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Lifestyle benefits to flow as FIFO worker numbers drop

Family lifestyles are set to benefit from new data suggesting the number of non-resident workers have nearly halved.

Fewer people are working on a fly-in fly-out (FIFO), drive-in drive-out (DIDO) or bus-in bus-out (BIBO) basis, according to the latest statistics released by the Office of the Queensland Coordinator-General.

Between the years 2013 and 2015, the number of non-resident workers dropped from 40,265 to just 26,520. This represents a 34 per cent decrease.

The Isaac Regional Council area reportedly showed the highest ratio of non-resident workers to locals, with 72 per cent of residents being FIFO, DIDO or BIBO during the year 2012. However, three years later that figure decreased by 29 per cent.

The State Government generally linked the drop in non-resident workers on coal mine construction activity in the Bowen Basin as well as the liquefied natural gas construction boom in the Surat Basin and Gladstone areas.

The Queensland Co-ordinator General blamed this fluctuation on construction workforces which are typically temporary and larger than operational workforces. The need for large workforces had potential to cause labour supply, housing, health and emergency services.

However, purpose-built worker accommodation villages played a major role in meeting demand for accommodation among non-resident workers.

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