COVID-19 and your OHS responsibilities- The Authority continues to warn labour hire providers and hosts that during this pandemic, it is more important than ever to ensure the occupational health and safety of their workers. Compliance with existing workplace laws including the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 is a requirement for a labour hire licence. Providers and hosts are encouraged to use the COVID-19 resources from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), WorkSafe Victoria and Safe Work Australia. To help businesses prevent infection in the workplace, plan for and respond to COVID-19 and support contact tracing with record keeping the DHHS has a prepared a range of resources.
Translated COVID-19 resources for workers- To help communicate vital health information to workers in other languages, employers can visit the DHHS website, download translated resources, distribute them digitally and display them at worksites. Where appropriate the resources can also be displayed in employer provided accommodation and on employer provided transportation.
Fair Work Commission: Changes to awards in 2020- The Fair Work Commission has been reviewing all modern awards and the new awards are taking effect throughout this year. To find out if your award has already been updated visit Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO). If your award hasn't been updated yet, sign up to FWO alert service to hear about changes to your specific awards.
Agriculture Workforce Plan: finding work and workers- As a part of the Victorian Government’s Working for Victoria fund, the $50 million Agriculture Workforce Plan has been set up to help agriculture, food processing and critical food supply chain business in rural, regional and outer metropolitan Victoria with:
- recruitment
- case management
- financial support for worker relocation and transport
- worker induction and retraining
- business adaptation.
