Brisbane 2032 Is Coming… But Who’s Going to Build It?

Louise Pope
Apr 29
2 min read

Brisbane’s Olympic Boom Is Underway – But the Workforce Isn’t

Brisbane 2032 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Major infrastructure projects are being planned, approved, and accelerate everything from Cross River Rail and Brisbane Metro to venue upgrades and the newly proposed Victoria Park Stadium.

But beneath the surface of this historic boom is a growing and very real problem:

"We’re running out of skilled people to deliver it all."

"Infrastructure Planning Is a Moving Target " The scale of Olympic development is massive, and the roadmap has already shifted multiple times:

The $2.7B Gabba rebuild? Cancelled.
Victoria Park stadium? Back on.
Athletes’ village? Moved.
Aquatics centre? Relocated again.

Each backflip causes delays, resets procurement, and throws hiring timelines off course. When planning keeps changing, so do project scopes and that makes workforce planning harder for everyone.

But while venue locations move around on paper, projects like Cross River Rail and the Brisbane Arena are locked in and already underway.

And the talent pool? It’s not growing fast enough to meet demand.

The Skills Shortage Is Already Here Workforce forecasting shows Queensland will need an additional 30,000–40,000 construction workers each year leading up to 2032.

We’re not just talking trades. The shortage spans:

Contract Administrators
Estimators
Commercial Managers
Civil Engineers
Project Planners

Every major project Olympic-linked or not is chasing the same talent. That means:

Bids delayed due to resource gaps
Junior staff being promoted too fast
Rising salaries and drop-offs mid-process
And teams already showing signs of burnout

The biggest risk to Olympic delivery isn’t bad design or budget blowouts it’s failing to hire and retain the right people.

"Why Hiring Strategy Needs to Start Now" If you’re part of the delivery supply chain, you can’t afford to “wait and see.”

You need a workforce strategy that adapts to shifting plans but still secures capability early.

That’s where Aequalis Consulting comes in.

We’re already helping infrastructure leaders across QLD to:

✔️ Build long-term commercial and project teams before competition heats up

✔️ Secure hard-to-find talent with major project experience

✔️ Develop internal succession pipelines for key delivery roles

✔️ Respond quickly to project scope changes with flexible resourcing

We understand the pressures of high-stakes infrastructure because we live and breathe it.

"The Deadline Won’t Move. Will Your Team Be Ready?" Olympic projects can’t be delayed. They won’t wait for your third round of interviews, or internal budget approvals, or HR policy reviews.

The organisations who act now, who invest in capability early will be the ones who deliver on time, on budget, and without last-minute hiring chaos.

If you’re building Brisbane’s future, you need more than a hiring process.

"You need a hiring strategy."

Let’s make sure your team is ready.

Contact | Aequalis Consulting