COVID-19 resources for businesses

The following resources will be useful for fruit growers.

• Factsheet - Temporary exemption from close contact quarantine for critical workers
• Q&A - Temporary exemption from close contact quarantine for critical workers
• Testing, Quarantine and Isolation Plan
• CHECKLIST: How to keep your workers safe and limit the spread of COVID-19
• COVID Safe Workplace Guidelines
• The Check in TAS app - a free and convenient service for collecting and providing contact tracing information in Tasmania

All businesses operating in Tasmania are legally required to have the following business continuity plans.

• COVID-19 Safety Plan
• COVID-19 Outbreak Management Plan

Previously WorkSafe Tasmania visited over 5000 businesses across the State for the purpose of assessing compliance in managing the risk of COVID within the workplace. Expect a potential visit from the WorkSafe Tasmania COVID Unit.

FGT has developed a template that will be useful in creating or updating your business continuity plans:  

It is based on a WorkSafe Tasmania 'Small Business' template and has been re-formatted for easier printing once populated.  Example notes were added based on workshops held recently in conjunction with Safe Farming Tasmania.  Please ensure you develop a plan for your own business.

• COVID-19 Safety Plan Template

Priority Settings

Some settings need more planning than others.  The following settings have been identified as ‘priority settings’ for the purposes of COVID-19 outbreak management planning:

• Food distribution and / or warehouse facilities with cold and / or frozen storage and those with more than 50 site workers.
• Agricultural farms with seasonal workers from interstate / overseas.

If you are responsible for a COVID-19 priority setting (places where COVID-19 may spread quickly or management of outbreaks may be complex) it is vital that you develop an enhanced outbreak management plan for your setting, building on the information in your Worksafe COVID-19 Safety Plan.  A single case in a COVID-19 priority setting is likely to be considered an outbreak.

Use this example to help prepare your business:

• COVID-19 Outbreak Management Plan Template for Priority Settings in Tasmania

The Department of Health provides the following additional guidance for businesses categorised as priority settings.

• Summary of the main activities for the affected organisation to take at each stage of the outbreak

The following exposure risk matrices may be useful in determining how measures implemented in your COVID-19 Safety Plan could influence business continuity during an exposure event.

• Exposure Risk Matrix - for General Workplace Settings (vaccinated and unvaccinated for COVID-19)
• Exposure Risk Matrix - for workplace settings where additional PPE is used (vaccinated and unvaccinated for COVID-19)

For the most up-to-date COVID-19 guidance and information visit the Tasmanian Government COVID-19 website.