Social procurement: what the data tells us | Catchment
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Projects are beating their social procurement targets. Except one.

Our analysis of 14.36 million labour hours across 50 Australian construction and infrastructure projects shows where social procurement is working, where it isn't, and what to do next.

Inside the paper
  1. Four targets, one consistent missWhich Building Equality Policy target projects keep missing, and the roles behind the gap.
  2. Social spend is more fragile than it looksWhat happens when one supplier carries a third of the result.
  3. Nine recommendationsPractical next steps for head contractors, trade partners and government.
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The portfolio behind the paper

Built on real project data, not a survey.

A deidentified snapshot of projects reporting through Catchment, split roughly evenly between building and civil infrastructure.

Portfolio value
$18.87B
Projects, 45 reporting and 5 onboarding
50
Labour hours
14.36M
Social procurement spend
$138.4M

Four findings stand out.

Entry-level and trade targets are met comfortably. Leadership, supplier depth and progression lag well behind.

01

The gap is in leadership, not the trades.

Projects beat three of the four Building Equality Policy targets. They miss the one for management, supervisor and specialist roles by 10 points.

11 of 45projects met the management target.
Women's share of hours, by Building Equality Policy category
Target
Trade covered labour5.2% (target 3%)
29 of 44 projects met target
Non-trade award covered labour13.2% (target 7%)
36 of 46 projects met target
Management, supervisor and specialist25.0% (target 35%)
10 Points Short11 of 45 projects met target
Apprentices, trainees and cadets34.8% (target 4%)
38 of 46 projects met target
02

Social spend is concentrated, not resilient.

1/3 of all social spend sits with a single supplier. Disability enterprises receive 0.9%.
03

Pathways are working, but may be a ceiling.

16% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers are apprentices, trainees or cadets. 141 of 894 workers About double the workforce overall. The question is whether they progress.
04

Percentages without volumes mislead.

HoursHeadcountRecords
Credible reporting puts all three beside every percentage. Small projects can show extreme results on very few hours.

What to do next.

Head contractors

Treat management-level female participation as your own hiring target.

Plus three more in the paper

Government and agencies

Track progression, not just participation.

Plus two more in the paper

Trade partners

Capture worker data once, at the source.

Plus one more in the paper
All nine recommendations, in ten pages.Released for discussion. Questions about the method are welcome.
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Based on a deidentified, point-in-time snapshot of relevant and eligible projects reporting through Catchment. No project, client, trade partner or supplier is identified.