Construction has long been a significant greenhouse gas emitter industry, including in Australia. Through policy analysis, the learning and practice implications of Australian energy policies for construction practitioners are revealed and enables an understanding of the role of government energy policies in fostering decarbonisation of construction in Australia. The Australian government policy texts are very detailed, lengthy, complex and multi-layered. The intent of the energy policies, as they relate to the construction industry in Australia, is clear in the policy documents and well supported by science. The policy analysis shows that while the intent is to incentivise or energise sustainable energy practice in the Australian construction industry, there is a somewhat disconnect between policy leadership and practice. With more than seventy per cent of construction stakeholders affected being in business contexts that are ‘small’, there is evidence from past policy analysis that their limited timeframes and business pressure will adversely affect the success of adoption. They focus on ‘what they know’ and ‘need to do’ rather than expend significant time on complete adoption. Divorcing policy leadership from praxis has been shown in the past to cause policy paralysis.