Response to COVID-19

From Saturday 31 July 2021, work may resume on construction sites in Greater Sydney, subject to the principal contractor having completed the mandatory COVID-19 Safety Plan for Construction Sites in Greater Sydney.  A construction site is a place at which work, including related excavation, is being carried out to erect, demolish, extend or alter a building or structure, or at which civil works are being carried out, but not work carried out in relation to a dwelling in  which a person is residing. An unoccupied home where works are taking place is considered a construction site.

Please note that construction sites must remain closed in the identified LGAs, unless work is urgently required for the following reasons:

• to ensure the safety or security of the construction site
• to deal with environmental risks
• to maintain and ensure the integrity of critical plant, equipment or assets, including partially completed works, that would otherwise deteriorate
• to receive deliveries of supplies that would otherwise deteriorate
• to maintain public utilities
• to ensure the safe operation of existing transport infrastructure
• by or on behalf of NSW Health in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
• because of an emergency.

Only workers required to undertake the above works are permitted on those sites.

Yes. It is a requirement of the Public Health Order that construction sites must have completed their plan prior to reopening. A copy of the plan must be available for inspection on site. These plans will be enforced in the same way as all other safety issues on a construction site, including through SafeWork NSW which has a team of inspectors who regularly visit construction sites. Non-compliance can result in fines and other action, including the exclusion of workers from site. The plan is available to complete online.

The plan is available to be filled in as a web form at www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/covid-safe/construction-and-tradespeople/construction-sites-greater-sydney-covid-19-safety

The legal obligation on occupiers of premises is:

• to develop and comply with a COVID safety plan that addresses the matters required by the approved COVID Safety checklist
• to keep a copy of the COVID Safety Plan on the premises and make it available for inspection by an authorised officer or police officer as requested.

Businesses develop a COVID Safety Plan by completing each of the actions in the checklist on nsw.gov.au and receive a copy of the Plan as a PDF when they complete the checklist. Businesses must ensure that every site has a copy of a plan that is specific to that particular site.

Construction sites will need to operate differently with segregation measures in place so that contact between sites and teams is minimised. For some sites, this may mean less workers on site. Construction workers from the identified LGAs may not leave their local area for work.

Work in commercial premises where a business is still operating is governed by the general construction rules. It is permitted outside the designated LGAs but will require a COVID Safety Checklist. The obligations for creating and complying with the plan are with the occupier of the premises.

Works in residential premises can resume from 31 July outside of the identified LGAs, but there must be no contact between workers and occupiers. There will be a limit of 2 workers for indoor services and 5 workers for outdoor services. No contact means:

• All transactions must be electronic.
• Residents must not be in the part of premises where works will take place for at least 15 minutes prior to works and for 15 minutes after departure.
• For outdoor works, residents must not enter the outdoor area where works take place.
• For indoor works, residents must move to an outdoor area or to another building on the property or to an indoor area that is physically separated by a non-permeable barrier. If this is not possible, they must leave the home for a permitted reason (such as exercise).
• Where works proceed over more than one working day, the area of work must be marked as an exclusion zone and not entered for the duration of works.
• Service providers must not use amenities used by residents.
• No greeting service providers at the door – arrival and departure must also be contactless.

Please note that an unoccupied home where works are underway is considered a construction site and a COVID-19 Safety Plan for Construction Sites in Greater Sydney is required. 

Our priority is to prevent people coming into contact with each other. This is something we can do on unoccupied worksites through mandating physical distancing and the segregation of work teams. This is not as easily addressed in occupied homes so the caps on workers has been introduced, in addition to the requirement that there is no contact between occupiers and workers.

No. Construction workers are not authorised workers so residents from these LGAs cannot leave their local area to attend work. No construction sites are permitted to operate in identified LGAs unless urgent works are required.

While the restrictions do not prevent a worker from outside an identified LGA travelling into that LGA for work purposes, construction sites will remain closed in those areas unless urgent works are required.

Yes.

Manufacturing businesses for construction can still operate within these LGAs.

Yes, workers involved in the manufacture of building supplies to support construction have been listed as authorised workers and are permitted to leave their LGA for work, subject to meeting any relevant NSW Health testing requirements. 

Yes, if the work cannot be completed at home and the person is not from an identified LGA. Please note that employers must require employees to work from home unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so. These restrictions are enforceable.

Workers from Greater Sydney can travel to a location outside of Greater Sydney provided the work cannot be done at home and they are not from an identified LGA. Workers from Greater Sydney who are working 50km or more outside of Greater Sydney must have a COVID-19 test in the 7 days before entering that workplace. Site managers can ask for proof of testing and residence. Please note, workers who live in Greater Sydney and travel outside of this area for work must still comply with the Public Health Order and only undertake work duties.

As part of their COVID-19 safety plans, all worksites must have protocols in place to respond to a positive case on site, including rapid tracing. It should be noted that many of the measures being implemented on site will reduce, and in some cases eliminate, contact between workers on site.

Carpooling to and from work is not permitted unless among members of the same household.

Yes, masks must be worn by workers both indoors and outdoors in Greater Sydney and it should be a fitted face covering over both their nose and mouth. Workers may remove a mask in certain circumstances, including:

• when eating or drinking
• if the nature of the person's work:(i) makes the wearing of a fitted face covering a risk to the person's, or another person's health and safety, or (ii) means clear enunciation or visibility of the person's mouth is essential
• because of an emergency
• when communicating with another person who is deaf or hard of hearing
• if asked to remove their mask to ascertain their identity.

NOTE: The requirement to wear a mask does not apply to a person with a physical or mental health illness or condition, or a disability, that makes wearing a mask unsuitable.

The government is currently working with industry to investigate the feasibility of rapid antigen testing on worksites.

NSW Health continues to roll out its vaccination program. More information is available at www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/health-and-wellbeing/covid-19-vaccination-nsw/get-your-covid-19-vaccination-nsw

Yes, you may still be required to undergo compulsory drug and alcohol testing at the discretion of your employer. If necessary, tests will be conducted with the utmost consideration for your personal safety. For this reason, wall-mounted units are not in use at this time.

The NSW Government's 2021 COVID-19 Support Package includes financial assistance, support measures and tax relief, which can support individuals and businesses in the building and construction industry who have been impacted by the restrictions.

The government’s decision to pause construction was to reduce mobility in the community given the high level of transmission of the Delta variant of COVID-19, and to allow time for the construction industry to make plans for ongoing operations that minimise risk of infection.

Government and industry have worked together to develop the COVID-19 Safety Plan for Construction Sites in Greater Sydney to ensure construction can operate safely, while reducing the risk of COVID transmission. It builds on COVID-safe measures already in place at many worksites across Greater Sydney, now ensuring these are applied consistently right across industry.

Infrastructure NSW has assisted Government to engage with industry and unions, meeting daily to identify and agree on the measures required to resume works in an enhanced COVID safe way. These discussions are ongoing. The input of industry has been critical to this work and we thank them for working with us.