$100k fines for work permit cheats

Victoria’s work permit scheme has now begun, with fines of $100,000 for businesses and $20,000 for workers who try to cheat the system.

Victoria’s work permit scheme has now begun, with fines of $100,000 for businesses and $20,000 for workers who try to cheat the system under harsh stage four coronavirus lockdown.

Workers are “terrified” about going out because of the harsh new rules, Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said.

The fines apply to employers who issue permits to employees who don’t meet the requirements of the scheme or otherwise flout the rules. Workers who are caught travelling to or from work without their papers face on-the-spot fines of up to $1652.

Premier Daniel Andrews yesterday said the work permit system was “a relatively simple process” aimed at having “the minimum number of people moving throughout the community, the minimum number of people working”.

He apologised for the economic devastation that the shutdown would cause, saying deciding which businesses would be closed was “always difficult”.

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RELATED: Daniel Andrews announces permit system for Melbourne

Police out and about in Melbourne

The permit system for Greater Melbourne came into effect at midnight, requiring people to show papers to authorities when they’re out and about for legitimate work reasons.

Mr Andrews detailed the permit system earlier in the week, with a particular focus on workers whose industries are still operating, such as supermarkets.

“People will have a piece of paper that says, ‘This is where I work, this is what I do’,” he said.

“This is old-fashioned common sense. It’s a piece of paper. Your employer fills it out. They sign it. You sign it.

“You carry it with you and then you’re able to demonstrate so there’s not a sense of anxiety or a sense of having to tell your story 17 times. If you’re pulled up by police, you can simply provide that piece of paper and then you would be waved on to go about your business.”

Mr Andrews promised the process won’t be “too onerous”, with the paperwork to be made available on the Victorian Government website later today.

Also from midnight , the majority of businesses in the capital have been impacted by drastic changes to how they operate.

Most retail has shut down, with the exception of supermarkets, chemists, newsagents and banks, meaning major department stores will shutter for six weeks.

Large offices will have to cut their occupancy while non-essential industries will have to either scale down or cease operation.

Victoria yesterday recorded its deadliest day of the COVID-19 pandemic so far with a record 725 new cases and 15 deaths, including the state’s youngest victim – a man in his 30s.

“These are the decisions I’ve made because they are the only option we have in order to try and drive these numbers down,” Mr Andrews said.

IT’S A DISASTER

Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox has slammed the Victorian government over its handling of the six-week business shutdown.

“It’s still a bit of a disaster, to be honest,” Mr Willox told Nine’s Today.

“We’re now on the first morning of the new lockdown, and business still aren’t clear on what they can and can’t do. We had new guidelines released some time after 11pm last night … around what were permissible businesses and what wasn’t.”

Mr Willox said businesses were “having to make it up as they go, fly by the seat of their pants, and they face the prospect of having to explain themselves to police officers today around what they do, why they do it and how it all fits (into the) the economy”.

“Things are changing by the hour and that’s part of the frustration for business,” he said. “There’s no clarity here for a lot of people, a lot of business owners, or a lot of employees.”

Mr Willox said many workers feared going outside and getting fined.

“People are being stopped at roadblocks,” he said.

“I had CEOs say to me that they have workers who are actually terrified of going out, because they have to carry papers and the prospect of being stopped doesn’t appeal to them. It wouldn’t appeal to anybody. But that’s the scenario that we’re facing in Melbourne at the moment.”

One key issue, he said, was the guidelines say businesses have to operate “on-site”, but “the government’s definition of on-site is different to what business’ is”.

“For business that means when you’re working (from home),” he said.

“So that’s led to enormous confusion of the other issue, too, (which) is that there’s no process by which businesses can stand down or furlough three quarters of their work force. They’re facing choices around having to lay everyone off, or shut down the business.”