As Australia continues to flatten the curve for COVID-19, there is a rapidly escalating new curve focusing the attention of policy-makers.
That is the rising economic and social cost of the measures put in place to combat COVID-19.
These have cost the economy $4 billion a week. More than one million Australians have applied for the Jobseeker allowance and five million workers are being supported through the JobKeeper wage subsidy. Almost one million have sought early access to their superannuation. Australia’s GDP will retract by $50 billion in the June quarter.
Tackling this curve means getting Australians back to work safely and restarting the economy.
Safe Work Australia has developed industry-specific guidance and toolkits to support large and small businesses to safely restart their workplaces.
While many workplaces across our industry, including construction sites and shopping centres, have continued to operate safely during the pandemic period, there are other assets that will need to be reactivated including large office buildings.
Late last week Safe Work Australia issued updated guidelines which state that the 1.5 metre distancing requirements should also be observed within lifts. As the workforce ramps up its return to offices over the coming weeks, the practical application of this requirement would significantly limit the number of people who could access an office building at any one time. This would create congestion and queuing in lobbies and outside buildings that present their own risks as we move into winter.
The Property Council is engaging closely with Safe Work Australia and the Government to explore solutions that are both safe and practical. This will continue to be an area of priority for us as we play our part in building a COVID-safe economy.