If you are wondering what is going on across the Australian construction industry right now, this is the page for you. We have set out our detailed thoughts on the 3 Construction Issues affecting our clients most heavily, drawing on more than 50 years of combined experience inside and alongside Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 construction businesses.
The work below is what we are reading, hearing about, advising on, and writing about, and it is shaped directly by the engagements we are running with construction business owners and leadership teams.
We have curated and collated the strongest published commentary on the issues facing Australian construction in 2026, drawing on industry voices we have sourced from social media and other public channels. Builders, developers, suppliers, peak bodies and advisers all sit in the same Report so you can read across them in one place.
The 2026 fuel crisis triggered cost shocks across every input. Diesel rose roughly 78% in three weeks. PVC pipe prices moved 25 to 35%. Margins are now squeezed at every tier of the industry, head contractors and subcontractors alike, and we are seeing the effects in every commercial conversation we have with our clients.
The Report assembles the voices we have curated, contributor by contributor, on what is happening, what is changing, and what construction businesses can do about it. Six sections cover financial pressure, contractual exposure, project delivery, workforce strain, regulatory shifts and what comes next.
Each Construction Issue is a live body of work, drawing on the engagements we are running with construction business clients across Queensland and beyond. Articles, contract analysis and practical guidance all sit underneath, written by Rachelle and Shannon and connected directly to the work we are doing for clients facing each issue.
The largest issue we are tracking right now. Triggered by the 2026 fuel crisis and the cascading effects on materials, margins, contracts and project viability across every tier of the industry.
The Olympic infrastructure pipeline is the largest construction opportunity Queensland has seen in a generation. Construction businesses that want to participate need to be ready well before 2028, not after the work has already been awarded.
Most construction business owners we work with started their company small and grew it. The structure that worked then often does not fit the business they are running today, and structuring decisions made at the start can quietly limit growth, asset protection, succession options and risk management years down the line.
The articles below cover the issues we see affecting the most construction businesses, the most often. If a client is new to us and wants to understand how we approach commonly recurring problems, these are the pieces we point them to first.
Our structured approach to managing cost shock when input prices move faster than your contracts can absorb them.
ArticleThe four or five recurring patterns behind almost every construction business failure, and what owners can do before they reach that point.
ArticleWhat fixed-price means in practice when input costs jump 30% mid-project, and what real options exist under the contract.
ArticleHow rise and fall clauses work, where they fail in practice, and what to negotiate before they go in a contract.
ArticleAn honest framework for assessing whether your business is ready to bid, ready to be ready, or better off staying with current work.
ArticleWhy the structure that worked when you started often quietly undermines the business you are running ten or fifteen years later, and what to do about it.
Answers to the questions we get most often about these industry issues and how to use these insights for your construction business.
Rachelle Hare and Shannon Drew write the published analysis directly. Rachelle is a Construction Lawyer, Commercial Manager and Business Adviser with more than 25 years of construction industry experience including senior in-house roles at Tier 1 contractors and top-tier law firms. Shannon is a Fractional CFO, Management Accountant and Business Adviser with more than 25 years of construction industry experience. The work is shaped by the engagements they are running with clients, not by content marketing briefs.
We focus on the issues that are affecting our clients most heavily right now. The Construction Cost Crisis is the largest current issue, driven by the 2026 fuel crisis and its effects on materials, margins and contracts. Brisbane 2032 readiness is the second, driven by the run-up to Olympic infrastructure delivery. Construction Business Structuring is the third, driven by the structuring conversations we are having with growing construction businesses across Queensland.
We have curated and collated voices we sourced from public commentary, including LinkedIn posts, public statements, industry submissions and other published material from across the construction industry. Each voice in the Report has been verified to a real person and a real public source. The Report is free to read online.
News reports a story. We write about issues we are advising on directly, with a view to giving construction business owners and leadership teams something they can use commercially, contractually or operationally. Every piece is grounded in client work, contract review, financial review or commercial advisory we have run inside or alongside construction businesses.
Yes. The 3 Construction Issues currently published are the issues affecting our clients most heavily right now. As the industry shifts and new pressures emerge, we will publish additional Construction Issues here.
The fastest way to translate the issues we write about into specific commercial, contractual or financial decisions for your construction business is a fixed-price Strategy Session with Rachelle and Shannon. Sessions are positioned at $550 to $750 plus GST depending on complexity. You can also call us direct on (07) 3063 3373.
Blaze Business & Legal is located at 1A/52 Jeffcott Street, Wavell Heights QLD 4012. We work with construction businesses across Queensland and beyond, with most engagements run by phone, video and document review.
You can call Blaze Business & Legal on (07) 3063 3373 or email enquiry@blazebusinessandlegal.com.au.
A fixed-price Strategy Session with Rachelle and Shannon is the fastest way to translate the issues we are writing about into specific commercial, financial and contractual decisions for your construction business. Sessions are positioned at $550 to $750 plus GST depending on complexity.
Construction Lawyer, Business Adviser and Commercial Manager|Blaze Business & Legal
Rachelle has more than 25 years of experience in construction law, business advisory, commercial management, contract administration and construction business structuring. Her career includes senior in-house legal roles at Tier 1 and Tier 2 construction companies including Thiess, Laing O’Rourke and Acciona, and private practice experience at top-tier law firms Corrs Chambers Westgarth and McCullough Robertson. She also spent over six years as a senior commercial manager on Defence and Tier 2 Construction and Technology Projects, including 8 months as Deputy Program Manager on a construction and technology program of National significance. At Blaze Business & Legal, Rachelle works alongside Shannon Drew to provide integrated construction law, financial management, commercial and business advisory services to construction businesses across Australia.
