COVID-19 travel registrations and worker vaccination deadline extended

In response to the evolving COVID-19 outbreak and feedback from industry, the NSW Government has announced extensions to COVID-19 travel registrations and the vaccination deadline for authorised workers from local government areas of concern.

COVID-19 travel registrations – current 14-day registrations extended to 30 September

Workers will need to register for travel within NSW if leaving Greater Sydney or leaving or entering a local government area (LGA) of concern for work.

All previously issued 14-day travel permits have been extended to Thursday 30 September 2021.

If the worker’s travel details have not changed, they may continue to use their existing COVID-19 travel registration.

If a worker’s reason for travel or other travel details change, they will need to register again.

Anyone successfully applying for a new permit can now have the permit until Thursday 30 September 2021.

Workers must still carry their travel registration and supporting documents, and substantiate any locations they are travelling to, if requested by NSW Police.

Travel registration is required when:

• travelling for work more than 50km outside Greater Sydney (including authorised workers from LGAs of concern)
• inspecting a potential place of residence anywhere outside Greater Sydney because you genuinely need a place to live in, as soon as practical (no investment properties)
• moving between 2 places of residence:
  – for your work accommodation (only the worker can travel to the residence)
  – to undertake urgent maintenance, repairs, or attend to animal welfare (if so, only 1 person may travel to the other residence).

For more information about COVID-19 travel registration click here.

Vaccination deadline extended for authorised workers from LGAs of concern

Authorised workers from LGAs of concern now have until the end of Sunday 19 September 2021 to get vaccinated to allow them to continue to work outside of the LGA they live in, provided they have booked their COVID-19 vaccination by the end of Wednesday 8 September 2021.

The extended deadline means these workers must have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of Sunday 19 September, to continue working outside the LGA they live in from Monday 20 September.

Authorised workers who are not yet vaccinated will have until the end of Wednesday 8 September 2021 to book their vaccination. From Thursday 9 September, authorised workers will be required to carry evidence of their booking if they wish to leave their LGA for work.

The requirement also applies to relevant care workers aged 16 years and over whose place of residence or place of work is in an LGA of concern. This includes those who work in an early education and care facility or who provide disability support services.

Workers and anyone aged 16-59 from LGAs of concern are being offered priority bookings for vaccination and can book online.

Authorised workers under the age of 16 years remain exempt from the requirement to be vaccinated. If an authorised worker is not vaccinated or does not have a medical certificate indicating a medical contraindication, they will not be able to work outside their LGA after Sunday 19 September 2021.

A reminder that the vaccination requirements for authorised construction workers in Greater Sydney are as follows:

• had 2 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine or
• had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at least 21 days ago or
• had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine within the preceding 21 days and has been tested for COVID-19 within the preceding 72 hours (3 days) or
• a certified medical contraindication and has been tested for COVID-19 within the preceding 72 hours (3 days)

The NSW Government has defined 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.

Find out more here.