Tens of thousands of construction workers who live in eight local government areas (LGAs) throughout Greater Sydney will be able to return to work on Wednesday if they meet new requirements relating to COVID-19 vaccinations.

In its latest announcement, the NSW Government said it would adjust COVID settings for the building sector across Greater Sydney.

The changes will come into effect on Wednesday.

Under the new rules:

• Work will be allowed on all unoccupied sites throughout Greater Sydney. This includes on sites located in eight local government areas within which sites were previously closed because of their high COVID transmission: Blacktown, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool and Parramatta.
• However, a capacity limit of 50 percent will apply to all sites across Greater Sydney. This represents a change from current settings in which those sites which are allowed to open are not subject to capacity limits (aside from smaller sites) but are subject to density limits of one worker per four square meters.
• Construction workers from within the eight LGAs will also be able to return work on unoccupied sites in Greater Sydney provided they meet new conditions regarding vaccination (see below). Provided that they meet the vaccination requirements, those workers will be able to leave their LGAs for work.
• Workers from outside the eight LGAs will be able to go into those LGAs for construction work.

As per current settings, COVID Safety Plans will be required on unoccupied sites across Greater Sydney and sites will need to follow COVID safe practices.

Constructure workers will also be prioritised for vaccination at a dedicated clinic to be hosted at Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday August 15 – a day on which the government hopes to administer the jab to around 8,000 workers.

The government is also working with the building sector to facilitate trials of rapid antigen testing on public and price sector construction sites when these are approved by NSW Health for wider use.

As mentioned above, those workers who live within the eight LGAs listed above who wish to work on sites can do so only if they meet new requirements regarding vaccines.

Such workers must provide evidence that they have received:

• two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, or
• one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at least three weeks before attending work, or
• one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and, if less than three weeks since that vaccine was administered, a negative COVID-19 test in the previous 72 hours. NSW is currently trialling rapid antigen testing and when approved by NSW Health, that form of testing may be used as an alternative to a negative PCR test.

Exemptions will be available for individuals with medical or other conditions that make vaccination unsuitable.

The moves will enable tens of thousands of workers who live within the eight LGAs to return to work.

Data from UDIA NSW shows that more than 68,000 construction workers live within these LGA’s – a figure which represents more than 42 percent of the Greater Sydney construction workforce.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said construction was critical to the state’s economy and employed hundreds of thousands of workers.

“Construction has helped maintain our strong economy throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, but many of our projects and workers are located within the eight affected local government areas,” Perrottet said.

“For the industry to remain viable, we need to restart those projects and get construction workers where they are most needed. But we also need to minimise the risk of COVID-19 transmission to keep our communities safe, and these measures will help us achieve that balance.”

Industry lobby groups welcomed the changes.

Tom Forrest, CEO of the Urban Taskforce, described the announcement as a ‘great result’ for workers and the sector.

“The construction industry is a key driver of the NSW economy, and this decision shows that the NSW government is able to balance economic outcomes which impact so greatly on people’s lives and mental health, with a great health outcome by agreeing to an industry led incentive to the promote vaccine uptake,” Forrest said.

Forest noted that the imposition of the 50 percent capacity rule would mean that some sites would need to operate at a capacity which is lower compared with that afforded by current settings.

Nevertheless, he stressed that this represented a small backward step only which is worth taking in order to protect the community, the workforce and the industry.

Property Council of Australia Acting NSW Executive Director Lauren Conceicao agrees.

Conceicao says the decision to reopen construction within the eight LGAs will enable the restarting of works on critical projects within Greater Western Sydney – which is home to around half of all Greater Sydney’s housing projects and major works such as Western Sydney Airport, Parramatta Light Rail, and the fastest growing capital centre in the country.

Meanwhile, UDIA NSW said the new approach delivered a more durable solution compared with the current approach due to the likelihood that given LGAs would come into and out of hotspot declarations at various points and the need for the building sector to remain open.

These changes will take effect at the beginning of Wednesday 11 August.

In the meantime, Perrottet said construction workers in the affected LGAs are urged to get their vaccination shot if they have not already done so.