CURRENT COVID-19 SITUATION in the ACT (as of 13 April 2022)

Comply with your WHS duties while COVID-19 restrictions easing

You might be enjoying some relief from COVID-19 restrictions, but the WHS duties of a person conducting business and undertaking (PCBU) continue. This may mean taking steps above and beyond public health directions to eliminate, so far as is reasonably practicable, the risk of workers and others in your workplace contracting COVID-19.

While you must comply with any public health orders or directions that apply to your business, your WHS duty is to do all that you reasonably can to manage the risks of a person contracting and/or spreading COVID-19 in your workplace.

Your WHS duties apply even when there are no public health orders or directions. Having said that, the members are encouraged to continue implementing the COVID-19 safe control measures across your work sites, including, but not limited to:

• Ensure your workplace has appropriate and adequate hygiene products that can be easily accessed by the workers and visitors on site,
• Continue to promote good hygiene and social distancing practice,
• Wear masks where social distancing is not practicable, and
• Ensure your workers don’t come to work when unwell or tested positive for COVID-19.

Consultation is required under the WHS legislation. It is important that you comply with your workplace consultation process when implementing new control measures. Remember to check your enterprise agreement, applicable award, contract, or workplace policy to ensure that consultation process is followed.

More information is available here: SafeWork Australia – COVID-19 in the workplace