9 minute read
NEWS
June sees further decline in building approvals
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released data on residential building approvals for Victoria for June in which it shows a fall in the total number of buildings approved. This has largely been in the high-density market, a sector that is usually quite volatile during challenging economic conditions. In seasonally adjusted terms, there was a total of 14,533 buildings approved for the three months to June, a decline of 9.7 per cent compared to the previous quarter. Of the total approved, 9336 houses
and 5197 multi-units were approved, an increase of 1 per cent and a sharp decrease of 24.2 per cent respectively compared to the previous quarter. The current economic slowdown, combined with the new Stage 4 restrictions, means we expect building approvals numbers to decline further in the coming months. However, stimulus measures like HomeBuilder may cushion this in the months to come.
High-Risk COVIDSafe Plans vital for building and construction industry
Building and construction businesses that are permitted to continue to operate during Stage 4 restrictions all need to have a High-Risk COVID Safe Plan in place. This replaces the previous requirements where largescale construction required a High-Risk COVID Safe Plan, and small-scale construction required a Universal COVID Safe Plan. Master Builders Victoria has an updated High-Risk template for all in the construction industry to use that has been informed by the Building and Construction COVID-19 Industry Guidelines version 6. It and many other helpful tools and resources are available in the COVID-19 section of our website, accessible from our homepage at mbav.com.au. On 10 August 2020, this template was updated to also include the High-Risk COVIDSafe Plan attachment for the Construction industry. It adds details regarding the calculation of site numbers, worker movement, carpooling and more. The attachment should be included with the COVIDSafe Plan for construction sites. If you are a high-risk industry (construction, warehousing and distribution, supermarket and medical distribution centres) your COVIDSafe Plan must be complemented by this attachment if you operate in metropolitan Melbourne. We will continue to provide updates to this template as further information becomes available or if the Industry Guidelines are amended. The Master Builders Victoria team is available to provide support, resources and information for Master Builders members. Please contact our team on (03) 9411 4555 for more details.
Building the legacy of diversity in the construction workplace
Do you have a story to share that celebrates cultural diversity in your workplace? Master Builders Victoria wants to show young Victorians that the construction industry is accessible to all, no matter who you are or where you come from. And we’d like your help. ‘Explore Careers’ is a careers and employment program that provides career resources to secondary schools across Australia with the aim of guiding students toward finding the right path for them. Where do we fit in? Master Builders Victoria has partnered with Explore Careers to showcase the huge variety of opportunities available in our industry and to help encourage young Victorians to consider a career in construction, fostering the next generation of builders. Through our online Explore Careers profile and hard
copy publication (distributed to all secondary schools in the country), we now have the opportunity to showcase cultural diversity in construction-- and what better way then by sharing genuine stories of inclusivity from our members? Perhaps you proactively celebrate cultural days of
significance, have an existing diversity and inclusion program, or have other ways in which you support the individuality of your multicultural workforce. If you have a story you’d like to share, we would love to know. Please contact our Careers Team at careers@ mbav.com.au.
In late July, both the Federal and State treasurers gave detailed updates on their respective economic outlooks. Here are some of the major take-aways and thoughts from Master Builders Victoria on what these figures mean. Victoria is likely a more relevant summary for most, but the national update will also give some context around Federal stimulus programs. Victoria Treasurer Tim Pallas’ economic update: • Real gross state product (GSP) expected to fall by 5.25 per cent, or $11.4 billion, in the 2020 calendar year with an estimated rebound of 6.25 per cent in real GSP growth in the 2021 calendar year. • Despite the stimulus measures to support the labour market, it is expected that unemployment in Victoria could rise to nine per cent in the September 2020 quarter, with job losses peaking at around 200,000. However, it has been forecast that this will fall to seven per cent by June 2021. • Taxation revenue and GST grants are expected to be around $2.5 billion lower in 2019-20 and around $6 billion lower in 2020-21. • The fall in revenue is a result of fiscal support measures such as tax concessions to support the economy, along with a reduction in property and payroll tax collections due to the fall in property sales and rising unemployment. • The combined shortfall in tax revenue, along with increased spending to support businesses and the community, has meant that a deficit of around $7.5 billion for 2019-20 is expected.
• This shortfall in tax revenue highlights the importance of support for the housing market given it contributes over 45 per cent of the state’s total tax revenue, as well as support for businesses in hiring people. Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenburg’s update: • Largest budget deficit since World War II, reaching almost $86 billion in the last financial year (2019- 20). Understandably, this is in contrast to the forecast of December 2019 whiuch predicted a $5 billion budget surplus. • Deficit is expected to grow further this financial year (2020-21), with forecasts showing that it will grow to more than $184 billion in 2020-21. • Real GDP is forecast to fall by 0.25 per cent in 2019-20 and by 2.5 per cent in 2020-21. • Fiscal support measures by the Federal government totaled $289 billion, or 14.6 per cent of GDP. • Fiscal support measures by the Federal government such as JobKeeper were estimated to have saved 700,000 jobs. • Regardless, the economic contraction is expected to have a significant effect on the labour market in which: • Unemployment is forecast to reach 8.75 per cent in 2020-21 • Low wage growth — 1.25 per cent in 2020-21 • Australia retains its Triple-A credit rating which will enable it to have room to stimulate the economy for programs like JobKeeper and HomeBuilder. Despite the forecast numbers, there remains significant uncertainty about Australia’s economic recovery given the second wave of COVID-19 cases in Victoria, and the uncertainty associated with the recovery of the global economy. We will advocate to the Federal Government to continue to provide fiscal stimulus to the economy in light of growing economic uncertainty. We continue to support Federal Government’s plan over the next five years to introduce reforms into key areas of the economy like industrial relations and infrastructure spending, to boost business confidence and take Australia on to the road to recovery. We will continue to provide further updates and analysis on the economic effects and movements as we move through COVID-19.
Building and Construction Lawyers
• Contract Advice and Management • Project Implementation • Professional Liability & Negligence • Security of Payment Claims • Building Disputes & Defects • Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Andrew Whitelaw - Director awhitelaw@wflawyers.com.au
(03) 9090 6700
JobKeeper extension
The eligibility criteria for the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme has been eased for businesses and employees in response to further restrictions in Melbourne and regional Victoria, meaning more businesses are now be eligible. Businesses will only need to show their GST turnover has fallen over one quarter to qualify, rather than multiple as was determined as part of the recent extension of the scheme. Employees on the payroll at 1 July will also now be eligible, rather than the 1 March for the initial round of JobKeeper payments. Reduced payments previously announced for the second and third stage of JobKeeper will remain, with $1200 fortnightly payments from 28 September for employees working more than 20 hours per week, reducing to $1000 from 4 January to 28 March, 2021. The initial JobKeeper will end on 28 September, and the extension comes into play from that date. Businesses will be eligible for the extension if they can show their GST turnover had fallen in the September quarter compared to the same quarter in 2019 (when first announced, a loss in June and September 2020 quarters was required). The level of reduction required to be eligible remains the same: • 50 per cent for those with an aggregated turnover
of more than $1 billion; • 30 per cent for those with an aggregated turnover of $1 billion or less; or • 15 per cent for Australian Charities and Not for profits Commission-registered charities (excluding schools and universities). The same criteria change will apply to the second extension that is scheduled from 4 January. This means businesses will need to show a GST turnover loss for the December 2020 quarter as compared to 2019 to qualify, rather than a loss for June, September and December originally required to be eligible. The level of reduction for eligibility will remain.
Victorian Premier praises Master Builders Victoria for support of coronavirus combat effort
During his 29 July press conference, Premier Daniel Andrews took the time to thank Master Builders Victoria, other industry associations, unions and organisations for their support in getting the message across about staying at home if you’re feeling unwell. Master Builders Victoria has collaborated with many organisations to ensure we have a unified message and protocols for our industry which, so far, has resulted in it being safer from the threat of COVID-19 than the rest of our community. That thanks from the Premier must be passed on to all our members and their employees who have listened to those messages and adhered to the guidelines. Thanks must also go to the following organisations who Master Builders Victoria has worked with as part of this industry effort; the Australian Institute of Building, Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, Air Conditioning & Mechanical Contractors Association, Australian Workers Union, CFMEU, Civil Contractors Federation, Electrical Trades Union, Master Plumbers, Prefab Aus, National Fire Industry Association, National Electrical and Communications Association, Plumbing and Pipe Trades Employees Union, Property Council of Australia and the Urban Development Institute of Australia. We’ll continue to collaborate with industry stakeholders and the government as we move through this challenging period to ensure our industry operates safely, as the backbone of Victoria’s economy.
