In June 2026 the Australian Local Government Association and Public Skills Australia published the national Local Government Skills Audit, drawing on 280 councils and seven state and territory associations. The headline: 83 per cent of councils reported occupational shortages in 2025-26, up 14 percentage points since 2018. Around nine in ten report skills shortages of some kind, and two thirds have had projects delayed as a result.
Where the shortages are
| Occupation | Councils reporting shortage | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Engineers (mainly civil) | 40.3% nationally | 60.3% of regional councils |
| Town and urban planners | Top three since 2018 | Most acute rural and remote |
| Building surveyors | Top three since 2018 | Most acute rural and remote |
| Environmental health officers | Frequently cited | Often a single officer per council |
| Digital, data and cyber security | Rising category | All council sizes |
Seven years with the same three professions at the top is not a cyclical blip. It points to a lasting mismatch between how many people hold these accredited qualifications and how many councils need them. Engineers Australia has separately reported that engineering shortages continue to hold back local infrastructure delivery.
The regional split is the story
The national average understates the problem badly. Engineering shortages affect 40.3 per cent of councils overall but 60.3 per cent of regional councils, and the specialist professions are described as most acute in rural and remote areas.
The reason is not mysterious. The qualified workforce is concentrated in capital cities, where consultancies, state agencies and developers compete for the same people and pay more. A shire of 8,000 people needing one civil engineer is bidding against a Sydney consultancy for the same graduate.
South Australian data from the same series shows where the churn sits: works, depot and operational employees at 29 per cent of responding councils, administration and corporate services at 24 per cent, planning and building at 19 per cent.
Why councils cannot simply pay more
The report names less competitive remuneration as a direct contributor. Part of that constraint is structural: council pay is set by enterprise agreements, and in states with rate capping the revenue funding those agreements is capped by the state, not the council. Victoria set its cap at 2.75 per cent for 2026-27.
The Australian Services Union, which represents thousands of Victorian council workers, says they have "watched their pay slide backwards in real terms for years, in part because the rate cap has left councils unable to fund fair wage rises". The average Victorian council worker earns around $70,000, with a real wage decline of up to 12 per cent since 2021. The state government is now reportedly considering removing or restructuring the cap.
Where salary will not move, conditions do. Murrumbidgee Council has voted to trial a four day week explicitly to attract and retain skilled workers, covered in our piece on the four day week.
The housing connection
This is why a sector workforce issue became a national policy one. Councils assess development applications, issue building approvals, inspect work and deliver the roads, drainage and water connections new housing needs. Local government has warned that Australia will not solve its housing crisis while councils lack the engineers, planners and inspectors to process and service it.
One caveat
The sector is not uniformly hiring, though. Sunshine Coast Council is cutting 130 positions to save $15 million, with around 80 redundancies and a continuing hiring freeze, after a 10 per cent rate rise followed an 11 per cent rise the year before and still left a $7 million deficit.
Both things are true at once: councils cannot recruit the specialists they need, and financial pressure is costing jobs in corporate and support functions. If you are targeting local government, the shortage professions are where the security sits. Current vacancies by discipline: town planning, asset management, environmental, water corporation.
Sources
- Australian Local Government Association and Public Skills Australia, Local Government Skills Audit and Review of the Uptake and Utility of the LGA Local Government Training Package: National Report, June 2026 (280 councils).
- Public Skills Australia, South Australia and Western Australia state reports, 2025-2026.
- Engineers Australia, "Engineering shortages continue to hold back local infrastructure delivery", July 2026.
- Essential Services Commission Victoria, annual council rate caps; Australian Services Union statements on Victorian council wages.
- ABC News, "Sunshine Coast Council increases rates and cuts 130 jobs as costs spiral", June 2026.
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