Today, the Victorian Premier announced an easing of restrictions that will come into effect from 11:59 pm tonight (September 27, 2020). This means, as of tomorrow, our industry will move to the ‘Restricted’ stage of the COVID-19 roadmap.

The Premier also outlined the potential for metropolitan Melbourne to move to the next step beyond the “Restricted” stage earlier than originally planned. This step will now be taken when cases fall sufficiently, and not before 19 October, rather than 26 October as originally announced. This change underscores the importance of everyone continuing to do all they can to keep rates of infection low, in order that restrictions can be eased as soon as possible. Primarily, today’s easing of restrictions follows what was foreshadowed in the COVID-19 roadmap announcement of three weeks ago.

It’s important to note that Master Builders Victoria continues to work with government to keep our industry safe and open. As a result of our advocacy, some changes have already been made to small scale construction - such as concessions for base and post fixing - in the weeks leading up to today’s announcement. Therefore, the changes for this part of our sector are more limited today. We welcome the announcement for small scale construction that there will be an increase in specialist contractor movement among sites, from 3 to 5 sites per week. This increase is specifically aimed to assist small scale construction and ease bottlenecks that continue to develop.

Following joint advocacy from Master Builders Victoria, the UDIA and Property Council; display homes, sales suites and land sales offices will now be permitted to re-open, subject to COVIDSafe requirements. This is a significant win and will allow the pipeline of work to build once again as our state heads towards a stage of economic recovery. Visiting a display home, sales suite or land sales office will be by appointment only and is a permitted reason to leave home meaning that the 5km radius limit will not apply in metropolitan Melbourne.  However, it appears from the government information provided, that a person from metropolitan Melbourne is not permitted to travel to regional Victoria for a private property inspection, and a person from regional Victoria may not travel to metropolitan Melbourne for a private property inspection.  We will seek clarification on this from the government.

Master Builders Victoria continues to be disappointed that the renovations sector remains mostly closed – although we acknowledge the public health reasons for this, as cited by the government. We will continue to advocate in various ways for renovations at inhabited dwellings. We know that the renovations sector is experiencing challenges, and we will continue to present government with viable options for this sector to re-open and operate safely. The small concession announced today for gardening and landscaping work to commence is welcome, but this sector needs much more.  It is important to note that we are seeking further guidance from government on its definition of landscaping/landscape architecture and will advise members as soon as we receive further information.

Members should rest assured that Master Builders Victoria will continue to advocate for an earlier re-opening of both the small scale and large scale construction sector ahead of the next milestone date in the roadmap of October 19.

We do welcome confirmation today that large scale construction will move from 25% to 85% of the available workforce. This will mean a significant increase in productivity for large scale projects, and the recommencement of many projects which were not deemed viable at the 25% limit.  However, it is important to note that we are still awaiting further guidance from government on its definition of COVID Safe monitors etc. and will advise members soonest we receive further information.

Another important part of today’s announcement is that Victorians will now be required to wear a fitted face mask, covering the nose and mouth. Concessions that were made as our community adjusted to this new normal – things like wearing a scarf or a bandana or a face shield – will no longer apply.  Please therefore ensure that all workers are complying with wearing these types of face masks.

Our website now outlines each sector of the roadmap specifically with what members need to follow, you can reach all areas by clicking here

Or you can head to the direct links for each area as they relate to the ‘Restricted’ stages to find out what compliance entails. This also has links to resources and FAQs provided by our technical team for those questions not covered in the government roadmap. This guidance will continue to be updated in the coming days as we digest the information released by government today.

Small Scale Construction – Restricted stage

Large Scale Construction – Restricted stage

Early-Stage Land Development – Restricted stage

Please note that the Workplace Directions links on these pages are expected to be updated by government later tonight, so these will be updated on our website as soon as possible. We also await updates to the Business Victoria website, which will provide more information specific to our industry. This information will be incorporated into our guidance as it becomes available.

As you may have seen on Friday, we have launched a new COVID safety campaign to help maintain the great safety record our industry has had over the last seven months, and to assist our sector to get back to full capacity as soon as possible.

Downloadable posters and social media tiles are available here

We ask that members print these posters in all languages for your worksites and share the tiles on their work or personal social media accounts to get the message out and ensure everyone in our industry understands what is required of them. When you post the pictures, please use the hashtags #viccovidsafesite and #masterbuilders so that we can share your content.  The COVID safety messages have been translated and contextualised to 15 additional languages, that you’ll find at the link above.

It is very important that everyone in our industry continues to maintain the outstanding safety record built over the next few months and this will ensure that our sector returns to COVID normal sooner rather than later. 

We have released a media statement about today’s changes, and you can find a copy by clicking here.

Please remember that the Master Builders Victoria team is here to assist you, so please reach out if you need support. The MBV team can be contacted via email [email protected] or phone (03) 9411 4555. In addition, you can follow us on social media for the latest updates.

Stay well and stay safe and thank you for your continued support of Master Builders Victoria.