The Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews today announced the intention to release a roadmap for the re-opening of industries out of Stage 4 restrictions, including building and construction.

While a date for restrictions to be eased will be dependent on infection data over the coming weeks, the intention is that the roadmap for a ‘return to work’ will be released this Sunday 7 September – giving time for our industry to adjust.

Master Builders Victoria will attend a Ministerial briefing tonight on how the roadmap will be formulated and then we will have significant input over the course of this week as to the detail of how it will apply specifically to our industry. 

The Premier also outlined that there would be six key principles for a COVID-safe return.

Four of those are already operating in most industries, including ours where we have been proactive on them:

  • physical distancing , work from home where possible
  • strict policy on people who have any symptoms to be home, and control any close contacts
  • hygiene/sanitisation of workplaces, regular cleaning, hand washing.
  • wearing of masks, PPE used   

The two  ‘new’ principles are ones that some, in practice, have been doing - and they will be formalised over this week: 

  • ‘Workforce bubbles’: limiting employee connection and site crossover by defining teams in a ‘bubble’, to limit the spread of contacts at risk if there is a positive case.
  • Reducing/eliminating the time employees spend in enclosed spaces together - for our industry an example may be tea/lunch rooms.

As mentioned above, MBV will continue to be closely involved in the talks with the Government to help shape that roadmap and what the re-opening of our industry will look like. We will be basing our submissions in these talks on the whole of industry roadmap that was sent to the Premier last week that outlined ways we could have a gradual re-opening that keeps our people and community safe.

Also mentioned above, a date when this roadmap would take effect is not clear and will depend on data over the next few weeks. The intention of this week’s engagement is to find the appropriate path that is workable for government, where we will be outlining our industry’s strong track record on safety and very low transmission over the past six months. It is important to note that our conversations with government and input to their plans continued over this past weekend and have been very constructive. 

WHAT TO DO NOW?

In the meantime, it is imperative everyone continues to follow the directives that have been so effective in keeping our industry safe. If numbers are kept low, our sector will be back to greater capacity sooner.

The DHHS Workplace (additional Industry Obligations) Directions (No 4) provides the detailed rules and regulations for Victorian workplaces, some of which relates directly to our industry. The Workplace Directions (No 3) also contains information.

It is vital that everyone in our sector adheres to the industry guidelines that have been developed by a collaborative group of employer associations and unions, the latest Version 7.0 can be read here.

MBV has also produced a set of member frequently asked questions to help fill the gaps and apply these rules to specific situations in our industry.