The sixteenth season of Australian reality television series The Block premiered on 23 August 2020 on the Nine Network. Hosts Scott Cam and Shelley Craft, site foremen Keith Schleiger and Dan Reilly, and judges Neale Whitaker, Shaynna Blaze and Darren Palmer, all returned from the previous season.
Production In July 2019, it was reported by the Herald Sun that The Block and Channel 9 had acquired a vacant block of land in the exclusive bayside suburb of Brighton on 360 New Street, Brighton. Newly renovated houses are expected to be built on the land in 2020 for the 16th season of the Block.
Applications for the sixteenth season of the series opened in August 2019 until 15 September 2019, looking for couples aged between 18 and 65 years old being sought by casting agents. Filming for the season is slated to begin in late January 2020.
In October 2019, the sixteenth season and location of The Block were officially confirmed at Nine's upfronts.
In March 2020, the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and the potential risk it could cause to the crew, workers and contestants. After more than a month of suspension, the season resumed production on 4 May 2020 with extra safety precautions set in place.
Due to the health and safety standards caused by COVID-19, The Block’s open for inspection will be a virtual experience which took place on 9Now on Monday, 16 November 2020. The Block auctions (or Block-tions) for the houses were held on Saturday, 21 November 2020, with the final episode of 2020 airing the next day on Channel Nine and 9Now at 7:00pm (AEDT) on Sunday, 22 November 2020.
Jimmy and Tam won the series with their house selling for over $4.2m. All houses sold on auction day with all teams profiting well over $400k.
Contestants This is the eighth season of The Block to have five couples instead of the traditional four couples.
House Couple Age Location Relationship Occupations 1 Harry & Tash Pavlou 57 & 32 Melbourne, VIC Father & Daughter IT Manager & Social Media Project Manager 2 Sarah & George Bragias 27 & 33 Sydney, NSW Married, expecting their first child Teacher & Electrical worker 3 Daniel & Jade Joyce 35 & 35 Wandearah, SA Married with children Farmer & Hairdresser 4 Luke & Jasmin Neuwen 35 & 36 Perth, WA Married with children Chippy & Teacher 5 Jimmy & Tam Wilkins 33 & 31 Brisbane, QLD Married with children Plumber & Bar Manager
Score history + Teams' progress through the competition Teams Harry & Tash Sarah & George Daniel & Jade Luke & Jasmin Jimmy & Tam Rooms Scores Guest Bedroom 24 21 25 20½ 25½ Guest Ensuite 21½ 27 23 25½ 28½ Master Bedroom & Walk-in-Robe 25½ 23 25 25 21½ Master Ensuite 28½ 28½ 28 29 29 Guest Bedroom & Bathroom 23½ 29 25½ 30 29 Kitchen 29 28 29½ 28 29 Living & Dining 28½ 25 28 24½ 21½ Upstairs 28 28½ 27½ 26 25½ Stairway, Hallway & Laundry 25 25 25 28½ 29 Front Garden & Facade 26 29 28 28 29 Studio & Garage 20 29½ 25½ 25½ 29 Backyard 22½ 30 24 29½ 27½ Total points 302 323½ 314 320 324 Auction Order 5th 3rd 4th 1st 2nd Auction Result 3rd 2nd 5th 4th 1st
Weekly Room Budget + Weekly Room Budget Week Room(s) Budget Costs Harry & Tash Sarah & George Daniel & Jade Luke & Jasmin Jimmy & Tam 1 Guest Bedroom $19,000 $14,150 $15,100 $15,700 $17,150 $14,250 2 Guest Ensuite $22,000 $18,600 $20,000 $24,900 $25,300 $15,700 3 Master Bedroom & Walk-in-Robe $19,000 $20,200 $25,000 $21,800 $20,200 $32,700 4 Master Ensuite $24,000 $28,450 $21,700 $27,500 $24,500 $18,950 5 Guest Bedroom & Bathroom $36,000 $30,200 $35,800 $37,700 $27,400 $27,000 6 Kitchen $18,000 $23,474 $20,860 $16,284 $22,922 $31,316 7 Living & Dining $33,120 $17,387 $24,685 $18,946 $20,555 8 Upstairs $21,000 $21,627 $21,777 $25,192 $23,500 $30,987 9 Stairway, Hallway & Laundry $35,000 $48,470 $42,635 $35,961 $44,714 $47,240 10 Front Garden & Facade $25,000 $41,986 $40,089 $25,811 $32,365 $51,696 11 Studio & Garage $35,000 $29,800 $40,000 $45,400 $42,700 $42,700 12 Backyard $40,000 — — — — —
Weekly Room Prize
Week Room Winning team Prize 1 Guest Bedroom Jimmy & Tam $10,000 & $120,000 worth of Gaggenau kitchen appliances 2 Guest Ensuite $10,000 3 Master Bedroom & Walk-in-Robe Harry & Tash 4 Master Ensuite Luke & Jasmin $10,000 split ($5,000 each) Jimmy & Tam 5 Guest Bedroom & Bathroom Luke & Jasmin $10,000 6 Kitchen Daniel & Jade 7 Living & Dining Harry & Tash $10,000 & a Mustang for a week 8 Upstairs Sarah & George $10,000 9 Stairway, Hallway & Laundry Jimmy & Tam 10 Front Garden & Facade Sarah & George $10,000 split ($5,000 each) Jimmy & Tam 11 Studio & Garage Sarah & George $10,000 12 Backyard Ford Puma
Results Judges' Scores Colour key: Highest Score Lowest Score
+ Summary of Judges' Scores Week Area(s) Scores Teams Harry & Tash Sarah & George Daniel & Jade Luke & Jasmin Jimmy & Tam 1 Guest Bedroom Darren 8½ 7 9 8 9 Shaynna 8 7 8 6 8 Neale 7½ 7 8 6½ 8½ Total 2 Guest Ensuite Darren 7½ 9 8½ 9 9½ Shaynna 6½ 9 7 8½ 9½ Neale 7½ 9 7½ 8 9½ Total 3 Master Bedroom & Walk-in-Robe Darren 8½ 8 8½ 8½ 7 Shaynna 8½ 7½ 8½ 8½ 7 Neale 8½ 7½ 8 8 7½ Total 4 Master Ensuite Darren 9½ 9½ 9½ 10 9½ Shaynna 9½ 9 9½ 9½ 9½ Neale 9½ 10 9 9½ 9 Total 5 Guest Bedroom & Bathroom Darren 7 9½ 8½ 10 10 Shaynna 7½ 9½ 8½ 10 9½ Neale 9 10 8½ 10 9½ Total 6 Kitchen Darren 9½ 9½ 9½ 9½ 9½ Shaynna 9½ 9 9½ 9 10 Neale 10 9½ 9½ 9½ 9½ Total 7 Living & Dining Darren 9½ 8½ 10 8½ 7 Shaynna 9½ 8 9 8 7½ Neale 9½ 8½ 9 8 7 Total 8 Upstairs Darren 9½ 9½ 9½ 9 8½ Shaynna 9½ 9½ 9 8½ 8½ Neale 9 9½ 9 8½ 8½ Total 9 Stairway, Hallway & Laundry Darren 9 8½ 9½ 9½ 9½ Shaynna 8 8 7½ 9½ 9½ Neale 8 8½ 8 9½ 9 Total 10 Front Garden & Facade Darren 8½ 10 9½ 9½ 9½ Shaynna 8 9½ 9 9½ 9½ Neale 9½ 9½ 9½ 9 10 Total 11 Studio & Garage Darren 6½ 9½ 8½ 8½ 10 Shaynna 7 10 8½ 8½ 9½ Neale 6½ 10 8½ 8½ 9½ Total 12 Backyard Darren 7½ 10 8 9½ 9 Shaynna 7½ 10 8 10 9 Neale 7½ 10 8 10 9½ Total
Challenge scores + Summary of challenge scores Week Challenge Reward Teams Challenge Description Harry & Tash Sarah & George Daniel & Jade Luke & Jasmin Jimmy & Tam 1 Beach Boxes Challenge Create a similar Melbourne Brighton Beach Boxes structure which will become their bedroom for the week First choice of the houses House 2 (1940s)(4th) House 3 (1930s)(2nd) House 4 (1910s)(3rd) 3 Block It In Challenge Pick the closest to the correct price of the home the agent take them through Agent for their house auction Marty from Whitefox Pete from The Agency David from Belle property Harley from Buxton Michael from McGrath Guess the value (or closest to it) of one of India's most expensive family home valued at $1 billion. $5,000 and a bonus point Guess: Below $100 million Guess: Below $100 million Guess: Below $100 million Guess: $177 million 6 Pottery Challenge create a specific item of pottery which must feature in their kitchens on reveal day. Fruit Bowl Condiment Dish Tea Cup & Saucer Utensil Holder 7 Property Challenge Present their properties in a PowerPoint presentation to 3 real estate executives $5,000 25½ 23½ 26 25½ 8 LEGO Dream House Challenge Build their dream house out of LEGO $10,000, a bonus point and a smart home system worth $10,000 – – – – 9 Contestant Portrait Challenge 2019 contestants create portraits of the 2020 contestants $10,000 – – – – 10 Sell in Style Team Challenge In 2 teams, each must furnish and style an apartment $20,000 (split between teams) – – ($6,666) ($6,666) ($6,666) 11 Re-upholstery Challenge Re-upholster an old chair which must be used in their studio apartment $5,000 – – – – Moo-sical Chairs Last contestant standing in musical chairs wins – – – – 12 Pub Trivia Challenge Guess correctly the most trivia questions 1st: $3,000, 2nd: $2,000, 3rd: $1,000 – –
Auction Rank Couple Reserve Auction Result Profit Total Winnings Auction Order 1st Jimmy & Tam $3.290m $4,256,000 $966,000 $1,066,000 2 2nd Sarah & George $3.350m $4,000,002 $650,002 $650,002 3 3rd Harry & Tash $3.350m $4m $650,000 $650,000 5 4th Luke & Jasmin $3.350m $3.856m $506,000 $506,000 1 5th Daniel & Jade $3.340m $3.8m $460,000 $460,000 4
Ratings + The Block 2020 metropolitan viewership and nightly position Colour key: – Highest rating during the series