New: Additional COVID restrictions

The NSW and ACT Governments have announced new restrictions for many areas of NSW and the ACT over the past 24 hours.

Canberra and the ACT

The ACT will enter a seven day lockdown from 5:00pm tonight (12 August). The lockdown will remain in place until 5.00pm Thursday 19 August 2021.

People in the ACT can only leave their home for the following essential reasons:

• To shop for essentials like groceries and medicine and supplies that are essential for personal needs or for vulnerable people
• To obtain essential health care, including to undertake a COVID-19 test or receive a scheduled COVID-19 vaccination
• To exercise outdoors for no more than one hour per day, with one other person, or your household group
• To provide essential caregiving services
• To undertake essential work

Landscaping works are not considered essential.  However, the following exemptions apply:

• For essential infrastructure and essential services required to maintain or protect the safety, health or welfare of the community or a section of the community (whether provided by a public or private undertaking), including construction, maintenance and repair of such infrastructure.
• For urgent repair and maintenance work, including for example plumbing, electrical and heating repair.

Further details are available on the ACT COVID-19 website.

Burwood, Strathfield and Bayside LGAs

The NSW Government has announced this morning that Burwood, Strathfield and Bayside Local Government Areas (LGA) will now have additional restrictions from 5pm today, in line with previously identified LGAs of concern and 12 suburbs in Penrith LGA.

People in these LGAs must only obtain food or other goods and services, and exercise, within 5km of their home. You cannot travel to other areas for work unless you are an authorised worker. Full details of the additional restrictions are available on the NSW Government website here.

What this means for Landscaping
In the LGAs of concern, the only construction work that can occur is at un-occupied construction sites. Work on occupied sites and maintenance work must not be carried out.

If you live in or are temporarily staying in a local government area of concern, you must not enter or remain at an un-occupied construction site in Greater Sydney unless you have:

• had 2 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine or
• had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before Wednesday 21 July 2021 or
• had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine after Wednesday 21 July 2021 and you have been tested for COVID-19 in the past 72 hours (3 days) or
• evidence of a medical exemption and you have been tested for COVID-19 in the past 72 hours. If you are required to have a COVID-19 test to enter or remain at a construction site, you must have a COVID-19 test once every 72 hours.

Construction workers can request a COVID-19 vaccination exemption for medical reasons.

Stay at home orders – Regional Areas

There are also rules and restrictions for the regional and rural affected areas in NSW where stay at home rules are in place to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

In regional NSW, the following areas are under stay at home orders:

• Armidale
• Dubbo
• Far North NSW
• Newcastle and the Hunter
• Northern Rivers
• Tamworth local government areas

What this means for Landscaping
Landscaping construction work and maintenance work can continue in regional and rural areas under stay at home orders, with certain restrictions:

Occupied sites
If you are doing prescribed work at a home, you must ensure that:

• no more than 2 people are working in an indoor area at the same time
• a resident must stay in a separate indoor area to where the work is being carried out
• no more than 5 people are working in an outdoor area at the same time.

If you are doing prescribed work at a unit within a residential apartment building, you must ensure that:

• no more than 2 people are working inside a unit at the same time
• a resident should stay in a separate indoor area to where the work is being carried out in their unit and
• no more than 5 people are working in an outdoor area at the same time.
• Residents and workers in residential apartment buildings seeking to arrange access to perform prescribed work are strongly encouraged to contact their Owners Corporation or Strata Manager to check any additional rules which may apply to a particular residential apartment building for access.

Workers should:

• minimise time spent in any indoor common property areas and
• wear a face mask at all times.

Un-occupied Construction sites
Construction sites that are permitted to operate in regional and rural NSW (including affected areas of regional and rural NSW) can have the greater of either 1 person per 4m2 at the site or a maximum of 25 persons at the site at any one time.

A reminder that Construction sites that are permitted to operate in Greater Sydney can have the lesser of:
•    1 person per 4 square metres of space at the construction site; or
•    50% of the maximum daily workforce.

Restrictions for construction sites and maintenance work in Greater Sydney (excluding 12 LGAs of concern) can be found here.

Please contact the team at TLA with any questions on (02) 9630 4844 or email team@landscapeassociation.com.au