Playing as One Team: Highlights from FF25
Published by
Docketbook
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On 6 August, more than 550 leaders from across the construction industry gathered at Nissan Arena, Brisbane, for the second Foundations and Frontiers (FF25), hosted by the Australian Constructors Association. With the theme #FromMeToWe, this year’s forum focused on how we can transform construction from a fragmented industry into one that thrives on collaboration, transparency, and shared success.
As lanyard sponsors of FF25, Docketbook was proud to contribute to an event that aligns so closely with our goal to help project teams work together with confidence and certainty.
As we reflect on the conversations and outcomes from FF25, several key themes stood out. Here are our takeaways.
The Big Picture
Productivity in construction has been declining for three decades, despite unprecedented levels of activity. With the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games on the horizon, Queensland has a once-in-a-generation chance to show what’s possible when industry and government work together.
The urgency is clear: without reform, costs will rise, capability will shrink, and Australia’s infrastructure pipeline will struggle to deliver. FF25’s message was unambiguous; the solutions are known, and the time to act is now.
Barriers Holding the Industry Back
The forum reinforced familiar but critical challenges:
- Risk allocation remains skewed, creating adversarial relationships rather than shared outcomes.
- Procurement processes continue to be slow and overly focused on lowest cost rather than long-term value.
- Non-standard contracts across jurisdictions add unnecessary complexity and duplication.
- Skills shortages limit capacity and make it harder to deliver the pipeline ahead.
These barriers don’t just slow projects; they undermine trust, increase costs, and discourage innovation, each of which must change if the sector is to move forward.
Priorities for Change
Participants called for clear action on six fronts:
- Harmonisation and standardisation – align regulations, reporting, and contract forms to reduce duplication and inefficiency.
- Industry financial stability – ensure businesses can make fair returns to reinvest in people and capability.
- Earlier collaboration – engage the full supply chain early in the project lifecycle to align incentives and goals.
- Innovation as standard – embed new ways of working and technology, rather than only innovating under crisis conditions.
- Skills for the future – invest in education, training, and workforce development to meet future project demand.
- Bravery – perhaps most importantly, commit to changing behaviour and trying new approaches, even when it feels risky.
As these themes were discussed, addressed and actions proposed, FF25 brought a sharper focus to three priority opportunities identified by leaders from across the industry.
The Three Big Opportunities
At the Leaders’ Exchange, 120 senior leaders identified three major opportunities to lift productivity:
- Reducing indirect delivery costs - Streamlining approvals, adopting collaborative contracting, and harmonising data and reporting could save the industry $6 billion in FY25 alone.
- Reducing the cost of bidding - A more efficient tendering process, with national prequalification, simpler documentation, and better risk allocation, could halve tender costs, delivering $743 million in direct savings and a $2.1 billion broader economic benefit.
- More flexible Rostered Days Off (RDOs) - Shifting from fixed to flexible RDOs could unlock a 3.7% increase in activity, equating to a $2.3 billion direct impact and $7.3 billion broader benefit.
These opportunities don’t just improve productivity; they free up resources to reinvest in people, projects, and innovation, exactly what’s needed to move the industry forward.
Why It Matters
The strongest message from FF25 was that construction must operate as a team sport. Only 3% of participants believed the industry currently acts as one united team, but the appetite for change is undeniable. As one attendee noted, “We know the plays. Now it’s time to run them—together.”
For Docketbook, this resonates deeply. Our platform is built on the principle that trust, visibility, and collaboration drive better project outcomes. Just as the forum highlighted, moving from me to we is not optional; it’s essential.
Mark Shepherd-Smith, CEO of Docketbook, summed it up perfectly, “FF25 set the scene for our industry and has given us the confidence and courage to follow through on the ideas shared from across the sector. At Docketbook, we see every day how collaboration and transparency can transform project outcomes, and we were delighted to support FF25 because building a stronger, more productive industry starts with working together as one team.”
Download Playing as One Team: #FromMeToWe HERE
