16 December 2021 / COVID-19

Next Stage of Eased Restrictions

As of yesterday, Wednesday 15 December, a range of restrictions were eased as over 93% of people aged 16+ have been fully vaccinated and NSW has now moved to the next stage of reopening.

This email update will focus on changes to restrictions that are relevant to the construction industry. For more information about other changes, click the button below to read more.

Get in touch with the Coronavirus Team if you have any questions.

Construction industry changes

The following changes have now taken effect and will incorporate standing restrictions with new rules for the industry.

As per previous restrictions, mandatory vaccination is not required to work on construction sites.

Contact information should continue to be provided via Hutchies' Toolbox Declaration so contact tracing can be performed on site effectively.

Face Masks

Face masks are no longer required when working indoors, on construction sites or when carpooling with other persons who are not members of the same household.

Although not legally required, face masks will continue to be strongly encouraged in settings where social distancing cannot be achieved, particularly when indoors.

Masks are only required on public transport, in airports and on planes, and for unvaccinated indoor hospitality staff.

Density Limits

Previous density limits on indoor areas have now been lifted.

This will mean all construction sites can now operate without any restrictions on density, both indoors and outdoors.

COVID-19 Safety Plans 

COVID-19 Safety Plans are now optional for businesses (including construction) and will continue to be supported by SafeWork NSW.

Service NSW Check In

Checking into the Service NSW QR code is now no longer required on construction sites or in Hutchies' offices.

You may still be required to check in to certain high risk settings.

Hutchies' Toolbox Declaration

For the purposes of contact tracing, Hutchies will continue to utilise its declaration system on all NSW sites to ensure that our teams can effectively maintain internal contact tracing processes.

This means that anyone who enters a Hutchies' site in NSW must still sign in to the Hutchies' declaration daily. The declaration only requires information necessary for contact tracing.

Other methods that sites have employed (eg Contact Harald) can also remain in place to assist with contact tracing.

Contract Tracing Changes

NSW Government contact tracing protocols have changed.

NSW Health no longer lists locations that a COVID-19 case has attended. While NSW won't list exposure sites, they will continue to contact people diagnosed with COVID-19 and their close contacts.

To help streamline this process, changes have also been made to the status and requirements for close contacts:

  • Fully vaccinated close contacts will only have to isolate until they receive a negative PCR result
  • Household close contacts and close contacts in any other settings identified by NSW Health will still be required to isolate for 7days and comply with PCR testing requirements

NSW Health will continue to send text messages to notify positive cases and their close contacts of the specific health advice to follow.

Please follow the advice if you receive a text message from NSW Health. If you are told to self-isolate by NSW Health or get tested for COVID-19 at any time, you must follow this advice.

Hutchies' Site Management Teams will continue to follow NSW Government directions in order to make contact tracing assessments when a positive case is detected on site.

Additionally, contact tracing continues to be handled at a workplace level unless there are 3 positive cases on a site within a 7 day period. If this occurs, NSW Health must be contacted by the Site Management Team.

For more information about contact tracing and COVID-19 cases in workplaces, click the button below.

Potential Increases of Cases on Site

There may be more incidences of cases on site as a result of these reduced restrictions.

It is very important that you continue to get tested if you experience any symptoms regardless of your vaccination status. Sites should also maintain standard COVID Safe practices as detailed below.

COVID-19 can still be transmitted to others by fully vaccinated people, and this will predominantly affect those who are not vaccinated. Getting tested will continue to help minimise the spread of the virus.

If You Test Positive to COVID-19

You must self-isolate at home until medically cleared, even if fully vaccinated. You will receive further advice from NSW Health most likely via text message along with your positive test result.

You must inform Hutchies (either directly or via your employer), household members, and people you have spent time in person with recently.

Maintaining COVID Safe Practices

It is important that sites continue to maintain all of the standard COVID Safe practices that have been in place since the start of the pandemic.

These include:

  • Regular cleaning of all site / office areas and high touch points
  • Ensuring there are adequate hand washing / sanitisation stations and they are restocked regularly
  • Maintaining 1.5m distance from others where practicable
  • Signing in to the Toolbox declaration to provide contact details if required for contact tracing
  • Encouraging testing when symptomatic
  • Giving people time off to attend vaccination appointments

Other Recent Activities

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30 October / Quality Alert

Engineered stone ban effective 1 July 2024

ALL engineered stone regardless of the silica content percentage will be banned


Alternative products must be considered and implemented on all projects.

The industry is shifting away from engineered stone due to the risks of respirable crystalline silica, which can cause silicosis and other silica-related diseases. Although the consultations are under way and there has been no official announcement by Federal or State Governments on the issue, the health and safety risks along with the uncertainty around this issue warrants a decision to ban all engineered products entering job sites nationally. The ban will take effect on 1 July 2024 and will extend to ALL engineered stone regardless of the silica content percentage. 

An update to this alert will be provided before the end of the year when the Federal and State Governments are expected to issue a formal decision on the ban. In the meantime, to mitigate the impact of potential delays and variations, the best approach is to inform the clients of the pending ban and to propose and seek approval for an alternative product. Similarly, ensure all future estimates have the stone specification qualified and priced accordingly.

Product alternatives going forward include:

Compact Laminates

  • Under 1% silica content
  • Extremely competitive pricing
  • Only comes in 12mm thickness
  • Heat resistance is an issue
  • Product not suitable for high end applications

Porcelain Surfaces

  • Under 10% silica content
  • Price dependant of product and supplier
  • Large variety of colours and thicknesses (4, 8, 12, 20 and 30mm)
  • Great resistance to staining, scratches, UV and heat
  • Good warranty terms

Acrylic Solid Surfaces

  • 0% silica content
  • More expensive alternative
  • Limited thickness availability
  • UV stable and heat resistant but direct heat exposure not advised
  • Minimising wastage through flexibility in sheet sizing
  • Seamless joints

Natural Stone*

  • Various silica content percentages
  • Variety of products at different price points available
  • Ongoing maintenance may be an issue
  • Unlikely to satisfy specific warranty requirements

*Although this alert does not directly impact natural stone, some types have high silica content so risk of using these on projects should be considered carefully.

For an up-to-date list of available products and their usability, click here.


More information

If you need additional support, please contact the Quality Team:

Phone 1300 HUTCHIES
Email QualityTeam@hutchinsonbuilders.com.au

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10 October / Update

Make sure bin chute systems are installed correctly, following the tested systems and the manufacturers’ instructions.

Check the detailed drawings from Elephant’s Foot and Wastech for different wall types (plasterboard, shaft-liner, speed panel, concrete, Hebel, and masonry).

Any changes to the tested systems must be approved by your project certifier, signed off by the fire engineer in the fire engineering report (FER), and accepted by the relevant state / territory fire service.

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