“Construction businesses are being drummed out of existence across Victoria with insolvencies hitting a record high as the Victorian economy catapults from one disaster to another,” said Cian Hussey, Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs.
IPA analysis of ASIC data reveals a record 120 Victorian construction businesses went bust in June 2026 alone. Between July 2025 and June 2026, 992 construction businesses went bust in Victoria, making up 24.2 percent of the total 4,100 businesses that went bust in that time.
“This is just the latest example of the significant challenges facing Victoria. With businesses failing and confidence falling, Victorians are under the pump in a poorly managed state.”
“The reality is that Victorian businesses have been smashed by inflation, a hostile policy environment, and a wave of crime and social disorder.”
“If Ben Carroll becomes Premier as widely assumed the question is will he be just Jacinta in Jeans, or will he actually undertake urgent action needed to fix Victoria?”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics last week noted that Victoria’s unemployment rate rose to 5.1 percent, the highest rate in the country. The IPA’s State Economic Scorecard 2026placed Victoria as the second-worst performing state in the country, with low rates of per capita economic growth and low wages growth, couple with higher tax and debt burdens.
Figure 1: Victorian construction business insolvencies, July 2013 – June 2026
