How Victoria is beating NSW on The Block
Once again turning their backs on NSW as a location for the renovation juggernaut in favour of regional Victoria's picturesque Daylesford, The Block producers have taken its Sydney lock-out a step further in 2025 by casting no contestants from Australia's biggest city.
Host Scott Cam said the absence of Sydneysiders from the 21st season was more to do with personality than geography.
'We don't always cast state by state,' he shrugs.
'It's nothing to do with being Sydneysiders. I think they're terrific. This was about wanting to cast people who were more resilient.'
He was less effusive in his praise for the NSW Government, however, accusing it of not being as welcoming of the production as its southern counterpart.
Only four of the 21 seasons of The Block have been made in NSW, the last of which was in 2013.
Since then, The Block has called Victoria home. And will continue to do so again in 2026.
'The Government and the local councils look after us in Victoria,' Cam says.
'They don't give us any special treatment! But they appreciate what we bring to the state, and they don't want us to go to New South Wales.
'And New South Wales do not look after us. Well, they haven't in the past. They may want to now, because we bring millions and millions of dollars into the Victorian economy.'
To illustrate his point, Cam says The Block had so far injected almost $8 million into the Daylesford community this season.
'Victoria understands that [The Block is good for employment and the economy],' he says.
'They don't fast track anything. We have to go through all the hoops that everyone else has to go through. But they always say, 'How can we help? How can we not make you go to New South Wales?'
'And that's honestly it. It's not any favouritism or anything like that. They just want to make sure that we're happy. Because, just like any big business, the government keeps manufacturing businesses in town for the economy, and we're just one of those.'
With more than 80 people working behind the scenes, Block co-host Shelley Craft says it makes sense to keep the show in Victoria where 'so many of the crew live.
'So, it's very easy for them to still have home lives while they are working on a show that runs 24 hours a day.'
Likewise, Craft said Victoria offered 'such a wonderful diverse range of landscapes and suburbs and areas that showcase different lifestyles.'
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