News | 20 September

In an urgent late night briefing from the Treasurer, Tim Pallas, Minister Martin Pakula and Minister Jacinta Allan, CCF Victoria and other industry bodies were informed that the construction industry will enter a complete shutdown of all industry sectors, effective from 11:59pm tonight… Refer to the attached Media Release – CLICK HERE.

The closure will apply to all construction sites in metropolitan Melbourne, and the local government areas currently subject to lockdown restrictions (being Ballarat, Geelong, Mitchell & Surf Coast).

The industry will remain shut for two weeks. Sites will only be permitted to re-open when they can demonstrate compliance with the public health orders. We are still awaiting details on this requirement.

If those regional LGAs re-emerge from lockdown in sooner than two weeks, construction sites will return to operation at that point.

We have been advised that there will be very limited exemptions to this shutdown:

  • To ensure the safe closure of a site; and
  • For urgent and unavoidable repairs.

You can still attend a construction site to take all reasonable and proportionate steps to ensure its protection and safety.

We are disappointed that the Government’s decision to shut down the building, construction and property industry, which employs 300,000 Victorians and is critical to sustaining the State’s economy, does not appear to have taken into account the low-density, low-risk and outdoor environment of the civil construction sector.

It is essential that our industry gets back to work as quickly as possible and CCF Victoria is advocating strongly for it to do so.

We will keep you abreast of key developments as they are announced by Government.

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