A brickworks on Perth's south-eastern fringe that was shut down three years ago is set to start firing again, after the State Government agreed to pay up to $4 million to get it back into production as Western Australian builders struggle to get enough bricks.

The Cook Government announced on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, that it had reached agreement with Brickworks to recommission the Austral Bricks plant at Cardup, near Byford in the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale. The plant was mothballed in April 2023.

Once running, it is expected to turn out about 17 million Maxibricks and lift the State's total brick production by roughly 10 to 15 per cent, according to the Government's statement.

What the $4 million pays for

The money is not a straight cheque. It is split into three parts, two of which depend on the plant actually delivering:

• $3 million up front to help with recommissioning, including repairs and maintenance on the facility;
• a $500,000 incentive payment if operations resume by March 2027; and
• a further $500,000 if the plant delivers 17 million Maxibricks within 12 months of restarting.

The grant will be administered by the Small Business Development Corporation. The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation will also work with Brickworks on updating the site's licence, which the Government says could include a 10-year extension of operations.

"This $4 million in funding will support the recommissioning of the Cardup brickworks and boost brick supply in Western Australia by 10-15 per cent." — Rita Saffioti, Treasurer

Why WA ran short

WA builds more double-brick homes, proportionally, than anywhere else in the country, so brick supply bites harder here than in the eastern states. When Cardup was shut in 2023, it left Midland Brick as the only major producer operating at scale in the State.

Since then, the Government says, housing commencements have grown to more than 24,200 homes, including about 19,500 detached houses — up more than 50 per cent over that period. That surge has pushed demand for bricks well past what local kilns have been able to supply, and builders have been dealing with allocation arrangements, with the Housing Industry Association reporting as recently as last week that it was still working with manufacturers and government on how bricks are being rationed.

Midland Brick is separately working to lift capacity at its existing plants at South Guildford and Middle Swan, the Government said.

"Austral Bricks is pleased to support the Cook Government's request to re-start the Cardup brickworks operations to address current shortages in the WA brick market." — Mark Ellenor, Brickworks chief executive

What industry says

Builders' groups welcomed the deal but made clear it is one step rather than a fix. Master Builders WA chief executive Matt Moran called it a "pragmatic decision" and said the focus had to stay on lifting supply as quickly as possible while supporting builders already under cost and supply pressure.

HIA executive director Michael McGowan said a pipeline of more than 20,000 homes was waiting to be built, and extra bricks would help reduce construction delays.

The Government also pointed to its other building-supply measures, including $49 million in Housing Innovation Fund grants for things like frames, roof trusses and modular homes, and $48 million for two advanced manufacturing facilities to prefabricate medium and high-density apartments.

What happens now

The timeline matters for anyone waiting on a build. The plant does not have to be back in operation until March 2027 to earn its first incentive payment, so the extra supply is unlikely to reach building sites for months. Once it does, a 10 to 15 per cent lift in local production should ease the squeeze on brick allocations, though it will not on its own close the gap between demand and supply.

The announcement landed on the same day the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate to 4.6 per cent, a 15-year high — a reminder that for many West Australians trying to build, the cost of finance is as much of a hurdle as the cost of materials.

The deal was first flagged on X by WAtoday and Business News.

Photo: Calistemon via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). File photo of the heritage-listed Ascot Kilns, a historic Perth brickworks — not the Cardup plant.