39, UK construction/plant operator looking to move to Australia – where would you start?

Hi all, looking for some genuine advice from people working in Australian construction/civils/mining.
I’m 39 and currently living in the UK, but I’m seriously looking at relocating to Australia permanently if I can find the right opportunity.
I’ve worked in construction for nearly 25 years and my background is pretty varied:

• NVQ Level 2 time-served bricklayer – housing, commercial projects, bridges, brick-built drainage/sewer structures etc.
• 8+ years operating 360 excavators from roughly 1.5t up to 36t.
• New-build groundworks – roads & sewers, drainage, footings and services.
• Deep excavation/drainage work down to around 10m.
• HS2 major infrastructure/tunnelling work, including loading 60t ADTs and working around tunnelling operations.
• Experience excavating around live services and working alongside unexploded-ordnance specialists during deep excavation.
• Railway/RRV possession work in tightly controlled environments.
• Highway surfacing/tarmac – council repair work and reinstatement.
• Currently working on live wastewater infrastructure for a major UK water company.
• UK Class 1 (C+E) HGV licence.
• CPCS 360 above 10t, NRSWA Street Works, CSCS, EUSR Water Hygiene and First Aid.

I’m not expecting to jump straight off a plane into some $200k FIFO job 😂. I’m happy to start wherever makes sense and prove myself. I’m mainly interested in heavy plant, civil infrastructure, utilities, earthworks, mining/FIFO or similar work.

The main hurdle is that I’m UK-based and would
require a visa/employer sponsorship. At 39 I’m also outside the UK Working Holiday visa age limit, so I understand my options are more limited.

I’ve started applying through SEEK and contacting Australian employers, but I’d really appreciate advice from people actually working there:

If you had my background and genuinely wanted to make the move, where would you start?

Which states/areas have the strongest demand for this sort of experience? Are there particular contractors or recruitment agencies worth approaching? Is sponsorship realistic for someone with my background, or would I be better targeting one particular trade/occupation? And would you concentrate on civils/infrastructure first rather than trying to break directly into mining/FIFO?

I’m not looking for anyone to hand me a job — just trying to understand the smartest route in and where my experience would actually be valued.
Cheers 👍