Covid-19: NSW construction opens as Victoria closes

As the Victorian construction ­industry reels from a two-week shutdown, worksites across Greater Sydney are preparing to return to full capacity.

NSW Jobs Minister Stuart Ayres. Picture: Getty Images

As the Victorian construction ­industry reels from a two-week shutdown, worksites across Greater Sydney are preparing to return to full capacity following a NSW government decision to amend its public health orders and begin a revival of the sector.

The announcement, which will come into effect on Monday, will see job sites across Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains and Wollongong return to 100 per cent capacity, although they will have to abide by a 4sq m distancing rule, officials said.

The decision was made public on the day large crowds amassed on the streets of Melbourne and violent clashes ensued with heavily armed police officers in response to a shutdown of its sector by the Andrews government.

NSW Jobs Minister Stuart Ayres delivered the news to a meeting of construction and building industry representatives on Tuesday morning, ending a decision on July 17 to severely limit construction activity across the state.

That decision saw construction sites at first shutdown completely, and later limited to a 50 per cent capacity rule if unvaccinated workers were on site.

From Monday, only workers from local government areas of concern will have to receive a vaccine if they want to attend job sites; they will also need to register to work outside these areas.

These rules will not apply to construction workers living elsewhere. However, the Berejiklian government has flagged that it intends to closely consider these settings – with the possibility of further tightening – as part of its road map for the state to exit lockdown in October.

Luke Achterstraat, NSW executive director of the Property Council of Australia, said the decision would have an immense impact across the construction sector, which has seen projects suffer from delays and other disruptions during the past three months of lockdown.

“Returning construction sites to full capacity – with appropriate safeguards in place – will ­provide a shot in the arm for our state’s recovery as the Covid pandemic continues to impact swathes of the economy,” Mr Achterstraat said.

He said one in four workers in NSW drew their wage directly from the construction industry, which meant that the decision to restore sites to full capacity would also return employment security to many workers across the state.

It would similarly allow urgent construction, for housing supplies and other projects, to ­resume, he added.

“Resuming site capacity will also enable NSW to build the homes our state so desperately needs, the public transport our growing population demands, and the hospitals we know are critical to our state’s wellbeing and prosperity.”

The NSW government implemented its two-week shutdown of the construction sector in a bid to stem surging Covid-19 case numbers across the community. The decision blindsided the industry and was later revealed to have been made without specific requests or advice from health officials.

The shutdown proposal, which was heavily criticised by industry officials, was instead made by members of the state’s crisis cabinet in an effort to address health concerns around the mobility of the population.