WorkSafe greenlights Geelong Covid-19 claims

Victoria’s workplace safety watchdog has accepted a dozen Covid-related claims from people working during the pandemic, new data has revealed.

WorkSafe has accepted dozens of Covid related claims locally, new data reveals.

As of this week, WorkSafe had accepted 12 claims based on contracting Covid at work from the greater Geelong area, including the City of Greater Geelong, Surf Coast and Queenscliffe municipalities.

Five were from the health care and social assistance industry, while other claims were from manufacturing, retail trade, education and training and public administration and safety.

WorkSafe had accepted 42 claims based on other impacts related to Covid-19, such as mental and physical injury, from the greater Geelong area.

This included 14 in financial and insurance services, nine in health care and social assistance, and seven in education and training.

Claims also came from public administration and safety, professional, scientific and technical services, construction, transport, postal and warehousing, information media and telecommunications, and manufacturing.

Physical injury claims could relate to ailments sustained working from home due to the pandemic.

Audrey Gunn, workers compensation associate at Slater and Gordon Lawyers’ Geelong office, said: “We’re receiving inquiries every day from people who believe they contracted Covid at work who want to know where they stand and what entitlements they may have under the state’s workers compensation scheme.”

“Work-related infectious diseases claims can be complex in relation to establishing a link between employment and the source of infection,” Ms Gunn said.

“Unlike with notifiable infectious diseases such as Q-Fever, where the source infection is obvious – an abattoir or a vet clinic, it’s more complex with Covid given the virus is circulating in the community.”

Ms Gunn said either way, workers who believed they had contracted the virus at work should notify their employer and WorkSafe as soon as possible after testing positive to protect their legal rights.

“While most people will fully recover from Covid, we don’t yet know the long-term health impacts, so lodging a claim at the outset will at least ensure that they have protected their right to any WorkCover entitlements moving forward,” she said.

How Bunnings is helping Geelong fight Covid

A Geelong Bunnings will be a pilot site for a state government program that sees food supply chain businesses click-and-collect rapid antigen tests.

The Bunnings Geelong North store in Norlane is one of two stores in Victoria participating in the pilot, with the other in Shepparton.

As part of the program, more than 100,000 rapid antigen tests are being made available for businesses in critical industries like meat and poultry processing, as they grapple with staff shortages due to Covid.

Eligible businesses will buy their tests through the Business Victoria website before picking them up at the participating Bunnings when their allocation is available.

Bunnings’ customer service experience team members will be assisting business customers along the way to help to make the process as simple and convenient as possible and will notify them when their tests are ready for pick-up.

Eligible businesses will buy their tests through the Business Victoria website before picking them up at the participating Bunnings when their allocation is available. Picture: Peter Ristevski

The tests come at a cost $8.25 including GST per unit, in packs of five and businesses can order 10, 50 or 100 packs per ABN.

Innovation and Digital Economy Minister Jaala Pulford said the unit price was wholesale, plus a small admin fee and neither the government nor Bunnings was making a profit.

The test kits are not part of Bunnings’ general stock supply and are not available for purchase by store customers.

Ms Pulford said rapid antigen tests were helping us to live and work safely at this stage of the pandemic and Bunnings had the click and collect capability to keep this simple for businesses.

“We are making sure our food supply businesses can keep their staff safe and help people stay in work,” she said.

Bunnings managing director Mike Schneider said the company was really pleased to be helping the government with the pilot by providing an easy and convenient way for critical workforces in Victoria to access rapid antigen tests.

“As always, we’re committed to offering community support where it can have the greatest impact and welcome any initiative that helps business keep their team safe and their operations moving, something that we know is more important now than ever,” he said.

Applications to purchase test packs for the pilot are open until February 24 or when the allocation is exhausted, whichever comes first.

Details of how to apply can be found at business.vic.gov.au.

Originally published as WorkSafe greenlights Geelong Covid-19 claims