From 1am AEST Thursday 14 April 2022, the requirement to check-in and to be fully vaccinated in a range of venues and events will end.

Venues include pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants; theme parks, casinos and cinemas; weddings; showgrounds; and galleries, libraries, museums and stadiums.

Vaccination and check-in requirements will continue for anyone visiting or working in vulnerable settings (hospitals, disability accommodation services and residential aged care) as well as for workers in high risk settings including schools, childcare, prisons and airports.

Whilst it is clear what the requirements are for patrons, there is still a lot of grey areas around what this means for venues that have a compulsory vaccine policy for staff members in place.

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Our advice at this stage is that you need to revisit your risk assessment.  Your risk assessment should cover:

Risk Factors to Consider

• There is a Health mandate in place for our industry to have compulsory vaccinations
• Our clients have a Health mandate in place for their workers to have mandatory vaccinations
• We work with vulnerable people (aged, compromised health, Indigenous)
• Employee, visitors or clients who have flu like symptoms are allowed in the workplace
• We have a visitor/s from interstate and/or overseas visit our workplace
• Social distancing cannot be maintained due to work environment
• Is it difficult to maintain a daily cleaning and disinfecting schedule in our business
• Our employees will be exposed to work areas which we have no control of cleanliness and disinfecting schedules

Any changes to your Covid policy will need to have justification, and the risk assessment is an important part of this.

As with any workplace change you will also be required to consult with your staff members.  You can’t just rip up the Covid vaccine policy and not consult with your workforce.

It is also important to note that you still need an infectious diseases/Covid policy in place.  This will cover off issues such as

1. Hand washing
2. General hygiene
3. Cleaning schedules
4. Isolation requirements

Covid, it is like the gift that never stops giving!

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