Guidance on COVID-19 restrictions – Greater Melbourne and Regional Victoria

For tax professionals

For general information and FAQs, please read: Sector guidance for Professional, Scientific and Technical services under Melbourne’s Stage 4 restrictions and Stage 3 restrictions in regional Victoria.

COVID Safe Plan FAQS

Information as at 26/08/2020 from the COVID-19 Team at Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions.

Q1. Permitted Worker Scheme status for designated personnel to visit their business premises to collect and transfer physical documents including mail, files and working papers.

Your members will typically not be operating directly as permitted workers, either because their industry is not permitted to operate on site, or because their function is not deemed essential to the ongoing maintenance of the critical activities that the business is performing.

If your workplace is closed under Stage 4 restrictions (i.e. not a permitted workplace), you can only visit:

  • to ensure the premises are closed safely,
  • to support employees who are working from home (e.g. organising IT equipment to be delivered to their homes, collecting critical documents),
  • in an emergency or if otherwise required by law and
  • to carry out emergency maintenance (e.g. IT server repairs).

The second point above is intended to be limited to the minimum amount possible to enable working from home (once off if possible). If required, the work site operator should issue a permit just for that visit.

Only workers necessary for the activity are permitted and they should leave immediately they have collected the equipment.