Tara Murray
Workers in key sectors will need to get their third COVID-19 vaccine to continue working under new requirements announced today.
Under new pandemic orders coming into place from 11.59pm Wednesday, workers in key sectors who are already required to be fully vaccinated must get their third dose before being permitted to work onsite.
This will apply to healthcare, aged care, disability, emergency services, correctional facility, quarantine accommodation and food distribution workers. Workplaces must sight and record proof of vaccination.
Workers eligible for a third dose on or before January 12 will have until February 12 to get their third dose. Workers not yet eligible for a third dose will be required to get it within three months and two weeks of the deadline to receive their second mandatory dose.
Retail supermarket staff are not included in the mandate.
The order responds to the increased risks of COVID-19 exposure to critical workers, their proximity to vulnerable people, the higher risk of the virus spreading in their workplace and the need to protect access to essential goods and services.
All Victorians continue to be encouraged to get their third dose as soon as they become eligible.
To ensure Victorians can continue to access essential food supplies, workers in the manufacturing, distribution or packaging of food and beverages including retail supermarket workers may be exempted from close contact isolation requirements in order to attend work from Thursday, if it is necessary for continuity of operations and other options have been exhausted.
To mitigate risks, exempted workers must be asymptomatic, undertake daily RATs for five days and return a negative result prior to attending work. They can’t enter shared break areas, and employers are asked to facilitate solo break time.
In addition, face coverings must be worn, using N95/P2 respirators if possible.
Both the worker and workplace must consent to the worker’s return.
Residents at aged care centres will continue to be permitted up to five visitors per day, but visitors must return a negative RAT result before entering. If no RATs are available at the facility, residents will be permitted no more than two visitors.
Visitors in hospitals must have received two doses of the vaccine or must return a negative RAT result before entering.
Minister for Health Martin Foley said this is a sensible extension of our existing vaccination requirements – ensuring our critical workers and the vulnerable community members they look after are protected.
“Victoria is open and the community is encouraged to support businesses in a COVIDSafe way.
“No setting is more vulnerable than hospitals and aged care, and that’s why visitors to hospitals will be required to have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine or return a negative Rapid Antigen Test.”
