By Hannah Hurst

Today, the New South Wales Government announced an extension of the current lockdown as result of further emergence and a continuation of COVID-19 cases. The lockdown was expected to come to an end at 11:59pm on Friday 9 July 2021, but these restrictions will remain in place for an extra seven  days and are expected to end at 11:59pm on Friday 16 July 2021.

Restrictions will remain the same and residents of the impacted areas must continue to only leave home for a variety of reasons including:

  1. Undertaking essential work or education, where an employee cannot work or study from home.
  2. Shopping for food or other essential goods or services.
  3. Medical care or compassionate needs, including to get the COVID-19 vaccination.
  4. Exercise outdoors in groups of 10 or fewer.

The Public Health Orders do not define essential work, but rather list certain types of workplaces which must close. Businesses that are not listed amongst those which must close can continue to operate as per normal. Some venues that are required to close include, but are not limited to:

  • Entertainment facilities, including theatres, cinemas, music, concert, and dance halls.
  • Amusement centres.
  • Indoor recreation facilities.
  • Places of worship.
  • Hairdressers, spas, nail salons, beauty salons, waxing salons, tanning salons, tattoo parlours and massage parlours.

Refer to our article here to see how businesses can manage their employees during this lockdown.

If you have any questions about these restrictions and how they may affect your workplace, feel free to contact the team at HR Assured.

For HR Assured clients, contact our 24/7 Telephone Advisory Service.

Not an HR Assured client and need some advice? The team at HR Assured can support your business on a range of workplace matters. Contact us today to arrange a confidential, no-obligation chat.

Hannah Hurst is a Workplace Relations Consultant at FCB Group (our parent company) and HR Assured. She regularly provides advice to a wide range of businesses in respect to compliance with workplace laws and has a special interest in the retail industry. Hannah is also a fourth-year law and commerce student at Macquarie University.