ACA Pulse Check 2026 – NSW Insights
New South Wales contributed 69 respondents, or 26% of the national cohort. While some practices report strong workflows, others are contending with a declining pipeline, intensifying competition and sustained fee pressure. The gap between stable practices and those that are under strain is widening.
The numbers
New South Wales contributed 69 respondents, or 26% of the national cohort. The profile mirrors the broader national picture: small, established firms operating primarily in metropolitan areas.
Pipeline uncertainty
Pipeline remains a central concern. Projects are being delayed, paused or progressing unpredictably, making resourcing and workload planning increasingly difficult to manage with confidence.
“We have many projects on ‘hold’. If they all come back simultaneously, we will be overcommitted – if none of them starts, we will be very quiet. Many are stop/starting. Challenging to manage currently.”
A more competitive, more complex market
Competition in NSW has shifted in character. Practices are no longer competing only with traditional peers. Larger firms with greater scale, private equity-backed practices, and businesses leveraging offshore production models are reshaping the competitive landscape, driving fee pressure and, in some cases, aggressive undercutting.
“Competing against very large companies that are backed by private equity, which are deliberately obliterating local mid-size practices by under-quoting to reduce market competition. Cost of construction. Competing with offshoring.”
Certain segments have felt this acutely. The low-to-mid-rise residential market has contracted sharply, with activity concentrated at the affordable housing and high-end ends of the spectrum.
“The market for low-to-mid-rise Class 2 buildings in NSW has almost entirely collapsed. Only affordable housing projects and very high-end or aged care projects are currently proceeding. We cannot compete with the rates of practices able to draw on overseas employment strategies.”
Alongside competitive pressure, regulatory obligations continue to expand. Compliance requirements, particularly under the Design and Building Practitioners Act, are adding time and cost to projects, rarely matched by a corresponding increase in fees.
“Meeting the changes in regulations and certification requirements, particularly with regard to the NSW D&BP Act.”
A persistent workforce gap
Recruitment remains a challenge, concentrated at the experienced end of the profession. Graduates continue to enter the workforce, but practices report a shortage of mid-career professionals with the technical depth required to operate effectively in current delivery environments.
“Very hard to find someone with basic skills plus some fundamental technical competency. Graduates have woeful skills coming out of uni. It’s dire.”
What this means for practice
The NSW results point to a market that is growing more complex and less predictable. Practices are adapting, but in an environment where competition is intensifying, costs are rising, and regulatory burden is increasing, the margin for error is narrowing. For smaller practices, especially, maintaining position now requires constant adjustment.
“Affordable housing has been a lifeline for low/mid-rise housing as it is one of the few types that is proceeding currently in NSW.”