What is the Construction Industry like to work in (Queensland)?

[TOM1989]

Hi all,

Myself and my wife are moving to Brisbane on a 189 Visa at the end of September 2019, I currently work as a Senior Quantity Surveyor (Contract Administrator) for a construction firm in London. I'm hoping you could answer a few questions for me surrounding the construction industry in Brisbane;

- Are there any draw backs or differences compared to the UK construction industry that I should watch out for?

- Is it hard to obtain employment as a British Expat with no Australian experience?

- Is there a lot of construction work forecast for the Brisbane area, and does the Brisbane construction industry differ to any other places in Australia ?

- What are the usual working hours, and is there good work/life balance? 

- Does the construction industry generally close down over the Christmas period like it does in the UK, if so what dates? 

All feedback welcome, and I appreciate you all taking the time to read my post!

Cheers

Tom

 

[MARYROSE02]

I'm sure there must be some people who live in Brisbane who  can tell you what life is like there much better than me. I went to Brisbane for a couple of days in December and there seemed to be plenty of construction of high rise, although I don't know if it's more than in Sydney. You could also spread your net down to the Gold Coast where they always seem to be constructing new towers too. I don't know whether more people commute from the Gold Coast to Brisbane, or vice versa?

With Australia's federal system of government it means that some aspects of life are regulated by the Commonwealth government in Canberra and others by the various state governments and there may be differences from state to state.

I was just checking the calendar and see that Xmas Day is on Wednesday so I imagine that some businesses will shut down for a week and others for two weeks and some people will take all or most of the school holidays off from before Xmas to Australia Day - 26th January, a Sunday so Monday 27th will be a public holiday too.

[TOM1989]

On 30/07/2019 at 13:43, MARYROSE02 said:

I'm sure there must be some people who live in Brisbane who  can tell you what life is like there much better than me. I went to Brisbane for a couple of days in December and there seemed to be plenty of construction of high rise, although I don't know if it's more than in Sydney. You could also spread your net down to the Gold Coast where they always seem to be constructing new towers too. I don't know whether more people commute from the Gold Coast to Brisbane, or vice versa?

With Australia's federal system of government it means that some aspects of life are regulated by the Commonwealth government in Canberra and others by the various state governments and there may be differences from state to state.

I was just checking the calendar and see that Xmas Day is on Wednesday so I imagine that some businesses will shut down for a week and others for two weeks and some people will take all or most of the school holidays off from before Xmas to Australia Day - 26th January, a Sunday so Monday 27th will be a public holiday too.

Hi Maryrose02

Thank you very much for the insight, it is very much appreciated. 

Yes there does seem to be ample amounts of construction work being carried out over there at the moment. A few people have mentioned to me about the large cross rail river project in Brisbane that is going on the moment, which sounds like it could have a lot of prospects. I will certainly look into the gold coast area too and see if there are any options / opportunities in this area, we don't have too many commitments at the moment prospecting other areas is definitely doable. 

Thanks for the comments surrounding the Christmas period, I only ask as my family are coming over during this period and if the industry is closed then it means i can hopefully spend more time with them, it sounds as though it is similar to the break we have over in England which would be great!

Thanks again,

 

[MARYROSE02]

I was hoping that somebody with better knowledge of Qld would comment. I've been up to the Gold Coast twice recently with my brothers pondering what it would be like to move there (from Sydney). Xmas and New Year occur at the same time as the school holidays so there's probably a longer break in Australia - maybe like August in the UK thought not quite the same?