Construction Stimulus Package - Key Points

The new Construction Stimulus package introduced by the Federal Government on 4 June 2020 is designed to encourage Australians to build or renovate their homes, thereby increasing the demand for construction activity and keeping contractors employed.

The Governments forecast of the package is up to $688 million, equating to about 27,500 people successfully applying for the grant.

Key points:

• The grant will be available for homeowners building or renovating their homes between 4 June and 31 December 2020

• $25,000 will be given by the federal government following qualified recipients initially spending $150,000

• The available grant will be excluding couples earning more than $200,000 per year and individuals making more than $125,000 per year

• New builds will be capped at $750,000 and renovations between $150,000 and $750,000 with the value of the house being altered needing to be less than $1,500,000

• It will also exclude investment properties or owner builder builds

Ultimately the package is designed to increase building activity for the second half of 2020 keeping around 1,150,000 people (roughly 9% of the country’s workforce) employed in the construction industry.

Builders or contractors may need to consider increasing limitations within their respective insurance policies to handle any potential increase or change in business activity.