Hi everyone,
With restrictions tightening even further over the weekend our teams right across Transport have once again put in an incredible effort to action the changes and help stop the spread of COVID. I could not be more proud of everyone’s efforts and want to share thanks for all the work done, especially over the weekend, to help protect the community of NSW.
I also want to acknowledge our people who live in and around Fairfield, Canterbury Bankstown and Liverpool. I know and we all understand this a particularly tough time for you at the moment. Please keep talking to your leaders about how we can support you through this time.
The changes announced over the weekend have meant significant operational impacts for us. At 12.01am this morning it was tools down on all infrastructure projects and non-urgent maintenance work across Greater Sydney including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour until 30 July. We also reduced our public transport services to encourage everyone who can, to stay home while continuing to support essential workers to get to work.
Our Infrastructure and Place team moved quickly to work with our delivery partners to lock down major infrastructure sites, and our frontline and operational teams implemented the service changes in record time.
Uncertainty is hard for everyone and the ongoing changes make it a tough time for many people for many different and very individual reasons – from those trying to work with kids at home, to those living alone and those separated from distant family for long periods. I want you to know our number one priority is to keep you and the community safe and supported.
Please make sure you take time to care for yourself and one another. Keep talking and checking in and pay attention to how you’re feeling. If you do need more support, please go to stayinformed where you’ll find a number of mental health and wellbeing resources, including over the phone counselling from our professional providers and our team of Mental Health First Aiders to practical tips and guides.
It’s very important we all stay up to date with what we can and can’t do in NSW and especially with the confirmed COVID case locations as they’re being updated all the time. I encourage you to go to stayinformed to learn how we’re implementing these measures across Transport and to answer any questions about what they mean for you and your work.
We will also be hosting an optional livestream for all of our people this Wednesday to give an update on our response to the current situation. Keep an eye out for an invite, coming through soon.
Thanks again for your ongoing efforts, both at work and outside, to support our community across NSW.
Keep up the great work. Stay safe.
Rob
INSW is leading the NSW’s government’s response to the pause on construction under the Public Health Order: Infrastructure NSW: Response to COVID-19
We are working with our operators and contractors to ensure the Public Health Order to pause construction from Monday July 19 is adhered to in a safe manner.
We ask our community engagement teams to consider what community engagement activities are underway, with all non-essential activities on hold in Greater Sydney, Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour until 30 July 2021.
In response to the measures coming into effect this weekend, we are adjusting our timetables to continue running essential services for customers to be able to travel safely. We will do this by prioritising our people who live outside the 3 affected LGAs for frontline work requirements.
Transport has an important role to play in suppressing COVID-19 and together we can help protect our customers, the community and our families. Thank you for your cooperation.
Under the Public Health Order, people who live or stay in the Canterbury- Bankstown, Fairfield or Liverpool LGAs (see the full list of affected suburbs here) cannot leave their residence for work if that work takes them outside their LGA.
There is exemption for ‘authorised workers’, which includes road and rail transport workers, but to reduce mobility as much as possible, Transport is prioritising employees who live outside the 3 restricted LGAs for work outside those areas wherever possible.
- If you are a frontline people leader, prioritise your employees from outside the restricted LGAs for all work outside those areas.
- If you are a frontline employee from one of the restricted LGAs, talk with your leader about how this applies for you. If you are not required for critical operations, discuss alternative duties and the options for working at home. If these approaches are not available, you will be supported with special leave.
- If you live in the Fairfield LGA and must leave the area to undertake critical operations work, you need to have surveillance testing for COVID-19 once every 3 days and complete the online testing declaration form before each shift as outlined on stayinformed.
In a major ramp up of restrictions to quash the spread of the delta variant, the Premier has announced significant new measures to come into effect across Greater Sydney including the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour.
These strong new measures will have a significant impact on our workforce and operations in Greater Sydney starting this weekend. Read the information below to know if and how you are affected. Note that there are no changes to the restrictions in place for regional NSW.
We are continuing to work through what the full impact of these new restrictions will mean and when the Public Health Order becomes available, we will share any updates to this information with you.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The restrictions below will be in place until 11.59pm on Friday, 30 July.
From 11.59pm, Saturday 17 July:
- Residents of Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool Local Government Areas cannot leave their LGA for work except for emergency services and healthcare workers (including aged and disability workers). Where employees do need to leave their LGA for work, they are required to undergo surveillance testing once every three days.
- You must have a mask with you at all times when outside your home in Greater Sydney. Masks must be worn when you are working outdoors, in outdoor markets, outdoor shopping strips, and in an outdoor queues waiting for products such as coffee and food.
- No carpooling can take place in the Greater Sydney region, unless among members of the same household.
From 12.01am on Monday, 19 July:
- All construction in Greater Sydney is to be paused as well as any non-urgent maintenance, including cleaning services, and repair work on residential premises to be paused.
Read more about the new restrictions in place across Greater Sydney here.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
If you live in the Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown or Liverpool LGAs
If you live or stay in the Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool local government areas, from midnight tonight you must not leave your LGA to attend work even if you are in a frontline role.
- If this applies to you, contact your leader to make sure that they know you are affected and discuss alternative duties that can be done within your LGA or working from home options. If alternative duties are not available and you cannot work from home, you will be supported with special leave.
- 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 earlier where 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 Transport Taskforce in resolving the matter.
Construction sites and non-urgent maintenance in Greater Sydney
All our construction across the Greater Sydney region, including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour, will be paused from 12.01am Monday 19 July until 11.59pm Friday 30 July. This includes non-urgent maintenance and cleaning. Work can continue up until 11.59pm Sunday to put safety measures in place for when construction is paused.
- Please talk with your leader if you have any questions about how this will apply to you. If your work is construction or non-safety critical maintenance, discuss alternative duties with your manager. If alternative duties are not available and you cannot work from home, you will be supported with special leave.
Masks required outside
From midnight tonight, it will be mandatory to wear masks in all outdoor workplaces within Greater Sydney. This is in addition to mask wearing being mandatory on public transport services, in public transport waiting area and in all indoor non-residential venues.
- If you are engaged in road maintenance or any other work that takes place outside, you must now wear a face mask for the duration of your shift. We continue to supply masks for those who require them. Please contact your manager if you need additional supplies.
Carpooling
For our employees in Greater Sydney, carpooling on your way to or from work, or during your shift, can no longer happen unless you are travelling with members of your own household.
Work from home if you can
Transmission in workplaces is a concern in the current outbreak and our message remains that everyone who can work from home should do so until further notice. Where home is not a safe place to work, we will be providing a list of our sites in each restricted LGA for our people to use during this time. This will be posted on stayinformed as soon as possible.
Mandatory testing requirements are now in place if you live or stay in the Fairfield Local Government Area and have to leave home to work outside that area, as well as for our people travelling to regional NSW from Greater Sydney for work.
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 formto 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.
- Leaders will soon be in contact with our people identified through payroll data who we think live in or stay in the Fairfield LGA and have to leave home to work outside the area who would need to be tested on a 3-day basis.
- As payroll data may be incomplete, we are also asking you to advise your leader if you live or stay in the Fairfield LGA so that they can have a conversation with you around your obligations and we can support you.
- 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
You are not required to isolate following surveillance testing. Please make sure you understand the difference between surveillance testing and testing when you are unwell.
We’re working on setting up extra testing sites for our people and will provide further information on this soon. You may also like to use a local testing site on your way to or from work and can find locations here.
Due to the continuing large numbers of infectious cases in the community the current lockdown in Greater Sydney including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour will be extended a further two weeks with the current settings set to end July 30.
Today’s announcement included the news that if you live in or are staying in the Fairfield local government area but you work outside this area, you must have a COVID-19 test once every 72 hours (or 3 days) in order to be allowed to enter a workplace. More information on how we can support our people to get tested will be shared soon. In the meantime, please review the list of suburbs in the Fairfield local government area. An exemption is in place which means people within the Fairfield LGA have until midnight Friday 16 July to be tested provided they take reasonable steps to be tested before this date. If you have a shift in the next couple of days attend as normal as it’s critical we continue to keep our essential services running while we operationalise testing.
The Premier has announced that from midnight tonight if you live in or are staying in Greater Sydney including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour, you must have a COVID-19 test in the 7 days before entering a premise which is 50km or more outside Greater Sydney. Once the order is place you will need to provide information, including proof of address and proof of being tested for COVID-19 if asked by police, your manager or the occupier of the premises in which you work. An SMS text message or email from the testing organisation can be evidence that a test has been taken.
The Minister for Health has made it clear that they understand that it will take a little time for us to get organised. For this reason an exemption is in place which means people leaving the Greater Sydney +50km area have until midnight Sunday 18 July to be tested provided they take reasonable steps to be tested before this date.
If you have a shift in the next couple of days attend as normal as it’s critical we continue to keep our essential services running while we operationalise testing.
You can read more about the introduction of testing on the NSW Health website and view a map of the 50km zone around Greater Sydney including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour local government areas.
Tests not required for transiting only
The rolling 7 day tests are only required if a person is a resident of Greater Sydney or has stayed in Greater Sydney in temporary accommodation. If you are simply travelling into and out of the Greater Sydney area for work you are not required to be tested every 7 days.
Fairfield LGA residents and tests
Today’s announcement also included the news that if you live in or are staying in the Fairfield local government area but you work outside this area, you must have a COVID-19 test once every 72 hours (or 3 days) in order to be allowed to enter a workplace. More information on how we can support our people to get tested will be shared soon. In the meantime, please review the list of suburbs in the Fairfield local government area. An exemption is in place which means people within the Fairfield LGA have until midnight Friday 16 July to be tested provided they take reasonable steps to be tested before this date. If you have a shift in the next couple of days attend as normal as it’s critical we continue to keep our essential services running while we operationalise testing.
How to get tested – supporting you
In the lead up to the Public Health Order coming into place from 12.01am tonight and over the next day or so the COVID-19 Taskforce are working across government and with our Transport teams to operationalise this, including pop up testing sites. You can expect to hear more on this shortly. You can also visit any of the established COVID-19 testing locations.
Surveillance COVID testing VS normal testing and isolation
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.
The Victorian border will effectively close to NSW from 11:59pm, Sunday 11 July, with all of New South Wales being declared a red zone under Victoria’s travel permit system.
Our people who need to cross the border for work can apply for a ‘Specified Worker (other) permit’ under the category of ‘essential service worker’ and use that to cross in the event they don't qualify as Victorian border region residents. You can apply for a permit here.
If you live in the NSW cross-border area: You can enter Victoria without a permit but you must travel with proof of address. You cannot enter if you have been to a red 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, a red zone permit will be required for re-entry into Victoria. More information on cross border communities can be found here.
NSW TrainLink service changes: Due to the Victorian Government announcement, NSW TrainLink services will not be operating within Victoria. This means no supplementary coaches will be provided beyond Albury.
School buses won’t be impacted: As regional schools return to face-to-face learning this week, we will continue to run our services along the border as normal.
