What is a COVID-19 Safety Plan?

COVID-19 Safety Plans help to protect your staff, customers and visitors as you get back to business. The type of Plan will vary depending on the nature of your business, however all businesses should have undertaken some planning to ensure they keep their business, staff and customers safe.

A Work Health and Safety (WHS) plan should be the foundation of any existing business’ day to day operations and at minimum, include strategies to manage infection control, including COVID-19. A COVID-19 Safety Plan takes the WHS plan further, providing advice and direction on:

• hygiene and safety
• physical distancing
• recording contact details of staff and customers
• staff wellbeing.

Which businesses require a COVID Safe Plan?

The type of plan and level of detail in a COVID Safe Business Plan will vary depending on the nature of the business and industry. The following industries and businesses in Queensland have some level of requirement – either to have a formal COVID Safe Plan or COVID Safe Checklist in place, and/or restriction to the way they currently operate their business (e.g. limited to a certain number of people, size, etc). to comply under the public health orders:

• Food and drink – retail food services (including cafes, restaurants, fast-food outlets), food courts.
• Retail – auction houses, real estate auctions and open house inspections.
• Beauty and personal care services – hairdressing, beauty therapy (for example, facials, makeup, waxing and laser treatments), nail services (including manicures, pedicures), tanning, cosmetic injections, personal appearance services where skin penetration is used (example – tattooing, body piercing, skin implants, hair implants, microneedling), massage (therapeutic), day spas and wellness centres (excluding water-based spa services such as saunas and bathhouses), non-therapeutic massage, water-based spa services such as saunas, bathhouses and floatation services.
• Entertainment venues – pubs, licensed clubs, RSL clubs, function centres, bars, wineries, distilleries and microbreweries, and licensed premises in hotels, community facilities (such as community centres and halls, recreation centres, youth centres, community clubs, PCYCs), cinemas, casinos, gaming or gambling venues including wagering outlets that are open to, and accessible by, members of the public, major sports facilities, indoor and outdoor events (e.g. marathons, cultural festivals, fetes, expos), concert venues, theatres, auditoriums, convention centres, show grounds, theme parks, outdoor amusement parks, tourism experiences and arcades, indoor play centres.
• Leisure and recreation – boot camps, personal training, gyms, health clubs, fitness centres, yoga, barre, spin facilities and dance studios, Indoor sporting centres and venues, social sporting-based activities, community sports clubs, swimming pools (training/rehabilitation purposes and use of public pools for swimming lessons, recreational purposes, use of pools in shared facilities such as hotels and apartment complexes).
• Residential facilities – hostels, bed and breakfasts, backpackers, boarding houses, short term rentals and short term accommodation (for example, serviced apartments including holiday rentals, holiday accommodation or hosting accommodation provided through online booking platforms).
• Outdoor recreation – caravan and camping parks, campgrounds, zoos, aquariums and wildlife centres
• Non-residential institutions – galleries, museums, national and state institutions and historic sites, state and local government libraries, community facilities (such as community centres and halls, recreation centres, youth centres, community clubs, RSLs, PCYCs), wedding ceremonies, funerals, other religious and civil ceremonies, places of worship (excluding wedding ceremonies and funerals), universities and other higher education institutions such as TAFEs and RTOs.
• Professional sporting codes, elite sport, elite athletes
• High risk businesses, activities and undertakings – nightclubs, adult entertainment venues (strip clubs), brothels, sex on premises venues and sole operator sex workers.

 

Plan. Prevent. Respond. Recover

It’s important to ensure your business is well-prepared for both the short-term and longer term effects that have arisen as a result of COVID-19 and what this means for workplace health and safety, human resource management, and quality assurance policies, procedures and systems.

The team at Masula Compliance are well-placed to support you, your employees, and your business.

COVID Safe Plan – things to consider for your business

Having a plan prepared for your business will mean you’re ready to quickly adapt to the new and changing operating environment. Some things to consider:

• what measures have you introduced into your business as a result of COVID-19?
• have you undertaken appropriate Risk Assessments and implemented control measures?
• what policies and procedures have been introduced, or changed as a result of COVID-19?
• how have you planned for ongoing changes to your business structure, operations, employee resources?

Get your COVID Safe Management Plan underway

The team at Masula Compliance can work with you to develop your formal COVID Safe plan, tailored specifically to the risk profile or your business and industry.

Get in touch to find out more about how we can partner with you to ensure your business is well prepared for what’s ahead. Call us on 07 3348 3666 or email us at info@masulacompliance.com.au to find out more.