New regulations came into force in Victoria on Tuesday 28 July, 2020, that require employers to report immediately they become aware that an employee or contractor has contracted COVID19. The new regulations require that the employer notify Worksafe Victoria immediately if it is known that someone has been diagnosed infected and attended work in the previous 14-days or until cleared. Fines can be steep at nearly $40,000 for individuals and nearly $200,000 for businesses that do not properly report.

The measure is temporary for twelve months pending review by Worksafe and follows other states and territories that have introduced mandatory reporting. Further details CLICK HERE

For incident report templates CLICK HERE

For Safe Work Australia COVID-19 Resource Kits CLICK HERE

Sweeping new additions to the Stage IV Restrictions announced in Victoria on Sunday have been released today (Monday). All non-essential retail will close for in-person retailing from 11.59, Wednesday August 5 and this will include music retail. Online orders will continue to be able to be fulfilled onsite provided staff onsite do not exceed 2/3rds of the usual peak number required.

Also, retail stores (not in the exempt list) will be permitted to operate contactless ‘click and collect’ and delivery services with strict safety protocols in place. A COVID Safe plan must be in place.

Shopping centres in the metropolitan area will be allowed to open only to provide access to permitted retail.

The latest government guidelines for the Retail Trade (released 6 August) can be viewed by CLICKING HERE 

Warehousing and distribution are permitted and freight and logistics will be operate. Wholesale distribution may be below capacity in Victoria as distribution and warehousing will operate with less capacity (2/3rds of the usual workforce). More detail to come as these situations are clarified through official channels. From what we are aware of, major distributors will continue operations according to the current restrictions and government statements.

Victoria’s two major guitar manufacturers Cole Clark and Maton will cease manufacturing for six weeks we are advised.

The latest government guidelines for the Wholesale Trade (released 6 August) can be viewed by CLICKING HERE

And the guidelines for the Transport Postal and Warehouse trade by CLICKING HERE

For a detailed spreadsheet on the restrictions on Business in Victoria CLICK HERE Melbourne-coronavirus-restrictions-on-business

COVIDSafe Plan

The government’s official information, including developing a COVID Safe plan is available by CLICKING HERE.

A COVID Safe plan must be developed by 11.59pm, Friday August 7, 2020.

The Premier’s statement on business restrictions is available by CLICKING HERE

Permitted Worker Permits

Further as announced by the Premier, a Permitted Worker Permit may be required for employees required to go to your permitted work place – this form can be download by CLICKING HERE 

The website has been overloaded and presenting errors – if this is your experience you can download the template here – Permitted Worker Scheme Template

Access to Child Care Permits 

Access to Childcare Scheme Template 

Business Assistance Information

To support businesses impacted by these restrictions, one-off grants will be made available to eligible businesses under the Business Support Fund – Expansion program. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

For businesses currently under Stage 3 restrictions, a $5,000 Grant is available, provided you meet the conditions.

For businesses under Stage 4 restrictions who have been impacted by the shutdowns, a further $5,000 is available in addition to the $5,000 grant that was announced a few weeks ago (total of $10,000). For businesses who have already received the first $5,000, you will automatically receive the next $5,000. For businesses who haven’t yet applied, a $10,000 grant is now available.

The grant criteria currently remains unchanged and is as follows:

• Operate a business with an address that’s located in one of the suburbs that are subject to the new Stage 3 ‘Stay at Home’ restrictions
• Be receiving Jobkeeper payments
• Employ people and be registered with Workcover on 30 June 2020
• Have annual payroll of less than $3 million in the 2019-20 financial year
• Be registered for GST on 30 June 2020
• Hold an ABN and have held that ABN at 30 June 2020
• Be registered with the responsible Federal or State regulator – ASIC, Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC), Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) or if you are a sole trader without a business name an ABN registration is ok)

More information as it comes to hand.

Due to the impact of the further lock downs recently imposed by the Victorian State Government on business, the Government has announced a new one-off $5,000 grant to eligible businesses.

The return to Stay at Home restrictions mean that businesses within metropolitan Melbourne or Mitchell Shire such as restaurants, cafes, pubs, gyms, indoor sporting venues, cinemas, live music, entertainment venues and other businesses are either restricted in their operations or can no longer operate.

In order to qualify for the grant, a business must meet the following criteria:

• Operate a business with an address that’s located in one of the suburbs that are subject to the new Stage 3 ‘Stay at Home’ restrictions
• Be receiving Jobkeeper payments
• Employ people and be registered with Workcover on 30 June 2020
• Have annual payroll of less than $3 million in the 2019-20 financial year
• Be registered for GST on 30 June 2020
• Hold an ABN and have held that ABN at 30 June 2020
• Be registered with the responsible Federal or State regulator – ASIC, Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC), Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) or if you are a sole trader without a business name an ABN registration is ok)

If you think that you may qualify, please visit Business Victoria

The Federal Government has announced an extension of the JobKeeper scheme until March 2021. There will be a two-tiered payment in place with a lower rate for casuals and part-time workers which more closely aligned with hours worked.

The Morrison government will cut the JobKeeper wage subsidy at the end of September to $1200 a fortnight for full-time workers and to $750 for part-time workers, down from the current single rate of $1500.

The scheme is being extended until March 28 next year, but will be revised down further at the start of January to $1000 for full-time workers and $650 for part-time employees working 20 hours a week or less.

Businesses will be reassessed with a turnover test in early October and early January to ensure the level of support is still required.

The ARA’s Paul Zahra said “payments will be more closely aligned with the wages of part-time and casual employees, which will foster greater workplace cooperation and provide greater incentive to return to work”.

Any further information will be distributed when it comes to hand.

The ACMA is reminding all businesses to comply with Australia’s spam laws by allowing consumers to opt-out of receiving marketing messages.

Recent ACMA investigations have identified repeat failures by Australian businesses to comply with the Spam Act.

Investigations into complaints from the public about Woolworths Group Limited and Singtel Optus Pty Limited, both large well-known entities in Australia, resulted in over $1.5 million in penalties.

The ACMA found that these businesses continued to send messages after consumers had withdrawn consent. In some cases, people had attempted to withdraw many times.

These investigations highlight how even large businesses can fail to have effective systems and processes in place so that consumers can unsubscribe from e-marketing campaigns.

ACMA enforcement action for breaching the Spam Act 2003 can include formal warnings, infringement notices or even action in the Federal Court.

Respecting customer’s wishes also makes good commercial sense.

Remember:

• E-marketers need to allow people to unsubscribe from their electronic mailing lists.
• Businesses cannot ‘set and forget’ their compliance systems or outsource their risk to third parties.

Commercial electronic messages must generally contain an ‘unsubscribe’ option that:

✔ presents unsubscribe instructions clearly

✔ honours a request to unsubscribe within 5 working days

✔ does not require the payment of a fee

✔ does not cost more than the usual amount for using the address (such as a standard text charge)

✔ is functional for at least 30 days after the message is sent

Read more about how to comply with the Spam Act (or how to make a complaint) on the ACMA website.

MAKE MUSIC DAY 2020 | COUNTDOWN TO JUNE 21
Make Music Day is back in 2020! Make Music Day is a global celebration of music which takes place every year on June 21, in over 1000 cities across 120 countries. Beginning as the Fete de la Musique in France in 1982, it has now grown into a worldwide event, with Australia celebrating its third year of participation in 2020. It is a day of free-for-all music making, in which anyone and everyone is invited to participate in or organise their own activities for making and sharing music. Make Music Day is open for musicians and enthusiasts of all capabilities, young and old, professional and amateur, presenting self-organised programs of activities ranging from flash-mob choirs in train stations to lunch time school band performances, balcony jam sessions, community ukulele get-togethers and professional performances alike.
This year has been one of the most challenging for the music industry, and Make Music Day is no exception. Due to the impacts of COVID19 social distancing measures, the Make Music Day international alliance decided to focus more on music-making activities within the digital and online space in 2020. This move now presents exciting new opportunities and a renewed enthusiasm for celebrating music-making by exploring new and innovative ways of sharing music through digital and online activities while adhering to the health guidelines of each state and territory.
Rob Walker, CEO of the Australian Music Association says, “The challenge thrown Make Music Day Australia by the 2020 pandemic has provided all sorts of creative opportunities for people to make music online, on top of the live opportunities that now exist in public places, said AMA CEO Rob Walker – this combination has revealed a treasure trove of innovation. You can’t keep a musician from making music. There will be hours of ‘live’ musicians online and maybe in your world, you’ll see some in the park or on a verandah somewhere”
This year will see exciting activities across the country including:
• and Josh Pyke kicking off the #livefromhome challenge
o Participants film and upload a video of themselves performing their favourite song to social media, and tag three other mates to do the same
• Make Music Day at the Art Gallery of NSW
o As part of the AGNSW’s #TogetherInArt project and in celebration of Make Music Day 2020, ARIA award-winning, art pop singer-songwriter Montaigne will share a special live-streamed musical performance from the Gallery on Sunday 21 June, 7.30pm AEST.
• Creative Arts Alliance Young Mic Online, QLD
o Young musicians, singers, bands, rappers and beat makers are invited to participate in an online version of the popular Caboolture Club open mic event series
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• Parramatta Riverside Theatre presents Ngaiire: Take Down
o After Covid-19 forced the cancellation of her March Australian tour, Ngaiire is back and bringing her new music to a one off event, streamed live on YouTube from the Riverside stage for Make Music Day.
• Adelaide UNESCO City of Music Program, SA
o On Make Music Day, the Cities of Music of UNESCO Creative Cities Network have prepared a musical feast with a special broadcast of over 20 music cities from five different continents. Adelaide, the first and only City of Music in Australia, will curate a program of talented musicians from across South Australia including Adam Page, Nancy Bates, Emily Tulloch, Belinda Gehlert, Ross McHenry, Josh Baldwin, Django Rowe and Brenton Foster to showcase the rich and diverse city of music. Join us for this global celebration of music!
• Melbourne Guitar Show Online
o Some of Australia’s finest exponents of the guitar and other fretted instruments will perform in isolation for Make Music Day Australia. This two hour plus Facebook Fest features live performances by some of Australia’s finest musicians including Phil Manning, James Ryan, Fiona Boyes, Nick Charles, Jeremy Barnes, Alison Ferrier, Jeff Lang, Lloyd Spiegel, Anna Scionti, Joshua Batten, Opal Ocean, Mike Elrington, Simon Gardiner, The Thin White Ukes, Lucas Michailidis, and Ben Kelly, with more names to come
• AIM and Sydney Improvised Music Association Present Jazz Masterclass + Q&A Session
o ARIA-Award winning bassist Jonathan Zwartz and legendary drummer Hamish Stuart form one of Australia’s great jazz rhythm sections. In this special Make Music Day event, they join forces with luminary pianist and Bell Hall of Fame inductee Mike Nock ONZM for a fascinating masterclass that captures the excitement and immediacy of improvised music and showcases the brilliance and creative dexterity of this exceptional ensemble.
• Music ACT Make Music Day Program, ACT
o Music ACT invites All participating musicians from across the Canberra region can “play on their patio”, “do a banger on their balcony”, “sing on their sidewalk” or “rock out on their driveway” to aid a speedy recovery from the COVID19 crisis
• Zoom Zingalong, VIC
o Melbourne based Elwood Community Choir and ZING! Choir are combining for two hours of song sharing, singalongs, musical games and vocal frolics on Zoom.
• Sydney Youth Orchestra’s Classical Karaoke, NSW
o Tuning in LIVE on Facebook, Classical Karaoke will connect musicians of all levels and ages from across the globe, tuning in to play an arrangement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, conducted live by world renowned conductor Brian Buggy OAM, all in the comfort of their own homes
• Make Music Day ADL (Livestream Mini Festival), SA
o Based in Adelaide but open for anyone to register, this mini online music festival presents a curated program of short performances livestreamed via social media.
Make Music Australia has been made possible by the Australian Music Association, The NAMM Foundation and Live Music Office and many of these activities have been made possible by key project partners and supporters such as CreateNSW, APRA AMCOS, Australian Music Industry Network and Community Broadcasting Association of Australia.
Lucy Joseph, Projects and Engagement Manager for the Live Music Office said, “We encourage everyone to get involved in some way or other in the years to come with Make Music Day. Now more than ever, Make Music Day presents an important opportunity to elevate music making in the recovery process from COVID19. Music plays a vital role in bring communities back together, rebuilding and restoring the joy of making music no matter who you are or where you’re from.”
This year Make Music Day also supports the work being done by the incredible team at Support Act and encourages everyone to donate to this organisation that helps music industry workers navigate through challenging times.
For more information on Make Music Day and activities happening in 2020, visit: https://makemusicaustralia.org.au/
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About the Australian Music Association
The Australian Music Association’s is a not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to be the voice of the music products industry and grow music making in Australia. For more information please visit: https://australianmusic.asn.au/
About the Live Music Office
The Live Music Office works to support the growth of the venue-based live music sector in Australia to increase live music performance opportunities and support live music audience and sector development. For more information please visit: https://livemusicoffice.com.au/