Construction industry leaders say they can't restart without workers

Sydney construction workers can pick up their tools again on Saturday as a ban on the industry lifts.

But with the majority of tradespeople living in the eight local government areas of concern deemed high-risk Delta zones, some industry leaders believe the situation is "untenable".

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said construction is allowed on unoccupied sites from July 31, unless work sites are located in Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown, Liverpool, Cumberland, Blacktown, Parramatta, George's River, or Campbelltown.

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A new system called contactless tradies will also allow some movement in and out of sites, Ms Berejiklian said.

"I want to stress that no construction activity can or will occur in those eight local government areas but outside those areas, non-occupied construction can proceed and the government has worked with industry and with the input of health advice to make sure safety plans are in place," she said.

"But it is one thing to have those plans and another thing to make sure you stick by those plans and I want to make that very clear."

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With local government area restrictions, not all construction workers can return to work.

Brett Mason from Built said 25 per cent of workers will be able to return to his city building site.

"The other 75 per cent will remain locked down," Mr Mason said.

Greenacre's Fouad Hebous employs three people and subcontracts to 200, with builds underway both inside and outside the so-called "red zone".

He described the new rules as "a mess".

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"I rang probably about 30 people today and they all had the same message. Either 'sorry, we're in the LGA, we're locked down' or 'we're outside the LGA but all of our workers are from the LGA and we can't get workers'.

"So really, the message of construction being open, it's not open."

Places like Parramatta, which are normally a hive of construction, currently remain at a standstill.

Parramatta Mayor Bob Dwyer said the current situation had "placed families under pressure".

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"In the construction industry, they're the most safety-conscious, health-conscious industry in Australia," Mr Dwyer said.

Member for Parramatta Geoff Lee said the situation was "absolutely devastating" for Parramatta's construction industry.

"But we know we've got to keep communities safe," Mr Lee said.