Confused about the new restrictions? You’re not alone. We put together this quick guide of how/where/when you can work as a tradie in Victoria.
Can you go to a client’s home?
- You can visit homes for emergency repairs only — that means no renovations unless the property is vacant or considered an emergency repair — and you and your client must wear a mask while maintaining the standard social distancing guidelines of keeping 1.5 km away.
- What is an emergency repair? It’s anything that needs to be fixed urgently, including repairs that are safety issues (e.g. a gas leak), prevent property damage (e.g. termites), or are considered essential services (e.g. a broken water connection).
What construction sites can stay open?
- Most construction sites can operate at limited capacity. Your employer/site manager should let you know if this applies to you.
- Suppliers and deliveries do not count toward the total headcount allowed on site, nor do tradies working on emergency repairs.
- Critical infrastructure projects are also allowed without a reduction in the number of on-site workers.
- Construction sites considered to be early-stage land development projects can have up to ten workers per hectare.
- Restrictions on large-scale (more than 3 storeys excluding the basement once completed/total floor size will be more than 1500 sqm/an office, retail or industrial development) construction include:
- No more than 25% of the site’s baseline workforce or five people (whichever is higher) can work on the site each day
- Restrictions on small-scale construction sites include:
- No more than five workers, plus a supervisor, on site at any one time with exceptions for work that is absolutely necessary to have more workers for safety reasons.
- Remember that the owner of the site cannot inspect progress (unless they are also a worker there) as this is not one of the essential reasons to leave home.
- A solo tradie who works outdoors, and can stay 1.5m away from people at all times can also go on with their normal business.
Staying safe on the job
- You must wear a mask both indoors and outdoors (unless you have an exemption) and you must carry your authorised worker permit.
- All self-employed tradies will need authorised worker permits (fill out employer and employee as the same). You can travel to Melbourne from regional Victoria (and vice versa) if you are a permitted worker.
Working on multiple sites?
- You shouldn’t work on more than one site, unless it’s unreasonable for the management to only work on one site.
- Record your movement between sites for contact tracing purposes.
- Supervisors and specialists can work at up to 3 small-scale construction sites per week.
- There is no limit on the number of emergency repairs.
- Tradies considered specialist contractors can work at three small-scale construction sites per week. Check the list to see if you’re on it.
Read the full construction sector guidance from vic.gov.au
