A recent survey of the construction industry has found that most in the industry will run out of work in the next few months.

73 percent of respondents to the survey reported a substantial fall in forward work, with an average of 40 percent being lost.

Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia said the results are alarming.

“While projects that commenced prior to the onset of the Covid-19 crisis are providing short term work for many, for the overwhelming majority of our 32,000 members new orders have fallen off a cliff,” she said.

The MBA has welcomed the federal government’s construction industry stimulus measures announced in March, but is calling for further support.

“The situation is dangerous. At risk is the viability of nearly 400,000 building and construction businesses, the jobs of 1.2 million Australians and the industry’s capacity to aid the economic recovery,” she said.

Master Builders and the CFMEU joined forces to help cushion the construction industry last month, co-promoting a social distancing campaign and calling on governments not to pursue liquidated damages in contracts from Covid-19 impacts.

It has been estimated that the impacts of the pandemic could cost developers and governments between $900 million and $1.5 billion per month in delay costs.

“Increasing the size of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and expanding its eligibility to include anyone wanting to purchase only new homes while maintaining the current price and income caps is just one of a range of measures we have proposed to the Federal Government,””Denita Wawn said.

“Our message to governments, is that we understand the enormity of the challenge they face but that these stimulus measures cannot wait. If urgent action is not taken our industry’s role in the economic recovery will be severely blunted.”

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