In response to the current COVID-19 outbreak in metropolitan Melbourne, the Victorian Premier announced yesterday new directions for the construction industry which came into effect last night at 11:59 pm, Monday 16 August 2021.
From today, staffing restrictions will apply on all metropolitan Melbourne construction sites, and from 11:59 pm tonight (17 August 2021), authorised workers will be required to carry an Authorised Worker Permit which must be carried when traveling for work.
Workplace (Additional Industry Obligations) Directions
Under the Workplace (Additional Industry Obligations) Directions:
- If a Work Premises is a construction site, an employer must:
- comply with applicable worker reductions except in relation to critical and essential infrastructure or critical repairs to any Work Premises where required for emergency and safety; and
- limit the movement of workers between multiple Work Premises except in relation to supervisors on small-scale construction sites, specialist contractors (who can move between up to 3 construction sites per week), specialists who provide safety services or those required to meet minimum statutory obligations.
- The worker reductions applicable are as follows:
- a small-scale construction site in metropolitan Melbourne must not operate with more than 5 workers (excluding the site supervisor);
- an early stage land development site in metropolitan Melbourne may only operate if there are 10 workers (or fewer) per hectare on the Work Premises at any one time; and
- a large-scale construction site in metropolitan Melbourne must not operate in excess of 25 percent of the large-scale construction baseline daily workforce or 5 workers, whichever is higher.
- A large-scale construction site means a construction site where:
- it is for construction of a building where a planning permit has been issued in relation to the site for a building that is greater than three storeys tall (excluding basement level(s)); or
- the site size is more than 1,500m2 floor size (inclusive of all floors); or
- it is for construction of a premises that is predominantly for office use, or that is the internal fit-out of a retail premises; or
- it is for construction of a premises that is predominantly for industrial or large format retail use.
- A small-scale construction site means a construction site other than a large-scale construction site or early stage land
development site.
Some guidance regarding these new directions can be found here.
Early Stage Land Development Sites
Under the Workplace (Additional Industry Obligations) Directions and Workplace Directions, an Early Stage Land Development Site:
- is where civil works is being undertaken on open air, large greenfield sites that are associated with and preparatory to construction of multiple individual residential dwellings or industrial or commercial development on that site (including site remediation and site preparation works, construction of utilities and construction of roads, bridges, stormwater/flood management works and trunk infrastructure);
- in respect of a residential development, will be considered a small-scale construction site once subdivision occurs;
- in respect of a large-scale residential development or an industrial or commercial development, will be considered a large-scale construction site once construction of a physical structure commences; and
- is not required to comply with the QR Code check in requirements applicable to most Work Premises (such as small scale and large-scale construction sites).
Authorised Worker Permits
While directions regarding worker permits have been published, they do not come into effect until 11:59 pm tonight.
Under Workplace Directions (No. 44) — which commences at 11:59 pm on 17 August 2021 and ends at 11:59 pm on 26 August 2021 — authorised workers will be required to carry an Authorised Worker Permit which must be carried when traveling for work (refer to the requirements of this set out in clause 5(6)).
Notably, any workers that live in metropolitan Melbourne and travel to Regional Victoria for work will still be required to carry an Authorised Worker Permit and personal identification.
New worker permit templates can be downloaded from the Victorian Government’s Coronavirus website here.
More information
It is critical that contractors and subcontractors issue notices of delay and extension of time claims in accordance with their contracts.
For full details of the directions relevant to the construction industry, please refer to:
- Workplace (Additional Industry Obligations) Directions (No. 37) clauses 7(39) to 7(44); and
- in relation to Early Stage Land Development Sites of the Workplace Directions (No. 43) clauses 6(11) and 6(26).
For more information, or advice on specific issues arising from the directions, please contact Damien Simonetti, Principal Lawyer, on (03) 8600 0708 or dsimonetti@kcllaw.com.au, or Jaimi Johanson, Lawyer, on (03) 8600 8839 or jjohanson@kcllaw.com.au.
Authors
This Construction and Infrastructure update was authored by Jaimi Johanson, Lawyer.
Note: This update is a guide only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.