News

NSW Health has been notified of two cases in Armidale overnight. To protect the people of NSW from the evolving COVID-19 outbreak, new restrictions will be introduced for the Armidale Regional Local Government Area (LGA) including the major town of Armidale and the town of Guyra, from 5pm today until 12.01am Sunday 15 August.

Following updated health advice from NSW Health about the growing risk to the community, stay-at-home orders will apply to all people who live in these areas, or have been there on or after 31 July 2021.

The rules for these areas are the same as those already in place across Greater Sydney, including the Central Coast, and Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, Singleton, Dungog, Muswellbrook and Cessnock.

Everyone in these areas must stay at home unless it is for one of the 4 essential reasons;

• Shopping for food or other essential goods and services
• Medical care or compassionate needs (including to get a COVID-19 vaccine)
• Exercise in groups of no more than 2 within your local government area or up to 10km from your home
• Essential work, or education, where you cannot work or study from home.

For our people who live or stay in the Armidale Regional LGA please be assured that you can continue to come to work if your work cannot be done from home and you do not need an Authorised Worker letter to do so. Be sure to understand what you can and can’t do under the new rules.

Two dedicated testing facilities for Emergency Services Personnel including Authorised Transport Workers are now operating at Fire + Rescue NSW’s Greenacre and Orchard Hills sites. Our Authorised Workers who are subject to mandatory surveillance testing requirements can access the drive-through dedicated sites simply by showing your ID and your Authorised Worker letter. Only Authorised Personnel can attend, partners or family members cannot attend with you unless they are also Authorised Personnel.

Please note – These sites are for surveillance testing only. Please do not attend if you are symptomatic or if NSW Health have informed you that you are a close, or secondary contact of an infected person. Please ensure vehicles using sites are no bigger than a standard ambulance.

On arrival at either site, stop at facility front gate reception - you will be asked to:

• Show ID
• Scan in using your own device and our QR
• Confirm that you are not symptomatic, have not been tested in previous 2 days, are not a close or casual contact
• Please wear an approved and fitted mask while attending
• Keep vehicle windows closed unless directed
• Please bring your own pen, you will be asked to fill in two forms prior to testing
• Laverty Pathology will issue you a certificate to confirm you have been tested and will txt your results within 24 hours
• Please remain in your vehicle and follow instruction from on-site staff

There have been a number of changes to the NSW-Victoria border arrangements announced recently, including an announcement today that residents in the NSW-Victoria border bubble will only be able to enter Victoria without a permit if they are travelling for essential reasons. This change is expected to come into effect from 11.59pm on Tuesday 3 August. Please refer to the information in the Victorian Government media release for further details on today’s announcement.

We understand the changes can be confusing so we have outlined below what the current NSW-Victoria border arrangements mean for our people. Please be assured, as more information becomes available we will update you.

For our people who need to cross the border for work: You can apply for a ‘Specified Worker (other) permit’ under the category of ‘essential service worker’ and use that to cross in the event you don't qualify as Victorian border region residents. You can apply for a permit here.

If you live in the City of Wagga Wagga, Hay Shire Council, Lockhart Shire Council and Murrumbidgee Council: You are no longer included in the cross-border bubble. These local government areas were included under the Extreme Risk Zone from 11:59pm 27 July, in line with the rest of NSW, and residents now need an exemption, exception, transit permit or specified worker permit to enter Victoria.

If you live in the NSW cross-border area: It is anticipated that from 11.59pm Tuesday 3 August you will only be able to enter Victoria without a permit for essential reasons, which includes for work, but you must travel with proof of address. You cannot enter if you have been to an extreme risk zone outside of the cross-border area, or if you have COVID-19, any symptoms, or have been defined as a close contact by a state health authority.

If you are entering Victoria as a NSW cross-border community resident: Authorities ask you to stay within the Victorian cross-border area at all times.

If you are entering New South Wales as a Victorian cross-border community resident: Stay within the NSW cross-border area. If you travel beyond this area, you will not be allowed to enter Victoria unless you have an exemption, exception, transit permit or specified worker permit. More information on cross border communities can be found here.

NSW TrainLink service changes: Due to the Victorian border closure, NSW TrainLink services are not operating within Victoria. No supplementary coaches are being provided beyond Albury.

School buses not impacted: As regional schools are running with face-to-face learning, we are continuing to run our services along the border as normal.

It was announced today that all authorised workers who live or stay in the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA will now be required to get tested once every three days in order to leave their LGA for work. This will be enforceable from Saturday 31 July so our people who are now required to have this mandatory surveillance testing have until then to have their first test. You may like to use a testing site near your home or on your way to or from work and can find locations here.

For our people who live or stay in the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA and are affected by the new mandatory testing requirements, from Saturday 31 July you will be required to complete our online COVID-19 Testing Declaration Form to show that you have met your COVID-19 testing obligations prior to the beginning of each shift.

The three-day mandatory testing requirements currently in place for anyone who lives or stays in the Fairfield Local Government Area and must leave the LGA for work are being relaxed so that this will only apply to health or aged care workers. This means for our people who live or work in the Fairfield LGA you will no longer be required to have the three-day mandatory testing and no longer need to fill out the testing declaration form at the beginning of each shift.

Please note - our people travelling to regional NSW from Greater Sydney for work are still required to have 7 day rolling tests also.

Under the updated Public Health Order, Transport has an obligation to make sure that all our people working on our services or anyone accessing any of our premises has undertaken a COVID-19 test within the specified timeframe and has proof of the test available to show on request.

Proof of testing – how it will work

To help make it easier for everyone who has to undergo mandatory testing and at the same time make sure we meet our obligations under the Public Health Order, we’ve developed a cluster-wide approach:

• For our people affected by the new mandatory testing requirements, you will be required to complete an online form to declare that you have met your COVID-19 testing obligations prior to the beginning of each shift.
• This form can be completed on a smart phone, iPad or computer and a paper form will be available where online is not accessible.
• You may not be asked to show evidence of a test each shift but you will need to complete the declaration to confirm that you’ve met your testing requirement each shift.
• An SMS text message or email from the testing organisation can be used as evidence that a test has been taken and you will need to have access to this at all times in case we need to sight it.

If you encounter any issues with the form or anything else, please contact the TSS Service Centre on 133 877.

Continue to come to work – testing

Testing of workers who are well and not displaying symptoms is called surveillance testing. In this situation where workers are well they are not required to self-isolate and wait for the test result. The idea is to identify the presence of COVID early even if the worker is not showing symptoms. This means if you are well and get tested you do not need to isolate until you receive the result.

Anyone who is unwell should not be coming to work and should get tested which is when they do need to self-isolate.

Top things you need to know and do

Today the Premier announced further measures to limit mobility across Greater Sydney as well as an extension of the current stay-at-home orders to 28 August across Greater Sydney, including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong, and Shellharbour.

You can read more about what was announced today here

Additional restrictions for Parramatta, Georges River and Campbelltown Local Government Areas

Due to case numbers rising in these areas, the Parramatta, Campbelltown and Georges River Local Government Areas (LGAs) will now be subject to the same Authorised Worker restrictions as in the five existing LGAs of concern, those being Fairfield, Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland and Blacktown. This means workers in the new LGAs of concern are not allowed to leave their local government area unless they are on the list of authorised workers.

It is vital that all of our people who live in these areas follow the guidance and stay at home to protect themselves and their families. Be sure to understand what you can and can’t do under the new rules.

If you live or stay in the Parramatta, Georges River and Campbelltown local government areas, from midnight tonight you must not leave your LGA to attend work even if you are in a frontline role unless your manager has advised you that you are an Authorised Worker and are to attend work.

• If this applies to you, urgently contact your leader to make sure that they know you live or stay in one of the impacted LGAs.
• For our people rostered to work up until 11.59pm tonight or after, the following advice applies:
  • People should attend their shift and where possible should be released so they are able to cease work at 11.59pm. If your shift is cut short, you will be paid until the end of your shift as though you had worked.
  • Where this is not operationally possible, people can continue working past 11.59pm until the end of their shift or until they can be released.
  • In the unlikely event that the order is enforced on our people working past 11.59pm, they will be supported by the Transport Taskforce in resolving the matter.

Construction update

From 12:01am Saturday 31 July construction on non-occupied Transport sites outside of the eight LGAs of concern can resume as planned, subject to a one person per 4sqm rule. It is important to note that construction cannot resume in the eight LGAs of concern and construction workers will not be allowed to leave these areas for work. We will update you if this information changes.

We are working closely with our operators to make sure COVID safe plans (including mandatory masks and the use of QR codes) are in place as workers return to sites, in line with the current public health orders.

Changes to mandatory surveillance testing

It was announced today that all authorised workers who live or stay in the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA will now be required to get tested once every three days in order to leave their LGA for work. This will be enforceable from Saturday 31 July so our people who are now required to have this mandatory surveillance testing have until then to have their first test. You may like to use a testing site near your home or on your way to or from work and can find locations here.

For our people who live or stay in the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA and are affected by the new mandatory testing requirements, from Saturday 31 July you will be required to complete our online COVID-19 Testing Declaration Form to show that you have met your COVID-19 testing obligations prior to the beginning of each shift.

The three-day mandatory testing requirements currently in place for anyone who lives or stays in the Fairfield Local Government Area and must leave the LGA for work are being relaxed so that this will only apply to health or aged care workers. This means for our people who live or work in the Fairfield LGA you will no longer be required to have the three-day mandatory testing and no longer need to fill out the testing declaration form at the beginning of each shift.

Get vaccinated

Once again, the Premier and Chief Health Officer have flagged that an increase in vaccination is key to us coming out of this lockdown. We encourage everyone, but especially our people who live in the eight LGAs of concern, to check their eligibility and get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Visit our vaccination page for more information on how we are supporting you to get vaccinated including how to claim two hours pay for your time to get vaccinated.

Change to NSW and Vic border bubble

The Victorian government has made changes to the existing border bubble arrangements with NSW. From 11.59pm Tuesday 27 July, the NSW LGAs of Wagga Wagga, Hay, Lockhart and Murrumbidgee were removed from the NSW-Victoria cross border area. This introduces restrictions on entry into Victoria for anyone who lives in or has visited those LGAs. Victoria has a permit system in place and entry may be granted for specific purposes – more details are available on the Victorian Government website.

Return to face-to-face learning for year 12

Year 12 students will be returning to face-to-face learning from Monday 16 August. Transport will be working with The Department of Education to support this change and ensure that all year 12 students are able to return to the classroom in a COVID safe way.

It was also confirmed today that for students in all other years, online learning will continue until 28 August. For our people, if working from home is an option you can discuss flexible arrangements with your manager to help accommodate the care of children during this time. If you are unable to work from home, schools are still open and your children can still attend. Visit stayinformed for more information.

Feeling unwell?

As was highlighted again today by the Premier and Chief Health Officer, transmission within workplaces is of real concern and a major driver of cases in the current outbreak.

For our people in frontline roles or those who can’t work from home it is vital that if you are feeling unwell, with even the very mildest of symptoms, you get a test and isolate until you have a negative result and are well again.

If you are using our offices at this time ensure you wear a mask, check-in, and follow our COVID-safe practices at all times.

The stay-at-home orders that were in place in the Orange City Council, Blayney Shire Council, and Cabonne Shire Council areas were lifted, as scheduled, at 12.01am Wednesday July 28.

There has been no further transmission of COVID-19 detected in the region since the case notified on 20 July.

Orange City Council, Blayney Shire Council, and Cabonne Shire Council have now reverted to the same restrictions as the rest of regional NSW from Wednesday 28 July.

As there has been a case recently in the community, and the ongoing outbreak continues across Sydney, it is vital people in these communities and throughout NSW continue to come forward for testing at the first sign of even mild symptoms.

For more information on testing clinics and restrictions in regional NSW, please visit the NSW Government website.

Top things you need to know and do

Additional restrictions extended to Cumberland and Blacktown Local Government Areas

Today the Premier announced further measures to limit mobility across Greater Sydney, labelling the current COVID situation in NSW a national emergency.

Restrictions are being extended to the Cumberland and Blacktown local government areas (LGAs). People living or staying in these LGAs will need to follow the same rules as those in Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown, meaning workers are not allowed to leave their local government area from midnight tonight unless they are on the list of authorised workers.

We ask all our people who live in these areas to follow the guidance and stay at home to protect themselves and their families. Be sure to understand what you can and can’t do under the new rules.

If you live or stay in the Cumberland or Blacktown local government areas, from midnight tonight you must not leave your LGA to attend work even if you are in a frontline role unless your manager has advised you that you are an Authorised Worker and are to attend work.

• If this applies to you, urgently contact your leader to make sure that they know you live or stay in the impacted LGAs.
• For our people rostered to work up until 11.59pm tonight or after, the following advice applies:
  • People should attend their shift and where possible should be released so they are able to cease work at 11.59pm. If your shift is cut short, you will be paid until the end of your shift as though you had worked.
  • Where this is not operationally possible, people can continue working past 11.59pm until the end of their shift or until they can be released.
  • In the unlikely event that the order is enforced on our people working past 11.59pm, they will be supported by the Transport Taskforce in resolving the matter.

Authorised Worker and Critical Worker letters

We currently have two letters available for our people. The first is our Authorised Worker letter.

The Authorised Worker letter is the one that is a mandatory requirement for our people who live or stay in the Fairfield, Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland and Blacktown LGAs and have to leave those LGAs for critical work. If this applies to you, you must carry the letter at all times and produce it on request, along with proof of identification such as a Driver Licence, if stopped by police. Please talk to your manager if you need one of these letters.

The other is our Critical Worker letter. This is an optional letter available for you if you live outside these LGAs but you would like the added comfort of having proof of your need to travel to carry out your critical work on you when you are travelling to work in case you get stopped.

Please talk to your manager if you require one of these letters noting that all our people who can work from home should. It’s critical that we all limit our mobility wherever we can.

Get vaccinated asap – that’s the call

The Premier and Chief Health Officer have again flagged that getting vaccinated is the top priority in NSW. We encourage everyone to check their eligibility and get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Visit our vaccination page for more information on how we are supporting you to get vaccinated including how to claim two hours pay for your time getting vaccinated.

Update to exemptions on masks – carry proof at all times

Overnight, the Public Health Order on mandatory mask wearing was updated to require anybody with an exemption to carry evidence of their exemption on them at all times. This is so proof of exemption can be provided at any time on request to an enforcement officer. Evidence can be:

• a medical certificate
• other written evidence signed by a registered health practitioner or a registered NDIS provider
• a statutory declaration by the person.

The evidence must set out the medical condition or disability which makes wearing a mask unsuitable. This is now in effect so we recommend our people carry the original letter plus two copies, as a copy may need to be provided to enforcement officers on request. Read our updated mask FAQs here.

Correct personal details in Equip - key

The extension of the restrictions and authorised worker provisions to the Cumberland and Blacktown LGAs is a further reminder of the need to have everyone’s contact details up to date in Equip.

Having your correct contact info is key to being able to support you and communicate with you when and if necessary, especially your address and mobile numbers. If you’re not sure how to check and update you details, use this handy user guide.

Seeking EOIs - NSW Health COVID-19 support roles

Our colleagues at NSW Health are currently managing a high volume of calls from the general public concerned about COVID-19 and they need more help. To assist with this important work, NSW Health is looking for suitable employees from across government sectors who are willing to be temporarily redeployed to assist with delivering these critical services over the coming weeks. If you are interested and available, please read more information on these roles and details on how to apply here. Note the opportunity is not open to labour hire or professional service contractors. Before applying be sure to check with your leader first.

Remain vigilant, support available

Wherever you live in NSW it’s important that you remain vigilant at this time and follow the guidance on what to know and do. Importantly, it’s not just about our physical health, as our mental health and wellbeing is so important as well. We’ve updated our list of tools and resources on stayinformed – check it out and reach out!

This afternoon nearly 7,000 of us across Transport joined the COVID Livestream led by our Secretary Rob and members of the Executive and our COVID Taskforce. The team reminded everyone of the top things we all need to do to protect ourselves: limit our mobility, understand what you can and can’t do in NSW, get vaccinated, check the COVID case locations daily and keep up to date with the latest info on stayinformed.

If you weren’t able to join today, you can watch a recording of the livestream here.

Following updated health advice from the Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant about the growing risk to the community, stay-at-home orders are now in place and apply to all people who live or stay in the Orange City Council, Blayney Shire Council, and Cabonne Shire Council areas, or have been there on or after Saturday July 17. The new restrictions were introduced from 12.01am Wednesday July 21 and will apply until 12.01am Wednesday July 28.

Everyone in these areas must stay at home unless it is for an essential reason, which includes;

The reasons you may leave your home include:

• Shopping for food or other essential goods and services;
• Medical care or compassionate needs (people can leave home to have a COVID-19 vaccination unless you have been identified as a close contact);
• Exercise outdoors in groups of 2 or fewer (unless members of the same household);
• Work, or education, where you cannot work or study from home.
• To attend a wedding or a funeral (but only during the grace period, which ends at 12:01am on Friday 23 July 2021). After this date, funerals will be limited to ten people.

Other important points from the Public Health Order;

• Masks must be worn indoors (not including the home) and in outdoor settings where you cannot socially distance from others (e.g. while queuing for takeaway).
• A person outside of the affected LGAs must not, without reasonable excuse, enter the affected LGAs – work that cannot be done from home is a reasonable excuse.
• Persons leaving or travelling to and from the LGAs need to carry evidence showing their address and to show that evidence to police if required.
• The stay-at-home direction does not apply to persons who travel through the LGAs but do not exit the vehicle.

COVID-19 testing clinics are open at Bathurst, Orange, Parkes, Blayney and Molong.

The government and health experts will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updated information and advice.

We understand this is a difficult time for the community and appreciate their ongoing patience. It is vital people continue to come forward for testing to help us find any COVID-19 cases in the community.

For more information please visit the NSW government page.