Victoria, VIC

Posted By NHIA  
25/10/2021
07:00 AM

 

From 6:00pm on Friday 29 October:

  • Regional Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne will unite and share the same restrictions, enabling people to travel between Melbourne, regional Victoria and interstate.
  • Masks will remain mandatory indoors but are no longer required outdoors. Most indoor settings, including restaurants, pubs, gyms and hairdressers will open with no capacity limits subject to a DQ4 (one person per four square metres) limit, if all staff and patrons are fully vaccinated.
  • Most outdoor settings will remain at DQ2 (one person per two square metres) up to 500, where staff and patrons are fully vaccinated.
  • These indoor and outdoor settings will also apply to weddings, funerals and religious gatherings if all attendees are fully vaccinated. Capacity limits of 30 people will apply for weddings, funerals and religious gatherings if vaccination status is unknown.
  • Entertainment venues will reopen. For indoor seated venues, including cinemas and theatres, there will be a 75 per cent capacity limit or DQ4 up to 1000 people and for non-seated indoor entertainment venues there will be a DQ4 limit with no patron cap.
  • Outdoor seated and non-seated entertainment venues, including stadiums, zoos and tourism attractions, will be open with a DQ2 limit up to 5,000 where staff and patrons are fully vaccinated.
  • Events – such as music festivals – will be able to host up to 5,000 attendees, subject to any restrictions related to the venue.

 

 

Update from Daniel Andrew MP

Thanks to the hard work of millions of Victorians who turned out to get vaccinated in recent months, the Victorian Government has today been able to outline what life will be like as we hit our 80 per cent and 90 per cent double dose targets.

Victoria will reach its 80 per cent double dose vaccination milestone almost a week ahead of schedule, on Friday 29 October. When we reach our 90 per cent double dose milestone – predicted to be as early as 24 November – a significant easing of all major restrictions will occur.

With so many Victorians between the ages of 12 and 15 having raced to get the jab, our 80 per cent double vaccination milestone will come early. Victoria’s Chief Health Officer has determined that on Friday 29 October at 6:00pm, Victoria will move forward in opening up and more restrictions will fall away.

Regional Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne will unite and move forward on the same restrictions, enabling people from Melbourne to travel to regional Victoria and interstate again.

Most indoor settings, including restaurants, pubs, gyms and hairdressers will open with no caps subject to a DQ4 (1 per 4sqm) limit, if all staff and patrons are fully vaccinated. Most outdoor settings will remain at DQ2 (1 per 2sqm) limit up to 500, where staff and patrons are fully vaccinated.

These indoor and outdoor settings will also apply to weddings, funerals and religious gatherings if all attendees are fully vaccinated. Caps of 30 people will apply for weddings, funerals and religious gatherings if vaccination status is unknown.

Entertainment venues will reopen. For indoor seated venues including cinemas and theatres, there will a 75 per cent capacity or DQ4 up to 1,000 people and for non-seated indoor entertainment venues there will be a DQ4 limit with no patron cap.

Outdoor seated and non-seated entertainment venues including stadiums, zoos and tourism attractions will be open with a DQ2 limit up to 5,000 where staff and patrons are fully vaccinated.

Events – such as music festivals – will be able to host up to 5,000 attendees, subject to any restrictions related to the venue. The Chief Health Officer may also grant an approval for larger crowds for significant events and venues under the Public Events Framework.

Masks will remain mandatory indoors but are no longer required outdoors. It is highly recommended you continue to wear a mask outdoors where you cannot physically distance, such as busy street or outdoor market.

The next milestone in the Roadmap will be when Victoria hits the 90 per cent double dose vaccination target for Victorians 12 years and over – predicted to be as early as Wednesday 24 November.

At this point, caps or density quotients will be removed for all settings, and masks will only be mandatory indoors in some high-risk settings such as hospitals, aged care, public transport and justice and correctional facilities.

There will be no restrictions for indoor and outdoor events provided they follow COVIDSafe rules, including vaccination requirements.

 

 

 

 

Worker Permit:

From 11:59pm on Tuesday 17 August, employers that require their staff to attend a work site must issue a worker permit to their employees – this is the employer’s responsibility. Advice on how to access the authorised worker permit is provided below. Download the permit here. If needed a table of travel template is available here.

Information employers will need

To issue a worker permit, employers will need:

  • name, ABN, company address and trading name
  • the name and date of birth of the employee
  • the employee’s regular hours and place of work
  • to meet all eligibility criteria, including that the business is a permitted activity
  • to meet all relevant legal obligations 
  • to have a COVIDSafe Plan in place
  • to authorise a person or people to issue the worker permit.

How to issue a worker permit

Each employee required to be on site must receive an individual worker permit with the required details.

Employers must:

  1. Download the attached Authorised Worker Permit and fill it out. 
    • Employers must use this template for all worker permits issued under this scheme.
  2. Sign the worker permit. You can print and sign or sign it electronically.
    • Businesses must get an authorised person to sign the worker permit. This person could be the CEO, a HR manager, or an operations manager. 
    • They must be accountable for the details they provide. 
    • They may be contacted by Victoria Police or other enforcement agencies to confirm the details.
  3. Ask the employee to sign the worker permit. They can print and sign or sign electronically.
    • You can email or text the worker permit to your employee.
    • An employee may travel to work without a worker permit once to get their first permit.

Carrying a worker permit

Employees must carry the worker permit and photo identification when travelling to and from the workplace.

A worker permit can be shown electronically to authorities such as a photo, or scanned copy, on a mobile device.

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To Enter Victoria

To enter Victoria from other states you need to apply for a specified worker permit here.

Victoria classifies regions of Australia as green, orange or red, based on the region's COVID-19 risk. Non-Victorian residents can't enter Victoria from a red zone.

For a map of Zones click here to see green, red and orange zones.

To Cross border you must apply for a Specified Worker Permit

There are two types of specified worker permit:

  • The specified worker (single entry) permit is for eligible workers on the Specified Worker List – Single Entry 
  • The specified worker (multiple entry) permit is for eligible workers on the Specified Worker List – Multiple Entry

 

Specified Worker List – Single Entry

Workers who undertake the following activities are eligible for a Specified Worker (Single Entry) Permit:

  • Farming activities and other operations relating to agriculture including, horticulture, viticulture, irrigation, permaculture, apiculture – including the movement of beehives, grains, fibre production, dairy, flower industry, commercial fishing, aquaculture, livestock and forestry. This also includes farm equipment, tools and their maintenance.
  • Agricultural, veterinary chemicals and vaccine production, transportation and distribution
  • Businesses that support agriculture and farming including but not limited to on‐farm consultants, livestock agents, agronomists, shearing contractors, trades services and contracting businesses
  • Laboratory and diagnostic services
  • Animal saleyards, knackeries and animal transportation services (including livestock and pets)
  • Animal feed production, transportation, packaging, sale, and feeding (including livestock and pets)
  • Veterinary clinics and related services including on‐farm visits, animal care services (only where it there is a genuine animal welfare issue) and artificial insemination
  • Any business or undertaking that is involved in providing support services to agriculture, forestry and fishing activities under the Agricultural Code, such as food safety and verification, inspection or associated laboratory services; market access, biosecurity and animal welfare, national disaster response recovery and relief functions
  • Essential service worker that includes public transport, fuel, light, power, water and sewerage, emergency services, child protection workers, essential infrastructure and essential services for health, safety and wellbeing (this includes staff necessary to shut down a factory safely), persons critical to COVID-19 response and supporting services (including testing and vaccination), essential Local Government services, and essential care services for people with particular needs
  • A resources sector specialist worker, whose skills cannot be readily sourced in Victoria however are required for reasons such as, to ensure the safety of workers, provide essential maintenance activities, to keep sites operational or to maintain critical industries
  • Specialised clinical waste workers required for the operation of primary clinical waste incinerators in Victoria.
  • State security, giving effect to military transfers or under official orders given to a member of the Australian Defence Force
  • A Federal Parliamentarian undertaking essential work to ensure operation of the Parliament of Australia, (including attending electorate or ministerial offices for remote operation of technology that cannot otherwise be accessed)
  • Victoria Police member or Protective Services Officer (or equivalent person in New South Wales or South Australia) stationed on border duties or otherwise engaged in policing duties

 

 Cross-Border Update

You don’t need a permit to enter Victoria if you live in the NSW-Victoria or South Australia-NSW cross-border area and haven’t been in a red or extreme risk zone outside the cross-border area in the last 14 days. Conditions apply.

For more information, visit the cross-border community page.

     

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          General Victoria Coronavirus Information Helpline – 1800 675 398

          More information

           

          Dairy Australia have made the following resources available:

           

          Posters for Business

          https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/signs-posters-and-templates

           

          All COVID-19 Updates