Australia entered its first recession in 29 years following a second consecutive quarter of GDP shrinkage to the end of March, halting a decades-long run of prosperity for the nation. The ‘conjoined catastrophes’ of the bushfires and COVID-19 pandemic has left the market needing a significant and far-reaching stimulus from the government to preserve jobs and get things moving again. The Construction sector is going to be just as key to the recovery efforts in our country as it has been to the sustained growth we have enjoyed. Demonstrating their understanding of this, the government recently announced the HomeBuilder initiative which will pump $680 million into residential construction projects to stimulate jobs, development and trade to weather the economic storm. We’ve broken down the key elements of the initiative and it’s intended impact, below. Time-sensitivity The Housing Industry Association has predicted a potential 50 per cent drop off in new build projects in the second half of 2020, making not only the value of the new program important but also the timeframes that have been stipulated. To ensure a speedy start, owner-occupiers taking up the scheme must have signed up with a registered builder before December 31st and the works must commence within three months of the contract being signed. Property Eligibility As this is a scheme to stimulate the residential market, no commercial [...]