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The Victorian Government is providing an extra $19.3 million for three key seasonal workforce initiatives:

• $10.5 million for the Seasonal Harvest Sign-on Bonus – a bonus of up to $2,430 for jobseekers who take up a seasonal harvest job in horticulture
• $7.8 million for the Victorian Government’s co-contribution to quarantine costs for Pacific workers. Approved Employers will contribute $2,000 per worker
•  $1 million for Seasonal Workforce Industry Support grants, giving a number organisations the dedicated resources they need to support local worker recruitment and retention activities in priority harvest regions and sectors.

Seasonal Harvest Sign-on Bonus 
The Seasonal Harvest Sign-on Bonus is designed to encourage jobseekers to give seasonal harvest work a go and give farmers the workforce they need. The bonus is paid directly to workers in two instalments:

• An initial $810, after 10 days of work within a 30-day period
• A further $1,620, after an additional 30 days of work within a 90-day period.

The program is available to workers who take up seasonal harvest roles on Victorian horticulture farms, provided they:

• meet the work requirements
• have not worked in agriculture in Victoria in the past three months
• start work on or after 17 February 2021
• are 18 years or older and have work rights in Australia
• are not employed under the Pacific Labour Scheme or Seasonal Worker Programme.

Workers will be required to provide evidence that they have met the work requirements, but don’t need to register for the bonus until they have completed their initial 10 days of work. The online application portal will open soon, at agriculture.vic.gov.au/bigharvest

You can download the Media Kit here to help aid promotion.

Download the Seasonal Harvest Sign-on Bonus factsheet here...

From 11:59pm 17 February 2021 Victoria returns to COVIDSafe Summer restrictions – with some revised conditions. Visit the coronavirus website for more information...
 

Face masks update

• COVIDSafe Summer - state-wide revised conditions came into effect from 11:59pm Wednesday 17 February 2021.
• You must always carry a face mask with you when you leave home unless you have a lawful reason not to.
• Face masks are mandatory in indoor spaces, unless you are visiting a private residence for a social gathering.
• In addition to indoor spaces, face masks continue to be mandatory in the following locations:
  • on public transport
  • when riding in a ride share or taxi
  • on domestic flights to and from Victoria
  • at airports
  • when visiting hospitals and care facilities.
• If you have visitors in your home, it is strongly recommended that face masks are worn during the visit. 
• Face masks are mandatory outdoors whenever you cannot keep 1.5 metres distance from others.

Visit the Coronavirus website for more information on these new restrictions

Victorian Lockdown Applied 

The Victorian Government has implemented a circuit breaker to stop the spread of COVID-19 and therefore, Victoria will go into lockdown from 11.59pm on Friday 12 February to 11.59pm on Wednesday 17 February 2021.   

People will be required to stay at home, unless for the following four reasons:  

• shopping for essential items; 
• medical and other care and caregiving; 
• exercise; and, 
• essential work. 
   

Essential work and services for primary industries 

Essential work covers the following: 

• Primary industries only to the extent necessary to ensure adequate supply of food to, and care of, animals and maintenance of crops. 
• Production & distribution of food and groceries for sale by a supermarket, butcher, fruit and vegetable store, market or fishmonger (including for sale by operators of such premises at an indoor or outdoor market). 
• Forestry. 
• A transport, freight or logistics driver. 
• Essential providers include veterinary clinics and pet stores and any urgent services necessary for the health and safety of any animal or premises. 
   

Crossing the border for essential work and services 

NSW has not closed its border to Victoria.  

If you are from NSW and need to cross the border for primary production purposes, you can do so. If you are a border communities resident travelling for essential work purposes, please see the information below relating to border community residents and follow this advice. 

Non-border community residents travelling into Victoria will be required to complete a traveller self-declaration form if travelling by road, rail or air and will be required to follow stay-at-home requirements on your return.   

NSW-Victoria border communities 

For NSW residents living along the Victorian border, the 5-day stay-at-home requirement will only apply to people who have visited Greater Melbourne after 11:59pm on Friday 12 February 2021. 

It will not apply to NSW border residents who travel into regional Victoria.

The map that defines the border community is the same that was used for the larger border ‘bubble’ arrangements at the end of the NSW-Victorian border closure in 2020. 

NSW border residents will not be required to complete a traveller-self declaration when moving between NSW and regional Victoria. 

 

Arriving in NSW from Victoria (affected area) 

The state of Victoria has been declared an affected area and an area of concern from 12:01am on Saturday 13 February 2021. 

The NSW border remains open with the introduction of restricted entry requirements for return travellers from Victoria into NSW.  

Industry Restart Guidelines Seasonal Horticulture- Updated 4th February 2021

Please take the time to review the attached visual pack that has been put together to make it easier for you to understand your COVID-19 Safe obligations for Seasonal Workers. This is the updated Guidelines that have been released to reflect changes with mask wearing etc.

• From 9:00pm Victorian time on Sunday, 31 January, the Perth metropolitan area, the Peel region and the South West region of Western Australia will move from a green zone to a red zone under Victoria’s ‘traffic light’ travel permit system.

You can download the latest version of the Industry Restart Guidelines here. The updated version includes the recent changes to wearing of facemasks.