How Konnecting Skilled Migration & Recruitment Is Solving Engineering & Trade Skill Shortages Across Major Projects
Claims the proposed $93 billion high-speed rail line from Newcastle to Sydney will result in the construction of up to 104,000 extra homes have been criticised by a leading academic who has questioned the economics of what would be Australia’s biggest infrastructure project.
A 300-page business case for the 194-kilometre rail link was publicly released on Tuesday, outlining plans for 200-metre trains that could travel at up to 320 kilometres per hour. However, the ultimate price tag of the rail line has been redacted from the project’s business case, which includes a warning that “a project of this scale and complexity carries inherent cost overrun risks”.
The proposed Newcastle-Sydney high-speed rail route is forecast to cost at least $93 billion.
To back up the business case and justify the substantial level of investment required, the government has forecast that 52,000 to 104,000 new homes could be built along the route, creating low-cost housing for potential commuters. Some 53,000 passengers are also forecast to take the fast train every weekday by 2041, with 72,000 weekday trips predicted by 2061.
University of Sydney professor David Levinson said the assumptions were not backed up by evidence because the government did not reveal its modelling work and said the estimates of homes that could be built did not match up to the estimates of daily passengers.
“Why would there be all these benefits of new homes? You’re not getting 100,000 riders per day on the line,” said Levinson, who questioned whether people would move to live along the rail route simply because it was there.
“Even if you believe what they’re saying, it’s far-fetched.”
The high-speed rail line would be about 1.8 times to 2.3 times more expensive per kilometre than the section of California’s high-speed rail project currently under construction due to 115 kilometres of tunnelling, making it one of the most expensive proposed rail projects in the world on a per-kilometre basis, according to Levinson.
The proposal comes more than 40 years after CSIRO chairman Dr Paul Wild proposed a “Very Fast Train” using French technology to link Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney.
The business plan forecasts passengers going to and from the Western Sydney International airport if a station is built as part of the project’s third stage. Without the airport station, which will add “additional complexity and risk,” weekday numbers would more than halve to just 30,000 by 2061.
The cost of building the line between Newcastle and Western Sydney Airport via central Sydney is estimated at up to $90 billion.
Only six stations are proposed along the route including the airport, which reduces opportunities to develop housing, shops and offices that could help pay for construction.
The business case proposes 200-metre trains that could travel at up to 320 kilometres per hour, and run every 20 minutes from 5am to 11pm, with the aim of starting operations in the late 2030s.
Both Labor and Coalition governments have subsequently considered building dedicated high-speed rail lines but have not pursued them due to the enormous cost.
The Australian government will need to carefully review the risks before making a final investment decision on the 194-kilometre rail link, said Adrian Dwyer, chief executive of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, which represents governments and companies.
“Projects of this scale are inherently complex, shaped by uncertainties that cannot be fully anticipated at the outset,” Dwyer said, pointing to the project’s need to traverse difficult terrain. “Government must therefore approach them with a clear and sober assessment of the realities when delivering megaprojects, including the strong possibility of unforeseen cost escalations.”
Infrastructure Australia, which reviewed the business case last year, has warned costs will “vary considerably” as the route’s design is finalised. Forecasts of the ultimate potential costs due to geotechnical risks or unforseen construction costs and project delays – which are common in big projects – have also been redacted from the public version of the business case.
The route would traverse national parks and the Hawkesbury River, requiring more than 100 kilometres of tunnelling, extensive environmental approvals and the possible construction of “emergency refuge stations” because emergency exits will be in remote areas.
The initial cost estimates also only cover the route from Newcastle to the Western Sydney airport, and don’t include the full 1,800-kilometre route to Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Most of Australia’s big infrastructure projects, ranging from the 1700-kilometre Inland Rail freight route to the national broadband network, the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro expansion and the Sydney Metro have suffered billions of dollars of cost blow outs because governments and contractors consistently underestimate the risks.
The proposed high-speed rail line is far more complex than Inland Rail because it will require 115 kilometres of twin tunnels, with passengers forecast to spend 30 minutes in tunnels between Sydney and Gosford.
The federal government, which will decide in 2028 whether to proceed with the high-speed rail line, is considering investing billions of dollars annually to help pay for construction.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said on Tuesday that the project would take “a huge effort and a lot of money”.
But he added: “I’d love to see investment in NSW. That kind of infrastructure investment is fantastic for our state.” He has previously said NSW is not prepared to contribute funding.
Infrastructure minister Catherine King said the Albanese government was not prepared to pay for the full cost. “Government alone will not be able to fund this, so part of the development phase is to look for those private sector partners to also bring some of that private capital into investing in high-speed rail,” King told the ABC on Tuesday morning.
“We’re really taking this project very, very seriously. We are taking the time to get the development right, make sure we understand all of the costs.”
Paul Crowe, CEO of the Plenary Group, an infrastructure investor that has helped finance the Sydney Metro and Melbourne’s high-capacity metro trains, said the private sector was prepared to help deliver the rail line.
“Allowing private investment into the greenfield development of high-speed rail infrastructure will attract a strong positive response from the market to assist government with the heavy lifting that will be required to make this project a success,” Crowe said.
Australia’s IFM Investors, which manages $264 billion of funds and invests in infrastructure, said it carefully considers investment opportunities.
“This project may be suited to an innovative delivery model like Western Sydney airport, involving successful federal government-led delivery with the potential for a post-completion sell down to the private sector,” a spokeswoman said.
The project is not on the NSW government’s priority list because the state is focused on delivering the final stages of the Sydney Metro and new motorways like the Western Harbour Tunnel.
The proposed high-speed rail route will need to tunnel under rocky terrain and the Hawkesbury River.
Two possible financing models have been outlined by the High-Speed Rail Authority, which is chaired by former IFM Investors executive Jill Rossouw, who is experienced in infrastructure equity investment.
If the government can secure private investment, a public-private partnership model would be used to pay for trains, stations and property developments.
But if private investors such as infrastructure funds baulk at the megaproject’s risks, the Commonwealth would invest up to $5 billion annually to build the first two stages: first from Newcastle to the Central Coast, and then from the Central Coast to Sydney’s Central Station. Private financing would also be sought to pay for the tunnel and civil infrastructure works.
Total economic benefits are estimated at $50.8 billion to $59.7 billion, based on creating jobs during the project’s construction, building more affordable homes away from Sydney along the path of the rail route and reducing carbon emissions from planes if more people take the train.
However, airlines are gradually reducing emissions as they switch to smaller, more efficient aircraft and experiment with biofuels while the shift to hybrid and electric cars is also reducing vehicle carbon emissions.
The opposition supports the concept of high-speed rail but wants more detail on what exactly the government is committing to, noting that a previous 2013 plan spruiked by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to build a rail link connecting east coast cities did not eventuate.
“We all love Japan’s Shinkansen very fast train, and many would also like to see a similar project in Australia if the numbers were to stack up,” said opposition infrastructure spokeswoman Senator Bridget McKenzie.
“But movement on the 2022 election promise of a high-speed rail since the Albanese government came to power has been negligible. Today’s minimal financial commitment does not suggest the government is yet serious.”
The prime minister, who was infrastructure and transport minister between late 2010 and late 2013 under former prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, oversaw a study into high-speed rail’s feasibility that was initially released in 2011.
Trains and carriages would be built in Australia at an advanced manufacturing facility – which allows segments to be pre-fabricated on site – mooted to be located in Newcastle and potentially also in Western Sydney.
The fare to be paid by passengers has been forecast at $31 (in 2025 prices excluding the impact of future inflation) to travel between Newcastle and Sydney, with the business case claiming the rail line will not need ongoing subsidies once it is operating. Forecasts of the rail line’s estimated revenue were redacted.
Australia’s infrastructure pipeline is moving through a major transition phase. While transport megaprojects evolve and renewable energy accelerates, the one constant across every sector is this:
There are not enough skilled engineers and tradespeople to deliver the work.
From Sydney Metro and Suburban Rail Loop to large-scale battery energy storage systems, hospitals, wind farms and defence redevelopments — contractors are competing for the same limited workforce pool.
That’s where Konnecting Skilled Migration & Recruitment steps in.
The Projects Driving Australia’s Workforce Crisis
Across NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA and TAS, the following major projects are creating sustained demand for skilled labour:
All of these firms are actively recruiting across engineering, project management and blue-collar trades — particularly in regional and high-growth corridors.
Renewable Energy & Battery Storage: The Skills Gap Multiplier
Wind farms, solar farms and BESS projects are expanding across:
Victoria (Delburn, Mortlake, Golden Plains)
NSW (Eraring Big Battery, REZ Hunter-Central Coast)
Queensland (Western Downs, Teebar BESS)
South Australia (Palmer Wind Farm)
Tasmania (Marinus Link)
The biggest shortages we are seeing include:
HV electricians
Protection & SCADA engineers
Commissioning engineers
Grid connection engineers
Wind turbine technicians
Mechanical fitters
Instrumentation technicians
Substation supervisors
Renewable projects are often located in regional Australia — where local labour supply is already thin.
Water & Wastewater: The Quiet Giant
Programs like:
Malabar System Investment Program (NSW)
Northern Water Supply Project (SA)
Haughton Pipeline Duplication (QLD)
Are creating massive demand for:
Mechanical fitters
Pipefitters & welders
Industrial electricians
PLC/SCADA technicians
Civil supervisors
Pump station commissioning specialists
Water infrastructure requires both heavy civil capability and industrial process expertise — a rare combination in today’s labour market.
Healthcare & Defence Infrastructure
Hospital expansion programs across:
Western Australia
Queensland
Victoria
South Australia
Are driving demand for:
Building services engineers
Commercial electricians
HVAC technicians
Fire services installers
BIM coordinators
Commissioning managers
Medical gas specialists
Defence redevelopments are adding additional compliance and security requirements, narrowing the available candidate pool even further.
Why Tier 1 & Tier 2 Contractors Are Struggling
The challenges are consistent across the board:
1. Workforce saturation
Most skilled workers are already deployed on existing infrastructure or mining projects.
2. Regional project locations
Renewable energy, water pipelines and transmission upgrades are often 2–5 hours from major cities.
3. Competition between sectors
Mining, infrastructure and renewables are competing for the same electricians, engineers and supervisors.
4. Ageing workforce
A significant portion of Australia’s trade workforce is approaching retirement.
The Solution: Strategic Skilled Migration + Targeted Recruitment
Konnecting Skilled Migration & Recruitment, through our Engineering Personnel division, provides a dual capability:
1. International Skilled Migration Pathways
We specialise in sourcing and relocating:
Civil Engineers
Electrical Engineers
Mechanical Engineers
Project Engineers
Construction Managers
Diesel Mechanics
Electricians
Fitters & Turners
Welders
Heavy Diesel Technicians
Using employer-sponsored visa pathways, we help infrastructure contractors secure long-term workforce stability — not just short-term labour hire.
2. Domestic Recruitment Across Engineering & Trades
We support:
Major project mobilisation
Alliance workforce planning
Shutdown recruitment
Commissioning ramp-ups
Regional workforce deployment
Blue-collar bulk recruitment
Hard-to-fill niche engineering roles
We understand project cycles — from bid phase to commissioning and operations — and supply talent accordingly.
Why Engineering Personnel Is Different
Our focus sectors align directly with Australia’s highest-demand industries:
Infrastructure & Transport
Renewable Energy & BESS
Water & Wastewater
Healthcare Construction
Defence Projects
Regional & Remote Construction
Mining & Heavy Industry
We don’t operate as generalist recruiters.
We focus where the skill shortages are structural and long-term.
The Strategic Advantage for Contractors
Partnering with Konnecting Skilled Migration & Recruitment provides:
Reduced time-to-hire on critical roles
Access to international engineering talent pools
Support with employer-sponsored visa programs
Workforce continuity across multi-year programs
Reduced project delay risk due to labour shortages
Access to both white-collar and blue-collar skill sets
For Tier 1 contractors delivering metro rail, renewable energy zones, hospital expansions or defence infrastructure, workforce strategy is no longer optional — it’s risk mitigation.
The Infrastructure Pipeline Is Locked In
The energy transition will continue.
Major rail and road programs are still moving through procurement and delivery.
Hospital expansion programs are funded.
Battery energy storage investment is accelerating.
The question is not whether the projects will proceed.
The question is:
Who will deliver them?
Let’s Solve the Engineering & Trade Skill Shortage
If you are a contractor delivering infrastructure, renewables, water, healthcare or defence projects across Australia — particularly in regional or high-growth corridors — we can help.
