Why is it so hard to get professional trades at the moment

Hi all

We are in Brisbane and trying to get a quote for a reasonably substantial reonvation or replacement of the stairs and balustrading on a Queenslander

There seem to be many businesses advertsing but relatively few are prepared to reply or even come out and quote. We have had a few smaller tradespeople say the work is too big for them. And I get the feeling other businesses regard it as too small

Any thoughts on how to source someone. We did have a good individual carpenter builder years ago who was a ble to do a lot himself but required occasional small amounts of additional muscle power. Just muscles.

Cheers