In a media conference on Sunday October 18, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews outlined the next stage of COVID-19 restrictions for Victoria.
There is now no time-limit on how long you can be out of the house in metropolitan Melbourne, and the previous 5km rule has been increased to 25km.
The key update for the real estate and property sector is the re-commencement of auctions, which will be allowed to go ahead outside with a maximum of 10 people, plus staff members.
On Sunday 27 September, it was announced that private real estate inspections will be permitted re-commence in metropolitan Melbourne, which came after industry leaders called for sales pipelines for property and development to be reopened, in order to protect the sector and assist in the economic recovery for the state.
Private inspections are permitted to run for a maximum of 15 minutes. The 25km rule does not apply if you are attending a private house inspection. Private property, commercial and display home pre-booked inspections with 1 agent and 1 prospective purchaser or tenant can occur under the new guidelines.
Non-essential outdoor home maintenance is also now permitted, with a maximum of 5 workers. Thousands more Victorians can go back to work – particularly those who work outside including tradies undertaking outdoor maintenance, renovations and repair work. UDIA Victoria has said in a statement that they are seeking clarification as to how this affects the building, construction and development worksites specifically, having asked the following key questions:
- Can construction increase to 100% of baseline workforce?
- What do the changes mean for movement between worksites?
- Can display homes, land sales offices, sales suites open to more than 1 appointment at any one time, with COVIDSafe measures in place?
Regional Victorian property owners can travel from metro Melbourne to regional for fire or flood preparedness, with council-issued permits being required, which can be sought from Wednesday October 20.
More restrictions will ease from November 2, with people being able to leave their homes for any reason. Visiting people at their homes will also be permitted, but with limits. Up to two people, plus dependents, can visit a household, but only once per day. Retail will be allowed to reopen, and beauty and personal services can return.
For the first time in months, hospitality businesses will be allowed to seat patrons, including inside. Restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs will allowed to host one person for every 4 square metres. They will be limited to 10 people per indoor space, with a maximum of 20 people indoors. Outdoors, they will be capped at one person per 2 square metres, up to a maximum of 50 patrons. Groups will be capped at 10 people, seated 1.5 metres from other groups.
DHHS has outlined on their website, "as much as you can, you must stay at home. When you leave home, you must wear a fitted face mask, unless you have a lawful reason for not doing so."
UDIA Victoria has worked with other industry organisations and unions to develop critical communication materials for the building, construction and development industry, to make sure sector has the best chance of keeping building sites open as Victoria progresses along the roadmap to reopening.
They released this factsheet along with their request for sites to be COVIDsafe:
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