything you need to run your trade business into one place: quoting, scheduling, job tracking, team management, invoicing, supplier costs and payments. Whether you’re managing three jobs or three hundred, you get a clear picture of exactly what’s happening across your whole business, in real time, from your phone or your desk.
Tyler from AXT Plumbing in Yarrawonga put it simply: “We never miss a job and we never miss costs now. Everything gets billed out. The difference in turnover and cash flow has been huge.”
And Duncan Leask from J.T. Carters Plumbers said: “We got onto Fergus and in just one quarter we smashed an extra 20 to 30% onto our sales through sheer organisational efficiency.”
With integrations to over 100 trade suppliers and seamless syncing with Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks, Fergus eliminates the double handling that eats up so much of your (or your partner’s) time in the office. And with Fergus Pay, your customers can pay on the spot via Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android, so cash flow stops being the thing that keeps you up at night.
If 2025 showed us anything, it’s that the workload for Aussie tradies isn’t the problem. Managing it well is. The trade businesses coming out ahead right now are the ones running tight, efficient operations and getting paid for every single thing they do.
Ready to Get Your Business Under Control?
Fergus offers a free 14-day trial with no credit card required, no lock-in contracts and free setup support. It takes minutes to get started, and the difference it makes to your day-to-day is something our customers tell us they wish they’d done years earlier.
Head to fergus.com/au to start your free trial today, or call the team on 1300 906 965 if you’d like to chat first.
This guest blog was written by Fergus, job management software trusted by over 20,000 tradies across Australia and New Zealand. fergus.com/au
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Sources referenced in this post:
- Jobs and Skills Australia, September 2025 Occupation Shortage Report
- The Aussie Corporate, October 2025
- Pitcher Partners Economic Outlook, January 2026
- Housing Industry Association Trades Availability Index, December Quarter 2025
- Jobs and Skills Australia and industry bodies, electrician workforce projections to 2030
- Customer quotes sourced directly from fergus.com/au, verified May 2026
