The change in masks and public health recommendations for Victorians to work or study from home will come into place at 11:59pm on Friday, 25 February 2022.

As part of the announcement, vaccination booster deadlines have also been updated.

Minister for Health Martin Foley said, “Victorians have done such a great job getting vaccinated, so we’re able to take safe steps to get more people to return to the office.

“We’re balancing the need to support our health system with the benefits of easing restrictions in a careful and sensible way.”

Mask rules

Masks will only be required indoors in the following circumstances:

• People on public transport, in taxis and rideshare, on planes or indoors at an airport
• People working or visiting hospitals, and indoor areas at care facilities
• Workers in hospitality, retail and the court system
• Workers at justice and correctional facilities
• Students in year three or above at primary school, and workers at early childhood centres and primary schools (masks can be removed in secondary school)
• People working indoors at an event with more than 30,000 people attending in special circumstances, such as if you have COVID-19 or are a close contact and you’re leaving home.

Masks are recommended for other workers serving or facing members of the public, such as at receptions, meeting guests or serving customers.

Vaccine booster updates

Temporary exceptions and deadline extensions for workers required to receive three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were also announced. These include:

• The third dose deadline for workers in education facilities who were fully vaccinated on or before October 25 will be extended by a month, provided that workers have a booking within that time – meaning all education workers have until 25 March to be ‘up to date’
• Fully vaccinated workers who aren’t yet eligible for a third dose will have a third dose deadline of three months and two weeks from when they had their second dose
• Workers who are recent international arrivals will have a new third dose deadline of four weeks from the date of their arrival, provided they have evidence of a future vaccine booking
• Workers whose temporary medical exemption (e.g., because they had COVID-19) has expired will have a new third dose deadline of two weeks following the expiry of the medical exemption.

Victorian Chamber Chief Executive Paul Guerra said, “This is the signal that we have been waiting for: there are no impediments left for workers to return to offices and we can now get every part of Victoria up and running.

“It’s what CBD businesses who rely on the office worker trade have been desperately seeking and they now have certainty to plan for the return of their usual clientele from next week.

“It is now time for our leaders to have the conversation with employees and get this happening, at least incrementally. If we don’t support our many businesses who rely on trade from office workers today, they might not be here tomorrow.”

Information for employers

For more information about the resources are available for your business in light of these changes, visit the Victorian Chamber’s COVID-19 resources page here.

You can also read earlier coverage on QR code, density limits, booster mandates and isolation exemptions here.

As always, the most up-to-date information about restrictions is available on the Victorian Government’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) website. For specific information about how restrictions affect your business, visit the Business Victoria website.

If you, as an employer or an employer’s representative, feel unsure about what policies your organisation has in place or would like help in implementing a plan, please do not hesitate to contact the Victorian Chamber’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing (HSW) team on 03 8662 5196.

Members can also call our Workplace Relations Advice Line on 03 8662 5222 to discuss their employment obligations and any issues that arise.