Media statement: Central Pier

“Development Victoria has undertaken inspections, investigations and monitoring across Central Pier since 2013 - which led to some areas of the Pier being subject to restricted access,” Geoff Ward, Group Head Precincts at Development Victoria said.

“Since 2017, we have invested more than $7 million on rectification works on the Pier, and engineers have inspected the structure every two months since 2018.

“As part of the regular inspections, engineering reports in late 2019 indicated a level of deterioration that occurred rapidly - and we made the decision to close Central Pier in the interests of public safety, which has always been our number one priority.

“As this matter is subject to proceedings in the Federal Court, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

Central Pier is an historic structure - some parts are more than 100 years old. 

On 3 January 2020, Development Victoria announced that Central Pier in Docklands would be closed permanently due to safety issues. This followed a 15-week investigation and assessment into the structural integrity of the Pier, which was originally closed in August 2019 due to safety issues identified by engineers.

The tenants of Central Pier have commenced a Court Proceeding that Development Victoria is defending. It is not appropriate for Development Victoria to comment on matters that are presently before the Court.