‘Confusing rules’: Small business owners slam COVID-19 fines
Under-pressure businesses are pleading for an overhaul of Victoria’s COVID-19 fines amid fears they could get inadvertently stung.
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Under-pressure businesses are pleading for an overhaul of Victoria’s COVID-19 fines amid fears they could get inadvertently stung.
As many Victorian business owners across Melbourne swung open their doors to the public this week, the chief executive of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia Peter Strong said many operators were walking on eggshells in fear they could be stung with fines.
Under existing arrangements, breaches of COVID-19 rules apply if an employer fails to ensure an employee wears a mask, or doesn’t display a sign, and if there is no reasonable excuse, the fines are $20,000 or 100,000 through the courts.
He said it put immense pressure on business owners – many of whom are already under immense financial strain – to ensure both staff and customers adhered to all the rules.
“We must always remember that businesses have been fined because the Victorian government did not take the pandemic seriously and were lax in their management of quarantine,” Mr Strong said.
“Two officials have resigned but it seems that no-one in the state government was fined.”
He said this was at odds with businesses who could or have got caught breaching COVID-19 rules.
Mr Strong said the fines are disproportionate and far higher than other countries in the world including Canada where businesses could get stung just $850 for similar breaches.
Senator Sarah Henderson said the fines were “debilitating” and “must be reviewed”.
“A small-business owner risks a crippling penalty even if they fail to display a sign without reasonable excuse,” she said.
Mr Strong said the rules under which small business owners must operate were “confusing and in many cases not fit for purpose”.
“The rules were written by health officials who have never run businesses and have no concept of how to manage a business to be safe,” he said.
Berwick shop owner, Harry Hutchinson who runs Harry Clothing was fined $9913 earlier this month after he defied the lockdown rules and opened his store.
He has been issued with the fine but said he would not be paying it.
And Jomana Najem, the owner of Adam and Weave Barber shop in Hughesdale, also breached the rules after she opened her salon during lockdown before being fined by police hours later.
“It’s a lot of money for a small mum and dad business but we’ve had a lot of lawyers reaching out to us and they don’t think it’s lawful to fine us,” she said.
Ms Najem is taking legal action to fight the fine.
Senator Henderson said for struggling business owners who had already been slapped with hefty penalties it was simply “cruel”.
“I call on Premier Andrews to show some compassion and waive these fines,” she said.
A Department of Health and Human Services said, “Business owners can keep their staff and customers safe by ensuring staff are wearing face masks and staying home from work if unwell, enforcing physical distancing and adopting strong hygiene and cleaning practices”.
Anyone who receives a fine a penalty notice may request a review by Fines Victoria.
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