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The paint inspection checklist is on the way. It’s been a slower-than-normal grind—work has pulled me away from Constructor. I’m aiming to draft it this week and publish next week at the latest.
📰 Interesting News Articles From This Week:
Housing Supply without controlling demand suggests National Housing Accord wont fix affordablity - LINK
Unconventional Economist
Unconventional Economist
Housing affordability isn’t just a supply job.
Alan Kohler lays it out: governments set a target of 1.2m homes in five years but delivered ~170k in year one, so the run-rate now needs to lift to ~260k a year—while approvals are falling. Meanwhile, demand has been juiced by rate cuts, a 5% deposit scheme, and net migration far outpacing completions. Touch the demand levers (negative gearing, CGT discount, migration settings) or expect more of the same.
And even if we wanted to build that many—where are the tradies?
BuildSkills Australia estimates a ~117k shortfall in residential construction workers to hit the Accord target; apprenticeships are sliding; construction productivity has gone backwards. Proposed fixes: lift completions, bring more women into the trades, better align skilled migration to actual site roles, and scale VET capacity. In short: workforce first, slogans later.
The scoreboard: prices up, approvals down, rents tighter.
Approvals are ~22% behind the Accord path; prices and auction clearances are running hot; rental vacancy has tightened to ~1.4%, with rents accelerating again. Policy that boosts buyer demand (like the new guarantee scheme) risks pushing prices higher unless supply and labour capacity catch up.
Our take
“Improve productivity” is the wrong headline if it ignores system design. Productivity comes from system changes: fund councils to lift throughput, standardise codes and approvals, unblock utilities interfaces, and run genuine TOC-style de-bottlenecking on planning, servicing, and inspections.
Pair that with a workforce plan (apprenticeships, female participation, targeted migration tied to on-site roles) and demand settings that don’t fight the build program.
Otherwise, we’re promising 240k a year with a 170k machine.
Anthony Painter
Anthony Painter
🤗 Howdy Readers
In this newsletter, you'll find:
📬️ No Blog Posts Last week - busy week but the paint checklist is in process.
🔒 Software of the Week: Take5 Apps
(This isn’t a sponsored post—just software we recently started testing and thought we’d share it with you.)
What it is
Take5 is a simple safety-reporting app suite for Australian worksites. It replaces paper “Take 5” cards with mobile forms for quick risk assessments, hazard and incident reports, pre-start checks, and safety observations—then emails the results out instantly.
Why it matters
If your crews still shuffle carbon-copy pads or lose photos in text threads, Take5 pulls everything into one flow: complete the check, attach photos, and send a tidy report (including CSV data) to whoever needs it—fast. That means fewer admin headaches and better evidence when you’re chasing close-outs or responding to an audit.
Features → benefits
- Five core modules (Take5, Hazard, Incident, Pre-start, Safety Check) cover the common site workflows—so you don’t juggle multiple apps.
- Auto-prefill + optional location detection speeds up form entry and gives useful context.
- Email distribution lets you CC reports to your office admin, shared inboxes, or tool addresses (e.g., project-management “create-by-email” endpoints). Reports can include CSV for easy tracking.
Who it’s for
Great fit for builders, trades, and facility teams who want fast, reliable field reporting without heavyweight enterprise systems. If you’re standardising site paperwork across subcontractors, this lowers friction.
Platform & pricing
Available on iOS and Android with a one-time purchase (no subscription, free updates). That’s rare—and ideal for tight budgets (everyone). Check the App Store / Google Play listings for device requirements.
Why we like it
It’s affordable, quick to roll out, and keeps safety evidence flowing to the right inboxes—without spreadsheets or paper stacks. For many teams, that’s the 80/20 of safety admin done right.
🧽 Curious? Click through to explore it firsthand and see if it fits your site workflow.
📹️ Featured Youtube Channel of The Week
👉️ SWITCH ANGEL - https://www.youtube.com/@Switch-Angel
In my honest view, this is the future of dance music—at least a fresh new genre.
What Switch Angel does in real time blows me away. It’s not just mixing or smooth transitions; it’s live music-making and coding on the fly.
She’s a seriously skilled creator, blending music theory and coding in real time. Her narrated tracks hit like old-school techno, with the DJ’s voice adding depth and identity.
🎧️ Music of the week
Switch Angel - October 2025 - Not a song per se, just a sample of Switch Angel.
Can't see the video embed below? Click here. to watch on Youtube.
✅ Our Quality Checklists
Anthony Painter
C14 Tile Design & Installation Checklist recently added to the list 09-08-2025
Please note: You’ll need to be a member and to log in to access the content.
📜 Reader Survey: Should all builders display a quality rating score?
Tell us what you think. Can't see the embed below? Click here to open it (opens builder quality score rating survey)
