As NSW starts to reopen following reaching the 70% double vaccination target, as you will be aware there is some significant changes coming into effect on Monday 11 October 2021, supported by new health orders which you can view using the link below:

NSW Health Orders effective from 11 October 2021

On Demand HR has spent the past 24 hours reviewing the order and have summarised the key points as we interpret them applicable to businesses below and of course, should you have any specific questions or scenarios you would like to discuss prior to taking action, please send an email and one of our consultants will be in touch.

• Stay at home orders – No part of NSW will be subject to stay at home orders. Areas can be made stay at home areas in future amendments of the Order, depending on the COVID-19 situation.
• LGA’s of Concern – LGA’s of concern and the associated harsher restrictions have been repealed.
• Authorised Workers in LGA’s – There is no identified Authorised Workers category, and the mandatory vaccination, testing and permit requirements for Authorised Workers leaving Local Government Areas of Concern, have been removed.
• Travel Restrictions – A worker living in Greater Sydney, including Wollongong and the Blue Mountains, travelling more than 50km outside of Greater Sydney for work, will no longer need to register their travel or be tested on a seven day rolling basis.
• Construction Industry – The specific requirements for construction sites located in Greater Sydney, including vaccination requirements, have been removed, other than the requirement to have a COVID-19 Safety Plan.
• Masks – Masks must be worn by any person who is over 12 at the following locations:
  1. Indoor areas of premises other than a place of residence;
  2. Indoor areas of common property for residential premises;
  3. Public transport waiting areas or in a vehicle or vessel being used to provide a public transport service;
  4. On domestic commercial aircraft;
  5. Working at a hospitality venue and dealing with members of the public.
  6. In all hospitality venues (must be worn by hospitality workers only).
  7. Medical exemptions from wearing a mask continue to apply and individuals are required to carry evidence that lists the illness or condition and produce it for inspection by a police officer if requested.
  8. Masks can be removed and replaced for the usual reasons including safety reasons, eating and drinking and where clear enunciation is required.

Employees Returning to Work

There have already been many questions regarding employees returning to the office and ending working from home arrangements. We note that at the present time the following industries / sectors do not permit unvaccinated adults on the premises:

• Higher risk premises (hospitality venues, entertainment facilities places of public worship);
• Hairdressers and beauty salons;
• Recreation facilities (indoors);
• Pubic swimming pools;
• Information and education facilities;
• Retail premises but not including critical retail premises (service stations and highway service centres are not defined as retail premises, therefore unvaccinated persons are permitted to enter).

Essentially, this would include employees of these premises as well. Please note it is likely that most (if not all) of these restrictions will be removed around 1 December 2021.

For business that fall outside of these industries, in order to determine if employees should return to the office or a premises, it is useful to work through the below questions based on clause 2.23 of the Health Orders.

• Has the employee been able to carry out the work from home throughout the lockdown currently? If so, it is unlikely they can return to the office/premises until 1 December 2021.
• If the employee has been stood down because they have been unable to perform their duties from home, then in most cases it would be acceptable for them to return to work regardless of vaccination status (subject to the industries/sector list).

In summary, the new rules from Monday 11 October 2021 essentially do not increase the scope for people to simply “return to the office”, but it does increase scope for people who have not been able to work from home, particular those who were in the affected LGA’s but not “authorised workers”.

We understand that for many businesses these are some significant changes as we begin to transition towards “living with Covid”.  As a result, businesses will need to take some time to absorb the new health orders, understand how they impact their business and form strategic plans to move forward.  On Demand HR is here to help and we encourage you to reach out to us should you require any advice or guidance in this space.