As Victoria has entered a circuit-breaker seven-day lockdown from 11:59pm May 27 to 11:59pm on June 3, the construction sector, including the civil construction industry has been permitted to remain open as an authorised provider.
The Workplace Directions included in the media statement issued by the Victoria Acting Premier James Merlino lists ‘Construction’ under the classification of Authorised Providers. It also defines Authorised Workers being anyone who performs work that is essential for the continued operation of an “Authorised Provider.”
This includes those workers providing services to essential infrastructure and essential services that are required to maintain or protect human health, safety and wellbeing (whether provided by a public or private undertaking), and including construction, maintenance and repair of such infrastructure; or critical repairs to any premises where required for emergency or safety.
Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) Victoria Chief Executive Officer John Kilgour in a release yesterday afternoon invited CCF members to make their own determination of these restrictions as it applied to their respective business and business activities.
“Advice from the state government in a briefing session this afternoon stated that the definition of construction includes broader construction including civil construction activities. It was also advised that there will be no worker permit system to be applied and I would encourage CCF members to monitor the Coronavirus website for regular updates from government pertinent to our sector,” he said.
Kilgour also encouraged members to continue to play their part through adherence to COVIDSafe Plans, including compliance to the Building and Construction Industry Working Group Safety Guidelines.
CCF released revision 12 of the Building and Construction Industry COVID-19 Guidelines in April this year, which contains the latest advice and guidance on managing project and work sites from a COVID-19 perspective.
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