Regulations that previously required WorkSafe to be notified if an employee, contractor or a contractor's employee received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis and had attended the workplace within their infectious period have been removed.

Welcome to our first edition of Victorian Chamber News for 2022. We know that staff shortages, supply chain issues, isolation requirements, density limits and lack of accessibility to Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) continue to cause difficulty and stress and the Victorian Chamber team is working hard to ensure your voices are heard and practical solutions can be found.

If you were lucky enough to get in a break over the school holidays, you would have noticed the crippling effect that Covid-19 is having on our small businesses across the state.

It’s the report that you helped us create, and one that might well sharpen the focus on what Victoria needs to do to be the best state to operate a business in. I’m very proud of to release the Cost and Ease of Doing Business in Victoria Taskforce Report.

As 2022 progresses and the COVID-19 pandemic remains part of our lives, there has never been a better time to look after the mental health of your apprentices. Free training for managers and apprentices is available through the Victorian Chamber’s partnership with EML.

Great news this week with several positive developments to set us on a cracking pace for our state’s COVID-19 recovery.

If you employ labour hire workers in your business, upcoming changes to the OHS Act 2004 will require you to regard them as your own employees for safety purposes.

Yesterday we celebrated International Women’s Day, a global event marking the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, and amplifying the call for diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces.

We have all heard the phrase: ‘The standard you walk past is the standard you set’. But how many of us understand how to interrupt behaviors that are unsafe or that we simply need to question without causing offence?

Habits can be hard to break and I’m sure we all felt a bit uncertain last week as office workers started to return after the better part of two years working from home.

Quality safety professionals are hard to find. At the Victorian Chamber’s Health Safety and Wellbeing team, we understand the challenges involved when advising our members and clients on what to look for.

Faced with another year of business uncertainty due to COVID-19 and global events, one aspect of your business you can control is workplace safety. Where does it fit into your thinking and planning for 2022 and beyond? Here are our five best-practice safety tools to consider.

The Chamber is working overtime to ensure business remains our number one priority. As we have done right through the pandemic, we are continuing to advocate strongly on behalf of our members with all levels of government in what will be a critical year with both federal and state elections.

It’s hard to describe what an incredible feeling it is to finally be able to move around our great state again and enjoy all Regional Victoria has to offer, whether it’s our beautiful towns, beaches, lakes, rivers, wineries, golf courses or restaurants.

Domestic and family violence (DFV) is one of the most serious and urgent challenges confronting modern Australian society. Your workplace must know how to manage a situation if it arises.

It’s Grand Prix week in Victoria and the excitement and energy is palpable. It will be extra special in 2022 as we remember the dramatic circumstances under which it was cancelled in 2020 when the reality of COVID-19 hit us like a wrecking ball. How far we have come since then as Victorian business continues to embrace the opportunities that lie ahead.