COVID-19 : NOVEL CORONAVIRUS
WEDNESDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2021
Please find below a selection of recent legislation changes relating to COVID-19 and communications for workplaces from key safety and environmental regulators in Australia and New Zealand.
This update is provided on a weekly basis.
LEGISLATION CHANGES
Please note: The legislation in this update was current at time of release. Legislation around COVID-19 is frequently updated and revoked. The URLs provided may no longer be maintained by the relevant legislative website, after the release date.
- Amends CASA EX92/21 - Flight Reviews, Proficiency Checks and Related Matters (Extensions of Time Due to COVID-19) Exemptions Instrument 2021 to extend the duration of the instrument.
Liquor (COVID-19 Emergency Response - Permit Fee Waiver) Declaration 2021 (No 3)
- Provides economic support to licensees selling liquor for consumption on premises and liquor permit-holders with disrupted events through waiver of application fees which allow on licensees to receive a commercial permit to sell liquor for takeaway consumption and commercial and non-commercial permit holders to amend their permits to reschedule event dates.
Public Health (COVID-19 Areas of Concern) Notice 2021 (No 247)
- Identifies COVID-19 affected areas and places of concern.
Public Health (Diagnosed People and Close Contacts) Emergency Direction 2021 (No 3)
- Requires persons diagnosed with COVID-19 to self-isolate, and for close contacts and secondary contacts to quarantine as required.
Public Health (Lockdown Restrictions) Emergency Direction 2021 (No 5)
Environmental Planning and Assessment (COVID-19 Development - Temporary Housing) Order 2021
- Enables the erection and use of temporary housing on certain land in the Central Darling Shire local government area to provide accommodation to persons affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Amends the Public Health (COVID019 Additional Restrictions for Delta Outbreak) Order (No 2) 2021 to make further provisions concerning the holding of, and attendance at, small funeral or memorial services, to enable a person to select another nominated visitor for the person’s place of residence if the nominated visitor becomes unable to be a nominated visitor, and to clarify the extent of certain reasonable excuses involving compassionate reasons for visiting real property and also the meaning of the term ‘work’ - came into force on 25 August 2021 and 2 September 2021.
- Amends the Public Health (COVID-19 Additional Restrictions for Delta Outbreak) Order (No 2) 2021 to clarify that the vaccination mandate direction for authorised workers leaving an area of concern applies only to persons who are 16 years of age and older, provide that the vaccination mandate direction for those authorised workers (and its related direction about carrying and producing vaccination evidence) commence on 6 September 2021, remove the exemption from the vaccination mandate direction that would have applied to persons being tested as part of approved rapid antigen testing programs, provide that the vaccination mandate direction for early education and care and disability support workers whose place of residence or place of work is in an area of concern commences on 6 September 2021, and to repeal dates for classification of areas of the State as stay at home areas and areas of concern - came into force at the beginning of 28 August 2021.
Public Health (COVID-19 Aged Care Facilities) Order 2021
- Provides that from 9 am on 17 September 2021, persons employed at residential aged care facilities and contractors providing health and personal care services in those facilities may only enter the facility if they have received at least 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine - comes into force at 9 am on 17 September 2021.
Public Health (COVID-19 Air Transportation Quarantine) Order (No 3) 2021
- Repeals and remakes, with some changes, the Public Health (COVID-19 Air Transportation Quarantine) Order (No 2) 2021.
Public Health (COVID-19 Maritime Quarantine) Order (No 3) 2021
- Repeals and remakes, with some changes, the Public Health (COVID-19 Maritime Quarantine) Order (No 2) 2021.
Public Health (COVID-19 Safety) Order 2021
- Repeals the Public Health (COVID-19 Gathering Restrictions) Order (No 2) 2021 and remakes provisions of that Order that deal with COVID-19 Safety Plans, COVID-19 Safe Check-ins, the exchange of information and residential aged care facilities - came into force at the beginning of 29 August 2021.
Public Health (COVID-19 Vaccination of Health Care Workers) Order 2021
Border Restrictions Direction (No. 39)
- Prohibits persons from entering Queensland if they have been in a COVID-19 hotspot unless permitted by the direction, and sets the entry requirements for border zone residents, among other things.
Restrictions for Impacted Areas (No. 15) (SEQ eased restrictions Stage 3) Direction
- Requires people living in, who have been in, or who reside with someone who has been in, an impacted area (Brisbane City Council, Gold Coast City Council, Ipswich City Council, Lockyer Valley Regional Council, Logan City Council, Moreton Bay Regional Council, Noosa Shire Council, Redland City Council, Scenic Rim Regional Council, Somerset Regional Council, and Sunshine Coast Regional Council) to wear a face mask.
Restrictions on Businesses, Activities and Undertakings Direction (No. 26)
- Restricts certain businesses, activities and undertakings, and imposes requirements for collection of contact information using the Check In QLD app, and provision of contact information, among other things.
- Enables the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) to provide the second round of assistance to help marine tourism businesses that have suffered losses of income because of the COVID-19 travel restrictions, by offsetting the cost of renting berths at privately-owned or privately-operated marinas located in eligible local government areas.
Seasonal Workers International Quarantine Plans and Checklist Direction
Emergency Management (Activities - Associated Direction No 12) (COVID-19) Direction 2021
- Declares the whole of South Australia as a declared area that is subject to level 1 Restrictions, and modifies the Emergency Management (Activities - General No 3) (COVID-19) Direction 2021 in relation to definitions, and density requirements, mask requirements, private facilities and private functions, among other things.
Emergency Management (Cross Border Travel - Associated Direction No 46) (COVID-19) Direction 2021
- Applies levels of requirements applying to people arriving from specified restricted zones, modifies the General Direction in its application to certain categories of people, imposes a requirement that most arrivals from high-risk jurisdictions be tested and have commenced being vaccinated against COVID-19, and imposes testing requirements on commercial transport freight workers, including those arriving from zones that are not restricted zones.
Direction Under Section 16 - Contact Tracing - No. 9
- Requires, among other things, contact information of persons entering relevant locations to be kept, persons entering relevant locations to use the Check in TAS app or provide contact information, and owners or operators of relevant locations to ensure that a QR code that is compatible with Check in TAS has been applied for, received, and displayed in a prominent location, to facilitate contact tracing.
Direction Under Section 16 - Masks at Hospitals - No. 4
- Requires a person who enters, or remains on, the premises of a hospital to wear a fitted face covering while the person remains on those premises.
Direction Under Section 16 - Quarantine - No. 5
- Sets out quarantine, mask wearing and testing requirements for primary close contacts, casual contacts, secondary close contacts, among other things.
Direction Under Section 16 - Residential Aged Care Facilities - No. 16
- Identifies areas within Victoria which have a higher prevalence of, or risk of exposure to, COVID-19 and which are subject to specific directions which are reasonably necessary to protect public health including defining “Metropolitan Melbourne” and “Regional Victoria” for the Directions currently in force - came into force at 11.59 pm on 26 August 2021.
Care Facilities Directions (No. 43)
- Provides for restricted access to care facilities in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 within a particularly vulnerable population - came into force at 11.59 pm on 26 August 2021.
Diagnosed Persons and Close Contacts Directions (No. 26)
- Requires persons diagnosed with COVID-19 to self-isolate and persons who are living with a diagnosed person, or who have been in close contact with a diagnosed person, to self-quarantine in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 - came into force at 11.59 pm on 26 August 2021.
Extension of Declaration of a State of Emergency
- Extends the state of emergency until 11:59 pm on 23 September 2021.
Hospital Visitor Directions (No. 36)
- Prohibits non-essential visits and access to hospitals in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 within a particularly vulnerable population - came into force at 11.59 pm on 26 August 2021.
Restricted Activity Directions (Victoria) (No. 26)
- Restricts the operation of certain businesses and undertakings in the State of Victoria to address the serious public health risk posed to Victoria by COVID-19 - came into force at 11.59 pm on 26 August 2021.
Stay at Home Directions (Victoria) (No. 7)
- Requires everyone in the State of Victoria to limit their interaction with others by restricting the circumstances they may leave the premises where they ordinarily reside including for childcare or early childhood services, restricting public and private gatherings, including prohibiting visitors to another person’s home other than in limited circumstances, and requiring face coverings to be worn indoors and outdoors - came into force at 11.59 pm on 26 August 2021.
Victorian Border Crossing Permit Directions (No. 29)
- Continues to provide a ‘traffic light’ border crossing scheme for persons seeking to enter Victoria from any other State or Territory in Australia, or after entering Australia from a Green Zone Country, in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 - came into force at 11.59 pm on 26 August 2021.
Workplace (Additional Industry Obligations) Directions (No. 39)
- Establishes additional specific obligations on employers and workers in specific industries in relation to managing the risk associated with COVID-19 - came into force at 11.59 pm on 26 August 2021.
- Limits the number of Victorians attending work premises to assist in reducing the frequency and scale of COVID-19 outbreaks in Victorian workplaces and establishes more specific obligations on employers and employees in relation to managing the risk associated with COVID-19 - came into force at 11.59 pm on 26 August 2021.
Controlled Border for Western Australia Amendment Directions (No 40)
- Lists NSW as an extreme risk jurisdiction, Queensland as a low risk jurisdiction and NZ, ACT and Victoria as medium risk jurisdictions, among other things.
COVID-19 Public Health Response (Alert Level Requirements) Order (No 10) 2021
- Replaces the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Alert Level Requirements) Order (No 9) 2021, keeps Auckland and Northland at alert level 4, and moved the rest of New Zealand to alert level 3.
- Waives managed isolation and quarantine charges for certain specified persons.
- Directs the governing bodies of all registered schools who offer education at Years 12 and 13 in the Alert Level 3 area to comply with certain requirements from 1 September 2021.
- Exempts New Zealand government officials and support staff, accompanying evacuees from Afghanistan, on charter flights from Australia to New Zealand, commencing 26 August 2021, from Clause 8(2A), (3) and (4) of the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border) Order (No 2) 2020 under certain circumstances.
- Grants an exemption to suppliers of solid fuel sold in bulk, excluding retailers, from the requirement to have systems and processes in place to ensure that no customers or clients enter the workplace under Clause 20(a)(i) of the Order for customers who are otherwise unable to access bulk supplies of solid fuel for residential use in compliance with Alert Level 4 restrictions, and grants an exemption to customers of suppliers of solid fuel sold in bulk from the requirement to stay at home under Clause 15(1) of the Order where it is necessary for them to leave their home or place of residence in order to collect bulk supplies of solid fuel for residential use where they are otherwise unable to access such supplies in compliance with Alert Level 4 restrictions.
- Declares that certain financial services which are critical to the functioning of New Zealand’s markets, and for the flow of cash and capital to businesses, investors and consumers may operate as Alert Level 4 businesses or services.
FROM THE REGULATORS
Australian Government:
- Children Aged 12 to 15 Years Now Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine
- National Cabinet Statement - 27 August 2021
Therapeutic Goods Administration:
EPA:
NSW Government:
- HSC in November and All Students to Return to School in Term 4
- 'Let's Do This' Campaign Launched to Encourage NSW to Get Vaccinated
- Lock in the Perfect Lockdown Gift on the NSW Government's Buy Regional Website
- New Freedoms for Vaccinated First Step on State Roadmap Out of COVID
- NSW Government Funding Delivers Mental Health Support for International Students
- NSW Government Urges Queensland to Put Border Communities First and Agree to Seamless Border
- Targeted COVID-19 Support for Aboriginal Communities
NSW Health:
The Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory:
Department for Energy and Mining:
SA Government:
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment:
- Business Travel Register is Now Open
- Impact of Covid-19 Highlighted in Energy in New Zealand 2021
- Tourism Support Initiatives Applications Open
Ministry of Health:
- Ministry of Health Launches Mobile-based Vaccine Monitoring Survey
- Study into the Impacts of COVID-19: Research Group Contracted
NZ Government:
That completes this edition of the COVID-19 update. The next update will be released on Wednesday 8 September 2021.