The Victorian Government has announced a pause on the 75 per cent return to the workplace cap that was due to come into effect from this Monday 8 February.

The announcement was made after one of our colleagues, a hotel quarantine worker, tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).

Please visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au to keep up to date with the latest developments and exposure sites.     

The current caps, introduced on Monday 18 January, therefore remain in place:

• 50 per cent of office workers in the private sector
• 25 per cent in the Victorian public service
• 20 workers if the organisation employs less than 40 people. 

New restrictions also came into effect from 11:59pm on 3 February 2021: ?? 

• Face masks are?mandatory in?indoor spaces, including?workplaces, apart from when eating or drinking. In addition to indoor?spaces, face masks continue to be mandatory on public transport, when in a ride share or taxi, on domestic flights to and from Victoria, and at airports.? You must always carry a face mask with you when you leave home unless you have a lawful reason not to.? 

• No more than 15 people can gather in homes, not including members of the household or infants under 12 months.

The early signs indicate that the virus has not spread further in the community so we all await further advice while the testing and tracing continues. 

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Victoria’s staged return to work will be accelerated this month with new health advice allowing office-based workers to return to 75 per cent capacity.

With no evidence of community transmission in Victoria for 27 days now, both public sector and private sector office-based workplaces will be able to return to 75 per cent capacity from 8 February 2021.

Record keeping requirements for workplaces will remain unchanged, which means an employer must keep a record of all workers and all visitors who attend the premises for longer than 15 minutes.

Legislation will be introduced into the Victorian Parliament this week to ensure the public health directions protecting Victorians from coronavirus – including requiring workplaces to have a COVIDSafe Plan – can continue to be enforced.