2.11.5 Sustainable Procurement for Modern Methods of Construction

The Australian construction industry faces growing pressure to deliver housing, buildings and infrastructure that are higher quality, more sustainable and more productive. Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) offer clear potential benefits, including faster delivery, improved quality, reduced waste and safer working conditions – yet their adoption remains constrained by conventional procurement practices and fragmented, short‑term demand signals. This project examines how sustainable procurement and stronger market signals can enable the wider adoption and scaling of MMC in Australia. It focuses on three interrelated areas: procurement‑led enablers, non‑price value assessment, and workforce transition. The research will identify procurement strategies that reduce risk and support MMC uptake, develop robust non‑price criteria and measurable indicators, and examine how demand continuity can underpin workforce transition and skills development. The project will deliver practical, evidence‑based tools for industry, including procurement‑ready strategies, non‑price evaluation frameworks and action plans for MMC adoption and procurement‑led workforce development. Collectively, these outputs will support clients and contractors to move beyond lowest‑price tendering towards value‑based procurement, providing greater commercial certainty for supply chains, clearer incentives for workforce upskilling, and a more defined pathway for embedding MMC across the Australian construction industry.