As Victoria looks to easing restrictions and metro Melbourne opens back up, SafeWork is reminding businesses that they need to be enacting and enforcing COVID-safe work plans.
In a recent blitz, more than 300 companies were told to improve their COVID-safe plans, while 30 companies are being formally investigated by the Victorian safety regulator for breaches that could lead to prosecution. The breaches include insufficient PPE in the workplace, a lack of appropriate physical distancing, and not allowing workers to complete work from home.
According to the Victorian Attorney-General, Jill Hennessy, more than 3200 inquiries and site visits have been made by WorkSafe. Ms Hennessy said that the private sector had overwhelmingly adapted to new COVID-safe operations, despite some companies failing to introduce hygiene controls adequately.
“It’s important to know and to understand that when WorkSafe visits there are a range of legal consequences and so essentially they are legal obligations around people complying with the [Chief Health Officer] directions,” she said at a coronavirus briefing with Premier Daniel Andrews.
“[We] are ready, willing and able to do whatever it takes to make sure that we use the workplace as a really significant platform that we start really significantly reducing any of the risks of transmission.
“The blitz is making a significant contribution to that end but we remain very, ready, willing and able to help any others that require assistance or intervention.”