Over the past five days, we’ve had the Premier and Deputy Premier resign from the NSW Government. Replacing Gladys Berejiklian is Dominic Perrottet, the former Treasurer. And with new leadership is a commitment to reopen on 11 October, six days away.
For our New South Wales members, this means you will be springing into action now. Non-critical retail will be able to open with fully vaccinated staff, to fully vaccinated customers, as will hospitality. People under the age of 16 who are not fully vaccinated are allowed unaccompanied in their workplaces and all outdoor settings, but must be with a fully vaccinated member of their household in hospitality venues (unless collecting takeaways), entertainment facilities, major recreation facilities and places of worship. Join our member exclusive webinar this Thursday 7 October as we delve into critical questions for COVID-19 vaccinations in the workplace.
You will need to ensure you are using the latest COVID-19 Safety Plan for your industry. Click here to go to the full list of industries and select the one that applies to you. Your staff will need to utilise the Service NSW app to check in every shift to confirm their vaccination status.
We have spent the past weeks repositioning our COVID-19 Retail Support Hub to assist you with reopening. You can find a wealth of information at nracoronavirus.net.au
We’ve also seen Victoria announce that authorised workers will be required to have their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine by Friday, 15 October and their second dose from Friday, 26 November. Victoria is looking to achieve 70% double dose and leave lockdown by 26 October.
Conversely, ACT has not indicated that vaccines will be mandatory and will leave it up to businesses to manage, which puts retailers at risk of unlawful discrimination by barring entry to unvaccinated customers.
I am speaking with state governments daily, and will continue to press for our questions to be answered. For now, if you need help working through your vaccination policy, please phone our Workplace Relations Hotline on 1800 RETAIL to speak to one of our expert staff members.
All the best for the week ahead.
Dominique Lamb
Chief Executive Officer