Ensure that your business is COVID safe

In the wake of Melbourne’s metropolitan Stage 4 lockdown, we can see that COVID‑19 will be with us for some time, so it’s important that your business has a plan - and continues to plan - to keep your workplace healthy, safe and virus-free. All Australian Governments have agreed to a set of National COVID-19 Safe Work Principles to guide us and ensure that our workplaces are healthy and safe.

A planning toolkit is available from the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission (NCCC ) to help your business prepare a plan for the different stages of the pandemic.

Download the planning template here

The Victorian Government has also provided numerous COVID Safe Plan resources on:

www.business.vic.gov.au/disputes-disasters-and-succession-planning/covid-safe-business/creating-a-covid-safe-workplace

You should revise your plan frequently, particularly as restrictions and conditions change.

For your convenience we have revised the contents of the NCCC toolkit. The toolkit:

• will help you work out what resources are available and where you can go for support

• will help you develop a clear plan for trading through and after the COVID‑19 pandemic

• takes about 30 minutes to complete.

The planning toolkit has three sections:

- Keeping people safe

- Adapting my business

- Accessing support and assistance

Information on how to adapt your business now and in the future is also provided, and a planning tool is available to help you:

- Identify tasks to get your business up and running

- Consider how your business can adapt to the changes in the operating environment

- Access support and assistance

The toolkit also provides task lists to help you:

- Get things up and running again when your business can reopen or scale-up

- Adapt your business in terms of operation, products and services etc.

- Consider what you will need to do over a period of time before you open in full or part.

Safe Work Australia has developed an online hub with information on how to minimise the risk of COVID‑19 exposure in your workplace. For more information go to - https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/covid-19-information-workplaces%20

The hub is updated regularly and answers questions/provides information on:

- What are my duties under Work Health & Safety law?

- What can I do to keep workers safe?

- Challenges of working from home

- What are my workers' rights?

- Cleaning and protection

- Mental health

Your business should regularly visit the website, review the information, complete relevant checklists and include the information in your plan.

A range of resources, including guidance from Safe Work Australia, is available in over 60 languages via the COVID‑19 information hub in your language.

See https://covid19inlanguage.homeaffairs.gov.au