New COVID-19 restrictions place pressure on Victoria's construction industry

Construction employs about 340,000 people across Victoria, but with new measures limiting staff to 25 per cent on multi-storey construction projects, concerns have been raised.

According to new restrictions, high-rise Melbourne sites can only function with one-quarter of normal employees on-site and workers can only work at one site during stage four restrictions.

The rules put 75 per cent of Melbourne’s 220,000 construction jobs at risk, said Kerry Barwise, consulting economist for the Australian Construction Industry Forum (ACIF) industry body.

It will also halt work for specialists and skilled tradespeople, who work across several sites.

Currently 735 of Victoria’s 832 largest construction projects are undertaken in Greater Melbourne, placing strains on supply chains and pressures on cash-flow.

ACIF criticised the decision, noting that inflexible, hard rules were not the answer.

"They’re not necessarily enhancing safety, but they’re definitely limiting the capacity to do the job.” Barwise said.

“They should take better account of the risk management strategies which are being applied."