23 August 2021 / COVID-19

Stay-at-home order extensions and other new requirements in NSW

As announced by the NSW Government last week, stay-at-home restrictions for Greater Sydney will remain in place until at least the end of September. Regional NSW's stay-at-home restrictions will remain in place until at least 28 August.

The Central Coast and Shellharbour local government areas (LGAs) were previously covered in the Greater Sydney area but are now identified as Regional NSW and will be subject to the same rules and restrictions as the regional areas

For those living and working in the 12x affected LGAs of concern, some additional rules came into effect as of 12.01am this morning, along with some other restrictions which are detailed further below under the heading 'Affected LGAs of Concern'.

NSW Media Release

Positive case on Hutchies' site

You may have already become aware that Hutchies' Castle Residences site in the Sydney CBD has been closed today due to the identification yesterday of a positive COVID-19 case who likely worked on site whilst unknowingly infectious last week.

The worker is a tiler from an affected LGA who had been complying with NSW Health's testing and vaccination requirements. Once identified, the site team took the appropriate step of immediately contacting NSW Health for guidance and informing Hutchies' directors.  

Whilst the team works through the details and does what it can to assist in NSW Health's contact tracing process, the site has been closed with all relevant parties notified and directed to get tested. 

Hutchies will provide an update once more information is available. Please take this news as an opportunity to review all current site processes and your COVIDSafe plan to ensure that your project is strictly adhering to all NSW Government required measures on site.

Hutchies' offices remain closed except for exceptional circumstances where working from home is not reasonably practicable, which is at the discretion of Team Leaders. 

Affected LGAs of concern

Additional rules for the LGAs of concern have been announced. 

From 12.01am Monday, 23 August the following additional rules came into effect for residents and businesses in the LGAs of concern:

  • Curfews introduced from 9pm to 5am (except for authorised workers, emergencies or medical care)
  • Outdoor exercise is limited to one hour per day
  • The following retail premises will only be able to operate click and collect for the general public. Tradespeople are still allowed to shop in store where relevant:
    • garden centres and plant nurseries
    • office supplies
    • hardware and building supplies
    • landscaping material supplies
    • rural supplies
    • pet supplies 
    • Note: Bunnings has made the decision to switch to click and collect across Greater Sydney, but will allow tradespeople in store.
  • All exams and other education or professional development related activities will move online, not including the HSC. The government will provide further information on its education plan in due course.

The following new restrictions around workplaces and authorised workers from the LGAs of concern will also be introduced from Saturday 28 August:

  • Authorised workers from the LGAs of concern will be required to carry a permit from Service NSW declaring that they are an authorised worker and cannot work from home. Note: the online application process to apply for this permit is not yet available.
  • Anyone entering an LGA of concern for the purposes of work must carry a worker permit issued by Service NSW. Note: the online application process to apply for this permit is not yet available.

Note: Any new rules that do not apply to construction have been omitted from the above to avoid confusion. You can read the full update pertaining to other industries here.

Additional measures across NSW

From 12.01am Monday 23 August, the following additional rule was introduced for Greater Sydney (including Regional NSW until at least 28 August):

  • Mask wearing will be mandatory when outside your home, except when exercising.

The NSW Police Force enhanced powers also came into effect from 12.01am Monday 23 August, including:

  • Ability for the Commissioner of Police to lockdown apartment blocks while NSW Health assesses the COVID risk
  • Ability for the Commissioner of Police to declare a residential premise a COVID-risk premise and require all people to present to police during compliance checks
  • Abilities to allow Police to direct a person who has been issued with an infringement notice to return to their place of residence
  • If a person from outside an LGA of concern is found to be in an LGA of concern without a reasonable excuse, they will be fined $1000 and required to isolate at home for 14 days.

As of 12:01am, Saturday 21 August: 

  • Anyone who lives in Greater Sydney and needs to travel more then 50km outside of Greater Sydney for the purpose of authorised work, must first register for a Regional NSW Travel Permit

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9 April / Quality Alert
Prohibition on the Use of Engineered Stone

Engineered stone ban effective 1 July 2024

ALL engineered stone, regardless of the silica content percentage, is banned.

Alternative products must be considered and implemented on all projects.

In October last year Hutchies noted that the industry was shifting away from engineered stone due to the risks of respirable crystalline silica, which can cause silicosis and other silica related diseases.

On this basis, Hutchies proactively took a position to ban all engineered stone on our projects, regardless of silica content percentages, from 1 July 2024.

In December last year, we then had confirmation that following an Industrial Relations Ministers meeting, State and Commonwealth Leaders had agreed to ban engineered stone products.

Some at Hutchies have noted that the State and Federal communications concerning the ban have included transition periods as well as exemptions for some engineered stone with low (under 1%) silica content.

For clarity, there has been no change to Hutchies' position following these communications – Hutchies will not be using engineered stone that contains any percentage of silica on our projects from 1 July 2024.

Actions

To mitigate the impact of potential delays and variations, the best approach is to inform 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.

Refer to Hutchies' Stone Product & Suitability for Use List on the Document Library.

More information

If you need additional support, please contact:

Design — Michael Lawlor / Ogi Latinovic
Work Health & Safety — Jimmy Andersen
Industrial Relations — Ben Young
Other — Russell Fryer

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3 - 20 April / General
NOW OPEN / 2024 Hutchies Training Awards Nominations

Calling all nominations for stand out apprentices and cadets across Hutchies.

Help us by nominating an apprentice or cadet that you think is a true representation of Hutchies' way.

We also want to celebrate other significant training achievements by anyone else across company over the last 12 months.

Make your vote by COB 12 April 2024 (extended to Friday 18 April!)

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4 March / Meetings
All Company Update / March 2024

Thanks for participating in Hutchies' All Company Update.

A copy of the presentation slides is available to download below.

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