News

As NSW starts to reopen from Monday our teams across Transport have worked tirelessly to make sure we’re ready to go with increased services. From next week we’ll be running a dynamic Monday to Friday timetable with capacity back up to around 50 per cent across all modes. A big thank you to all of our people who’ve helped make this capacity uplift possible. Watch the message from Howard Collins here.

People in Greater Sydney are just weeks away from being able to enjoy holidays and day trips to the regions as COVID travel restrictions start to ease.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said the State had this week passed a major milestone, passing the 70 per cent double vaccination target.

“From Monday, we’ll see a number of restrictions ease across NSW and many businesses start to re-open. Travel will also be allowed between regional local government areas including for holidays for fully vaccinated people,” Mr Toole said.

“However, it will still be a few more weeks before people from Greater Sydney can travel out to the regions for holidays or recreation.”

Travel for holidays and recreation, between Greater Sydney and Regional NSW (and vice versa) will not be permitted from Monday, 11 October.

Greater Sydney includes the Blue Mountains, Wollongong, Shellharbour and the Central Coast.

Under the Reopening NSW roadmap, travel for holidays and recreation between Greater Sydney and the regions (and vice versa) will only be permitted for those who are fully vaccinated once the State reaches the 80 per cent mark.

“We know people are busting to get out and explore the best of the bush – and we look forward to welcoming fully vaccinated travelers, but this is not something we’re going to rush. It’s important we continue to push up vaccination rates before that happens and ensure we keep regional communities safe,” Mr Toole said.

Travel between Greater Sydney and the regions remains permissible for a range of reasons including for work, medical and caring reasons, and on compassionate grounds.

Under the Public Health (COVID-19 Vaccination of Education and Care Workers) Order 2021, education and care workers will not be able to perform work at a school from Monday 8 November unless they have:

(a) had 2 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, or

(b) been issued with a medical contraindication certificate (which certifies that you cannot receive a COVID vaccine).

School Crossing Supervisors and other staff who from time to time perform work at a school are subject to this Public Health Order. What this means is that you must comply with the vaccination requirement in order to be rostered to work from 8 November.

Medical exemption

If you cannot have a COVID-19 vaccine due to a specified medical contraindication, you will need a medical contraindication certificate issued by a medical practitioner in a form approved by the Chief Health Officer.

Declaration of Vaccination status

Over the coming days, you will receive information on how to complete a declaration of your vaccination status. This information is required to ensure compliance with the Public Health Order.

Before 8 November, you may also be required to provide evidence of your vaccination status or medical contraindication certificate.

Please continue to check your emails for important messages regarding this process.

Evidence of vaccination or medical contraindication

Under the Public Health Order, you may be requested to provide evidence of your vaccination or medical contraindication certificate to authorised personnel at Transport. It is important to carry this information with you.

Getting vaccinated

If you have not been vaccinated, you are to arrange a vaccination appointment as a matter of urgency. You can book a vaccination appointment here Vaccines Clinic Finder (healthdirect.gov.au). You can claim for a two-hour payment for each of the jab. Please contact your coordinator if you need any assistance.

Not fully vaccinated by 8 November

From 8 November you can only be rostered to work as a School Crossing Supervisor if you are fully vaccinated or have received a medical contraindication certificate from a doctor.

If you will not have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine nor received a medical contraindication certificate before 8 November, you will be marked as absent and will have to apply for leave, until you are able to comply with the Public Health Order.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announced today that with the 70 per cent double vaccination milestone being reached yesterday, the NSW Government is easing a number of restrictions as part of the Reopening NSW roadmap, which will allow fully vaccinated adults to enjoy more freedoms from next Monday, October 11. It is expected that these updates will be made to Public Health Order in the coming days. We will advise you if anything changes to what has been announced today.

As always, Transport will play a critical role in supporting these changes as students return to schools sooner and more people start accessing the network to reunite with family and friends as well as the return to work places over the coming months

Please make sure your people know that if they can work from home they should continue to do so for now and that masks remain mandatory.

Changes to 70 per cent roadmap

• Up to 10 visitors (not counting children 12 and under) to a home (previously five)
• The cap on outdoor gatherings rises to 30 people (previously 20)
• Increased cap for weddings and funerals to 100 people (previously 50)
• Indoor pools will also re-open for swimming lessons, squad training, lap swimming, and rehab activities.

Changes to 80 per cent roadmap

• Up to 20 visitors (excluding children 12 and under) to a home (previously 10)
• Up to 50 people will be allowed to gather outdoors (previously 20)
• Up to 3,000 people will be allowed to attend controlled and ticketed outdoor events (previously 500)
• Nightclubs will be permitted to reopen for seated drinking only (no dancing)
• Masks will no longer be required in office buildings.

All roadmap freedoms at 70 and 80 per cent will continue to be for fully vaccinated people only.

Changes to back to school plan

All school students will now return to on site learning with a range of COVID-safe measures in place by October 25, with the second and third stages of the return to school plan now combined. Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 12 students will still return to face-to-face learning on October 18, with all other years now returning one week later on October 25.

New public health advice sets out how NSW will continue to tackle COVID-19 as the state begins to reopen when it reaches the 70 per cent double dose vaccination target.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard has said that while high vaccination rates are the key factor in the roadmap to recovery, COVID-19 will continue to circulate in the community. It is expected that these updates will be made to Public Health Order in the coming days. We will advise you if anything changes to what has been announced.

Some of the key public health advice that will come into effect from Monday 11 October for the general community will be:

• Everyone, vaccinated and not vaccinated, is urged to get tested if you have any symptoms of COVID-19 and immediately self-isolate until a negative result is received.
• Whether you are vaccinated or not vaccinated, if you test positive for COVID-19 you must self-isolate for 14 days.
• Close contacts in the community will include household members of positive cases and close social contacts of positive cases, such as partners and friends, who you spent time in close proximity with, even if fully vaccinated. Anyone may also be assessed as a being a close contact following a risk assessment, including at workplaces, high-risk settings, such as healthcare and aged care, and other specific settings such as schools and child care centres, or where an outbreak has been identified.
• If you are a close contact of a positive case and vaccinated, you must get tested and self-isolate for seven days. On day six after exposure, you must get tested again. If a negative result is received and you are well, you can end isolation after day seven. For the following seven days you must work from home where practicable, not attend hospitality settings, and not attend a high-risk settings even if it is your place of work.
• If you are a close contact of a positive case and not vaccinated you must get tested and immediately self-isolate for 14 days. On day 12, you should get tested again. If a negative result is received, you can end isolation after day 14.
• The Service NSW QR code check-in system will remain in place in the general community. This system will be used to notify people who were in the same venue as a positive case. People will be asked to monitor for symptoms and get tested if they become unwell. Other settings, including schools, workplaces and high-risk settings, such as healthcare and aged care, will have specific risk assessment approaches.

Some of the key public health advice for the business community will be:

• If a staff member tests positive, whether they are vaccinated or not vaccinated, they must self-isolate for 14 days and follow the advice from NSW Health. Businesses will refer to their COVID-19 Safety Plan and risk assessment approach for further instructions on notifying other staff.
• Businesses must inform NSW Health if three or more employees test positive for COVID-19 in a seven-day period.
• NSW Health guidelines will enable businesses to assess workplace risk if a COVID-19 case is identified and confirm actions to be taken.
• Businesses can reduce the risk of closure or staff going into isolation by implementing rigorous COVID-19 Safety Plans. Other proactive steps businesses can take include ensuring staff are vaccinated and implementing regular onsite testing programs for workers.

With respect to vaccination compliance and obligations:

• Businesses will be responsible for taking reasonable measures to stop unvaccinated people entering premises. For example, having prominent signs stating requirements, Service NSW QR codes, staff checking vaccination status upon entry and only accepting valid forms of evidence of vaccination.
• Authorised officers will monitor businesses re-opening, particularly those that have vaccination requirements, for example hospitality, retail, gyms, and personal services (e.g. hair, beauty).
• Penalties may apply for individuals and businesses who don’t comply. On the spot fines of $1,000 may apply to individuals for not complying, or for using fraudulent evidence of vaccination or check-in. On the spot fines of $5,000 may apply to businesses for not complying with the Public Health Order vaccination requirements. Further penalties may apply for significant breaches.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant has said it is important to note that the new advice may be updated by NSW Health as case numbers and evidence changes.

Currently, under the Public Health Order which is in place until 12.01am 11 October Authorised Workers from Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Concern must not leave their LGA for work unless they have:

• had at least 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, or
• evidence of a medical contraindication

From 11 October the concept of Authorised Workers and mandatory vaccination for those Authorised Workers will cease. Each of the 12 LGAs will no longer be an area of concern and employees from these areas will be subject to the same restrictions that apply to the rest of Greater Sydney, in line with NSW Health advice.

You will also no longer require a permit from Service NSW or an Authorised Worker letter to travel into or out of these areas.

It is important that our people feel safe coming back to work. Since the outbreak of COVID we’ve implemented a number of COVIDSafe measures including our enhanced cleaning program, QR Codes across our sites, green dots to guide our customers on where to sit and stand, mandatory mask wearing for staff and customers and many more to support COVIDSafe workplaces. Check out the full list here.

While we already have COVIDSafe measures in place to support our customers and staff as we see more people return to the network from October 11, we are now focused on what more can be done to help protect our people with additional measures now available to us.

FAQs

To help make things easy and answer any questions you may have read the FAQs here.

Stay-at-home orders will be extended until 11 October for a number of local government areas (LGAs) in regional NSW due to the ongoing COVID-19 public health risk. In addition due to recent transmission of COVID-19, stay-at-home orders have been announced for Oberon and the Snowy Monaro LGA for seven days. For the latest information please visit the NSW Government website.

Thanks to faster than expected vaccination rates, students will be able to return to the classroom sooner starting from 18 October. At Transport, we know how challenging trying to work and manage home schooling can be which is why we have created a page full of resources – check it out on the Staywell Hub

On Monday the roadmap for easing restrictions at the 80 per cent double dose target was unveiled outlining a clear path way out of lockdowns. The roadmap offered a light at the end of the tunnel with several freedoms announced for fully vaccinated adults (16+) and people with medical exemptions.

Even with the easing of restrictions at 80%, under the public health order all employers, including Transport must continue to allow their people to work from home, if ‘reasonably practicable’. As well, mask wearing will remain mandatory while travelling on public transport. So as we get closer, the message from the Premier is:

• Get vaccinated as soon as you can to protect yourself and to be able to enjoy freedoms soon. Book in for a jab!
• Keep working from home if you can
• Mask wearing remains mandatory

Stay-at-home orders for the Port Macquarie and Muswellbrook Local Government Areas (LGAs) will be introduced from 6pm today for seven days due to an increased COVID-19 public health risk.

These stay-at-home orders will also apply to anyone who has been in the Port Macquarie and Muswellbrook LGAs since 17 September and 22 September respectively.

Everyone in these LGAs must stay at home unless it is for an essential reason, which includes shopping for food, medical care, getting vaccinated, compassionate needs, exercise and work or tertiary education if you can’t work or study at home.

To determine the extent of the risk and detect any further potential COVID-19 cases in these areas, we are calling on the communities to come forward for testing in large numbers.

A strong response to testing will be a key factor in determining if these stay-at-home orders are extended beyond one week. To find your nearest clinic visit COVID-19 clinics or contact your GP.

The stay-at-home order for Kempsey LGA will be lifted, as scheduled, at midnight tonight. However, this order may be reintroduced if new information indicates an increased public health risk.

People in Kempsey need to remain particularly vigilant, practise COVID-safe behaviours and get tested at the first sign of even mild symptoms.

Kempsey LGA will continue to operate under some restrictions to ensure community safety. For more information, please visit the NSW Government website

High vaccination rates are also essential to reduce the risk of transmission and protect the health and safety of the community.

Use the COVID-19 vaccine clinic finder to find your nearest vaccination clinic, or visit the NSW Government website