COVID-19 vaccination requirements for Victoria

By 13 November, all construction workers must be fully vaccinated.

What are the vaccination requirements for construction workers? 

All construction workers in Victoria must be able to provide evidence that they:

• Have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination; and 
• Will have their second dose by 13 November; or 
• Have an exemption evidenced by an authorised medical practitioner. 

If your worker has not had a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or have not obtained and shown a medical exception certificate, you cannot   allow them entry on site.

Who does the vaccination requirement apply to?

The vaccination requirements apply to any person who attends a construction site, including:

• All construction workers; 
• Subcontractors; 
• Union officials; 
• WorkSafe, Victorian Building Authority or any other person who attends site for OHS, compliance or enforcement activities; 
• Delivery workers who attend site including delivery drivers that do not leave their vehicle. 

What do I need to do as a building site operator?

Building site operators are required to collect, record and hold vaccination information regarding any worker (as referred to above) who intends to work on a construction site they are responsible for managing. 

You will not be required to collect and store information about workers who declare that they will not be vaccinated or fail to provide a medical certificate. The obvious outcome of this is that they will not be able to work on sites.

How is an operator of a building site required to collect and store the vaccination status of their workers?

You should collect, record and hold vaccination information as evidence of the vaccination or booking status of each person entering the site and keep a record of this to demonstrate compliance.

A record may include the name of the worker, their vaccination status, who sighted evidence of compliance, the date the evidence was sighted, and/or the nature of that evidence (for example, Australian Immunisation Register or medical exemption).

You do not need to retain the evidence you sighted. If you do retain the evidence you sighted, you will need to comply with both Federal (Privacy Act 1988) and Victorian (Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014, Health Records Act 2001) legislation that regulates this type of health information.

What evidence of vaccination do I need to have from my workforce?

The vaccination status information to be collected for each person who will attend a building site needs to confirm the following:

• they have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccination (are fully vaccinated);
• they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination (are partially vaccinated);
• they have made a booking to receive a second dose of a COVID vaccination and that vaccination will take place by 13 November 2021; or  
• they have not received any dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and have not made a booking; or
• they have medical grounds to not receive a COVID-19 vaccine and have a medical certificate from an appropriate health practitioner stating that they have a condition that does not allow them to be vaccinated.

HIA’s information sheet Proving you are vaccinated may assist members understand what documents can be provided by a worker.

Preventing unvaccinated workers attending site 

An operator of a building site is required to take all reasonable steps to prevent workers from entering or remaining on a building site who have:

• not provided vaccination status information (including a medical exemption), or
• have stated that they will not be vaccinated.

A building site will include any premises that are nearby or connected to the building site and any vehicle which is used to carry out work for either the primary or connecting building site premises. 

Mandatory vaccination requirements for other workers

What are the vaccination requirements for other workers?

Any worker in Victoria who attends a wide range of businesses will need to have their second dose by 26 November 2021 in order to continue attending work.   

These dates do not apply to construction workers and other workers already subject to mandatory vaccination rules. 

The business types captured by this new requirement that are associated with residential building activities are: 

• Manufacturing
• Retail 
• Real estate 
• Repair and maintenance worker

The record keeping requirements are identical to those already in place for construction workers set out above.

Returning to the office

Office workers should continue to work from home if they can but can return to the office subject to:

• The worker being fully vaccinated (2 doses) or having a medical exemption.
• The employer collecting, recording and holding vaccination information in line with the requirements set out above for the operators of constructions sites.
• A density limit of 1 per 2 square metres.
• Face masks being worn indoors. 

For further information regarding vaccinations broadly, including privacy law concerns and employee issues, members should refer to the HIA information sheet COVID-19 vaccinations and the workplace.

To find out more, contact HIA's Contracts and Compliance team

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