Sydney’s Cost of Living Crisis Impacting Trades Industry

Sydney’s cost of living crisis has spawned a new crisis – the loss of the “local tradie”. With fewer tradespeople able to afford to live in the city, the cost of hiring in tradies, and delays during plumbing or electrical emergencies, is causing concern.

No More Free Quotes

It’s been a minute since tradespeople offered free quotes. Coming to a house, diagnosing the problem, pricing the job and providing a written quote is less viable when the tradesperson is travelling 50 or more kilometers into the city to work. The free quote system has been replaced with “refunded fee when job is booked” system.

Costly Delays in Emergencies

At your average Sydney plumbing company, the on-call emergency plumber is most likely to be one of the younger staff. Millennial tradies can’t afford to live in the city, your plumber in Ryde is actually a plumber in Parramatta to deliver an emergency plumbing service. Same goes for electricians. When there’s an emergency, adding hours to the commute time can add tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to the clean up bill.

No More “On Time” Guarantees

When you’re commuting in Sydney traffic from as far north as the Central Coast or south as Wollongong, guaranteeing a precise arrival time is no longer viable. That means that Sydney residents are forced to take longer away from work to wait for the tradesperson.

Escalating Costs

The cost of living crisis, has turned to the cost of hiring crisis, and the cost of logistics crisis. This has meant a sharp increase in the average plumbing, building, electrical and professional painter job, not just in Sydney but across Australia with Western Australia hardest hit by the escalating logistics and fuel costs.

It’s Not Just Trades Feeling the Pinch

Our frontline workers, including teachers, nurses and emergency services, traditionally on a low average wage, are commuting further than ever before. While it may be good news for regional services in satellite cities, Sydney’s risk of losing essential services during an emergency are on the rise. In the event of a natural disaster, or other major disruption blocking major city arteries, it’s estimated that more than half of all Sydney front line workers will be unable to access their workplaces.