A third COVID-19 vaccination is now required for workers within certain essential industries, and close contact isolation arrangements have also changed for food and beverage distribution workers, as part of Victorian Government pandemic orders announced today.

The Fair Work Commission has rejected an employer’s application to reduce redundancy pay after failing to prove the organisation had secured “acceptable” alternative employment for its departing employees.

Additional sectors will be relieved from close contact isolation requirements to ease supply chain bottlenecks and workforce shortages after an announcement today by the Victorian Government.

The Victorian Chamber welcomes the State Government’s extension of rent relief and protections for commercial tenants and landlords for another two months due to the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

In a recent decision, the Fair Work Commission provided helpful insights into how its bullying jurisdiction works in practice, as well as offering some practical tips for employers when presented with the challenging task of performance managing staff.

The Small Business Energy Saver Program is supporting Victorian small business owners to save on energy-efficient equipment. It will deliver $5 million in discounts to small businesses across Victoria that invest in upgrading their systems.

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.

In partnership with Crown Melbourne, the Victorian Chamber is running free online seminars designed to help regional businesses bounce back after consecutive lockdowns and sparse tourism.

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.

After multiple postponements as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry supported by Crown Melbourne has announced its highly anticipated Regional Business Recovery Roadshow will become a free online series. The business recovery sessions will include practical information for farmers, suppliers and producers on how to respond to tenders and understand the decision-making criteria for large hospitality vendors. The Victorian Chamber will also brief attendees on our Federal and State Budget submissions and our visitor economy policy platform.

When hiring staff, businesses often roll out the same employment contract they have been using for years, updating basic details without considering whether the terms and conditions are appropriate for the role. When it comes to engaging new employees, a more considered approach should be taken; we shouldn’t set and forget.

As working from home continues in 2022, employers must manage the associated safety risks.

Enterprise agreements made before the introduction of the Fair Work Act 2009 are increasingly in the spotlight. If you have a pre-2009 enterprise agreement or are planning to renegotiate an old enterprise agreement, read on for practical tips to help you get on the right track.

Throughout early 2022, the Victorian Chamber has been encouraging businesses to review their employment contracts, practices and alerting them to the support available.

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.