CEO Update: A week of federal and local Government announcements

Some important announcements were made this week at both a national and local level. Outlined below are key details from these announcements. 

Government Certifiers

Master Builders ACT has cautiously welcomed the ACT Government’s announcement to establish a team of public sector certifiers to approve building work across the Territory.

The MBA has been calling for the implementation of building reforms in the ACT for more than a decade. Today’s announcement is a step in the right direction to improve building quality, provided the necessary consultation with industry experts and key stakeholders is undertaken.

Master Builders ACT will update our members on further announcements regarding the implementation of Government Certifiers.

ACT Building Minister’s Statement

On Thursday, Master Builders ACT responded to the ACT Building Minister’s statement he made in the Legislative Assembly, claiming that fundamental reforms to the building industry have been implemented.

In our response, we stated that the MBA, together with many other community stakeholders, has been calling for improvements to the ACT’s building system for more than a decade. It is clear that there is still much more work to be done before the ACT can claim to have a building system which meets community expectations or supports good quality operators in Canberra’s second largest private sector industry.

You can view MBA ACT’s response here.

JobKeeper Extension

The JobKeeper payment, which is currently covering 960,000 organisations and 3.5 million individuals will be continued but with a new two-tiered payment system. 

From 28 September 2020, organisations seeking to claim JobKeeper payments will be required to reassess their eligibility for the JobKeeper extension with reference to their actual turnover in the June and September quarters 2020.

Further information on the JobKeeper Extension and the two tiered payment system can be found here.

Details of Economic Statement Released

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg released details of the economic statement on Thursday in which he confirmed two key issues for the construction industry, infrastructure spending and IR reform, as priorities for the economic recovery.

The MBA will now call for the Government to go to a new phase where stimulus and subsidies remain and expand while introducing policies which maximise private investment in facets of the economy.

The MBA also wants to see more policy reform, subsidies and stimulus to re-skill and up skill people whose employment has been lost due to the pandemic for opportunities in industries like ours which has a strong track record of providing jobs on completion of skills training.

A copy of the Treasurer’s economic and fiscal update can be found here.