Why Construction Heavyweights Are Backing This Brisbane Start-Up’s Direct-Hire Labour Model
Backed by Antler, McNab Group, Hutchinson Builders, KPAT and private investors, Casu is building a national workforce platform for construction’s casual-labour market.
Australia’s construction industry is being asked to build 1.2 million homes while delivering major infrastructure, energy and Olympic projects, all competing for the same limited workforce.
For Brisbane app Casu, the opportunity isn’t simply finding more workers; it’s changing the way builders and developers access, employ and retain casual labour.
Casu has built a direct-hire employment platform that allows construction businesses to post a shift, set the hourly rate and requirements, choose a worker and employ them directly as a casual. The platform manages the onboarding, timesheets and payroll behind the transaction.
The business has attracted backing from early-stage investor Antler, McNab Group, Hutchinson Builders, KPAT and private investors. It now has more than 10,000 workers and 1,000 construction businesses registered, with expansion underway from Queensland into New South Wales and Victoria.
Co-founder Sam Clarke said Casu was built around an everyday problem that had been accepted for too long across construction.
“The industry has a huge access problem,” Mr Clarke said.
“Businesses need extra labour quickly, but the process is still often driven by phone calls, text messages and personal networks.
“Casu gives a business a direct line to casual workers, while our infrastructure enables them to employ them properly without the admin. It gives the employer more control over the people they bring onto site and the rate they pay.”
The model sits between traditional labour hire and the independent-contractor structure used by many gig platforms.
Under Casu’s model, a worker is employed as a casual by the business where they carry out the work, even if it is a single shift. That gives businesses direct control over the employment relationship, while Casu handles the administration that can make short-term hiring difficult.
For workers, it can provide a more direct entry point into construction, particularly for people who do not have their own contracting business or an ABN.
Casu co-founder Gretel Wilson said the business was addressing a mismatch between people looking for flexible work and businesses that needed additional support.
“Australia needs more homes built, but the businesses delivering them can’t afford to lose time every time a crew is short,” Ms Wilson said.
“There are capable people looking for work and construction businesses looking for labour. Casu is building the infrastructure that helps them find each other and transact with confidence.
“For workers, it’s also a more direct path into an industry that has traditionally depended on who you know.”
The platform is aimed at established small-to-mid-sized builders and developers with recurring labour needs, but without the permanent workforce, procurement teams and systems available to major contractors.
The company’s data suggests businesses are increasingly using Casu as an ongoing workforce-management tool, rather than simply for one-off urgent jobs. Its fastest shift was accepted in less than 60 seconds, while one worker has completed 249 shifts with the same business over two-and-a-half years.
Businesses can rate workers after each shift and rehire people they trust, allowing them to develop their own repeat casual workforce. Casu’s internal data puts its no-show rate at 2.87 per cent.
McNab Group founder Michael McNab said the platform could provide practical support to smaller builders and subcontractors facing workforce pressure.
“We know that for smaller builders and subcontractors, being a few people short can put real pressure on a job. Finding extra hands quickly helps them support their existing crews and keep work moving,” Mr McNab said.
“We see Casu as a practical way to help those businesses access the support they need, which also gives these businesses greater confidence that their projects can stay on track. A stronger construction industry relies on businesses of all sizes having access to good people.”
KPAT Hotels Managing Director and Casu investor Kenneth Wagner said Queensland's construction pipeline demanded a better approach to finding and employing workers.
“We can have the land, the approvals and the funding, but without people on site, nothing gets built,” Mr Wagner said.
“As a developer and builder ourselves, we know how much of construction still comes down to who you know and who you can call. That works if you're already well connected, but it leaves out a lot of people who want to work and makes it harder for builders to find them. That's the gap Casu is built to address.”
Casu is now focused on building worker and business density across the eastern seaboard, with the ambition of becoming a national platform for direct casual employment in construction.
