6 May 2020 / COVID-19

National Cabinet Updates

The PM just addressed the media:

  • Joined by IR Minister, Christian Porter & Chair of the COVID19 Commission, Nev Power
  • No matters to report from a health point of view today. That will come on Friday at next Nat Cab meeting. CMO will hold normal press briefing though (not sure if this meant today)
  • Today’s focus if briefing – getting Australia back to work.
  • Hundreds of thousands of Australians have been protected in terms of health and lives have been saved.
  • Decisions made that have managed to curb the health and economic impacts – costs would be greater if they weren’t made, but still these decisions have come at a cost
  • To get Australians back to work, their workplaces have to be COVID safe, National Cab is working on what a COVID safe economy will look like.
  • More than 1 million JobSeeker applications processed, 5 million on JobKeeper, 1 million accessing super, 384,000 businesses receiving $1B cash flow assistance
  • [ScoMo then showed slides regarding impacts on economy (jobs/activity) – will circulate when available online]
  • Economic activity and job availability falls in all states (particularly VIC/NSW/QLD)
  • Not seeking to delay getting economy back on track but must be taken carefully, with COVID safe workplaces.
  • Numbers/outbreaks will occur when restrictions are eased.
  • Businesses, employers and employees need the tools to operate a COVID safe workplace.
  • Downloads of COVID app – 5 million today, 16 million targeted, Govt is about 1/3 of the way there.
  • App’s job is to keep people safe. If you come into contact with someone, you will be able to be contacted and you can make decisions around this. First job of the app is to keep ‘YOU’ safe – best reason to download. Reiterated people needing to keep downloading.
  • Restrictions costing $4B a week.

Christian Porter

  • Health and safety strict legal requirements, all employers have to comply to manage risks, and will need to do so with COVID
  • Monitoring and enforcement occurs in each state/territory
  • Nat Cab has adopted safe workplace principles – consistency in approach across Australia
  • COVID Safe App – very important to get back to normal
  • COVID19 Planning Toolkit – being worked on
  • SafeWork Australia COVID19 website - 1 million visits, a lot higher than normal hits to SafeWork website
  • SafeWork website will provide consistent detailed granular level information as a head start to every business in Australia, so as to the best way to cope with the new COVID safe environment
  • It will describe what measures will mean for a particular jurisdiction, type of business – how you will engage social distancing/hygiene/cleaning/PPE – how this will apply to different types of business
  • It will help to safely reanimate businesses

Nev Power

  • Working with everyone across industries, working with businesses to help with issues, on how to operate and how to get businesses ready
  • 4 key issues
    • Reconfiguring and restructuring work sites, business by business
    • How to respond if there is an incident
    • How do we return that workplace to a safe place to work
    • Communication process, ensuring everyone knows what to do
  • With SafeWork, we will have a complete COVID19 toolkit available.
  • Some businesses already operating in reconfigured workplace, some not yet there, some need help.
  • Want to get people back at work, but while keeping work safe.
  • Configure workplace to introduce social distancing / hygiene measures as a higher level of activity is introduced and as the economy gets back on track again.
  • We don’t want to introduce restrictions again, we want to be able to deal with outbreaks as they occur instead.
  • Looking forward to a more relaxed restriction world but we still need to do the right thing.

Q&A

  • ScoMo wants students back to school and is based on health advice as it consistently has been.
  • Friday will be a roadmap session which shows Australia the path back to normality.
  • PM Ardern joined today, first time NZ PM has joined for a very long time. PM invited her. They discussed a safe travel zone but still some time away – but wanted to flag so it can be done in future.
  • ScoMo doesn’t want open/shut, open/shut of businesses.

Other Recent Activities

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30 October / Quality Alert
Prohibition on the Use of Engineered Stone

Engineered stone ban effective 1 July 2024

ALL engineered stone regardless of the silica content percentage will be banned

Alternative products must be considered and implemented on all projects.

The industry is shifting away from engineered stone due to the risks of respirable crystalline silica, which can cause silicosis and other silica-related diseases. Although the consultations are under way and there has been no official announcement by Federal or State Governments on the issue, the health and safety risks along with the uncertainty around this issue warrants a decision to ban all engineered products entering job sites nationally. The ban will take effect on 1 July 2024 and will extend to ALL engineered stone regardless of the silica content percentage. 

An update to this alert will be provided before the end of the year when the Federal and State Governments are expected to issue a formal decision on the ban. In the meantime, to mitigate the impact of potential delays and variations, the best approach is to inform the clients of the pending ban and to propose and seek approval for an alternative product. Similarly, ensure all future estimates have the stone specification qualified and priced accordingly.

Product alternatives going forward include:

Compact Laminates

  • Under 1% silica content
  • Extremely competitive pricing
  • Only comes in 12mm thickness
  • Heat resistance is an issue
  • Product not suitable for high end applications

Porcelain Surfaces

  • Under 10% silica content
  • Price dependant of product and supplier
  • Large variety of colours and thicknesses (4, 8, 12, 20 and 30mm)
  • Great resistance to staining, scratches, UV and heat
  • Good warranty terms

Acrylic Solid Surfaces

  • 0% silica content
  • More expensive alternative
  • Limited thickness availability
  • UV stable and heat resistant but direct heat exposure not advised
  • Minimising wastage through flexibility in sheet sizing
  • Seamless joints

Natural Stone*

  • Various silica content percentages
  • Variety of products at different price points available
  • Ongoing maintenance may be an issue
  • Unlikely to satisfy specific warranty requirements

*Although this alert does not directly impact natural stone, some types have high silica content so risk of using these on projects should be considered carefully.

For an up-to-date list of available products and their usability, click here.

More information

If you need additional support, please contact the Quality Team:

Phone 1300 HUTCHIES
Email QualityTeam@hutchinsonbuilders.com.au

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10 October / Update
Installation Details for Elephant's Foot & Wastech Bin Chutes

Make sure bin chute systems are installed correctly, following the tested systems and the manufacturers’ instructions.

Check the detailed drawings from Elephant’s Foot and Wastech for different wall types (plasterboard, shaft-liner, speed panel, concrete, Hebel, and masonry).

Any changes to the tested systems must be approved by your project certifier, signed off by the fire engineer in the fire engineering report (FER), and accepted by the relevant state / territory fire service.

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