The Victorian Government has appointed Master Builders Victoria CEO Rebecca Casson as one of the inaugural members of its newly formed Victorian Skills Authority (VSA) Advisory Board.

The VSA was established in July 2021 and is a key response to the recommendations in Skills for Victoria’s Growing Economy, led by former Federal Minister Jenny Macklin. The Authority will lead a revitalised approach to skills and training through the development of an annual Victorian Skills Plan to better guide the State’s training delivery.

The Andrews Government’s latest proposed property tax will exacerbate Victoria’s housing affordability crisis and make home ownership even more difficult for many Victorian families, according to Australia’s leading industry groups.

The Property Council of Australia, Housing Industry Association, Urban Development Institute of Australia (Victoria) and Master Builders Victoria have joined forces to oppose the Windfall Gains Tax which was introduced to the Victorian Parliament today.

The building and construction industry has enjoyed a strong return to work, with the overwhelming majority of builders and tradespeople doing the right thing and workers showing a willingness to get vaccinated and abide by new health directions.

Nevertheless, the newly introduced COVID-19 protocols and procedures for the sector are still in their infancy, and a gap has been identified related to maintenance and service workers transiting through building and construction worksites.

Industry bodies and unions from Victoria’s building, construction and development sector have today launched a new website - www.constructionvaccinehub.com.au - to provide clear and concise COVID-19 vaccination information for their members. 

The website provides details about vaccinations, links to where workers can get vaccinated, and multilingual resources for members to promote vaccinations in 16 languages.

When international borders closed to slow the spread of COVID-19 in March 2020, it was widely expected that house prices would fall sharply due to a sudden decrease in demand.

However, recently released ABS data has demonstrated that house prices increased by 15.6 per cent in Melbourne and 20 per cent in regional Victoria over the year to August 2021.

In the same period, unit prices in Melbourne and regional Victoria saw an increase of 7.3 per cent and 22.3 per cent respectively. 

Prices are now expected to continue to increase into next year.

A total of 6,519 new homes were approved across Victoria during August 2021 – up almost 11 per cent on the previous month.

This figure is also significantly higher than the same month last year (+25.5 per cent).

Master Builders Victoria CEO Rebecca Casson said the monthly percentage increase of building approvals in Victoria surpassed the national average of 6.8 per cent, which demonstrated the strong resilience in our state’s economy despite recent lockdowns.

“Approvals for both detached houses and for medium/high density homes rose during August,” Ms Casson said.

Master Builders Victoria is excited to announce the 2021 Master Builders Victoria North West Regional Residential Builder of the Year and showcase the excellent achievements of our residential Regional Master Builders Members.  

The North West Regional Residential Builder of the Year was awarded to Col Gowers Homes for its Mildura project.

Master Builders Victoria CEO Rebecca Casson congratulated Col Gowers Homes on their well-deserved achievement.