Reinstating the Australian Building and Construction Commission would cut infrastructure costs and could help reduce government debt, according to Master Builders Australia (MBA).
MBA chief executive Wilhelm Harnisch said bringing back the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner (ABCC) will lead to the cost of building hospitals, schools and other public infrastructure falling.
"The community has rights and those rights can be enhanced by laws that will lower the cost of construction ... They worked in favour of the community before they will again in the future," Mr Harnisch said.
Reducing the cost of building public infrastructure would be a good start to addressing the nation's climbing debt without the politically unpopular move of increasing taxes, Mr Harnisch said.
CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner added that a body such as the ABCC generally increases transparency and oversight in a sector, which helps the economy as a whole.
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IG market strategist Evan Lucas said the MBA were closely mirroring comments already made by large construction firms such as Boral Limited.
"Boral has for a long, long time said that what they (unions) have been demanding is unsustainable and the business level is unsustainable," Mr Lucas said.
Greater oversight on bargaining agreements could help drive down skyrocketing labour costs but could also affect labour supply, he said.
"So, there are pros and cons on whether you actually lose labourers or it helps the companies they work for," Mr Lucas said.
Mr Lucas also noted that the construction sector was currently tracking well, with very strong numbers he attributed to low interest rates.
But Electrical Trades Union national secretary Allen Hicks said gains were made in the years since the ABCC was abolished.
"Australian construction workers are already some of the most productive workers in the country," Mr Hicks said.
"To bring it back would curtail the rights of working people, to threaten their safety and that of the public, for no material gain."
