What do the stage four restrictions mean for business?

"The difference in the life cycle of those birds means that if you were to reduce down to say that 66 per cent number, then there would be hundreds of thousands of animals that would be essentially destroyed, but not processed and that would lead to some, I think, very significant shortages of product," the Premier said when discussing meat production during a coronavirus update on Thursday. "So they will be, by agreement, going down to an 80 percent measure.

"For seafood, those centres that are below 40 staff, these rules won't apply."

Mr Andrews explained: "We think that's the appropriate balance. All of these measures are designed to drive down to the lowest numbers of workers we can practically get to without at the same time delivering a shortage of products."

Construction

The rules on the construction industry which will depend on the scale of the project but all sites will need to have a High Risk COVID Safe Plan.

For large scale construction (any building project of more than three storeys excluding basement):

• there will be a maximum of 25 per cent of normal employees allowed on site;
• workers will be allowed to attend only one site; and
• shifts will not be allowed to cross over.

Residential construction

The Andrews government has clarified the rules for residential construction, allowing tradies to work between sites and architects to inspect construction in some circumstances.

Home builders feared they would have to shut down completely during stage four restrictions after Premier Daniel Andrews announced that construction workers would only be allowed to attend one work site for six weeks from 11.59pm on Friday.

But after a "very long night" of consultations, Mr Andrews clarified on Thursday that some tradies would be allowed to move between work sites when necessary.

Home builders in Melbourne would still only be allowed five people on site at any one time and crossover shifts will be banned for the next six weeks.

Retail

Almost all retailing in Melbourne will be closed under the restrictions.

Exemptions from the closures announced on Monday include: supermarkets, grocery, food and liquor shops; convenience stores; petrol stations; pharmacies; post offices; hardware, building and garden supplies shops retailing for trade; maternity supplies; motor vehicle parts for emergency repairs only.

Retailers will also be able to work onsite for the purposes of fulfilling online orders.

Shopping centres will be allowed to open only to provide access to permitted retail.

'Click and collect' services will have to be delivered with strict safety protocols in place.

Hardware, building and garden supplies stores will be allowed to serve only trade customers in store. Members of the public will have to rely on click and collect.

Personal care services including hairdressers will be closed, as will car washes and photographic film processors.

Locksmiths, laundries and dry cleaners are exempt from the closures.

Warehouses and distribution centres will be limited to no more than two-thirds of their normal workforce onsite at any one time.

Cafes, pubs, restaurants

Accommodation businesses (except with specific exemptions) pubs, taverns, bars, clubs, nightclubs and food courts will all be closed.

Workplaces that will be allowed to operate include those involved in: Cafes, restaurants (take away and delivery food services only); provision of meals on wheels for aged services; essential support to be provided for in-home support for aged services; boarding schools, residential colleges and university accommodation services; other essential services such as roadhouses, to comply with national heavy vehicle regulations.

Manufacturing

A sweep of manufacturing businesses will no longer be able to be open.

Manufacturers that will have to close include: all fabricated metal products; furniture; textiles, leather, footwear, clothing and knitted products.

Many other manufacturers will be allowed to stay open but will have to operate under new restrictions. Food and beverage production was amongst those in that category.

Transport

Scenic and sightseeing transport will be banned. Train lines are to be delivered at 25 per cent capacity across the board.

Businesses that will be allowed to continue to have on-site workers include:

• Rail transport (passenger and freight) – including rail yards
• Water transport (passenger and freight) – including ports and Tasmanian shipping lines
• Air Transport (passenger and freight)
• Pipeline and other transport
• Transport support services
• Vehicle repair, servicing and maintenance
• Towing services

Areas with specific rules include public transport, ride/share and taxis which will be available but only to support access to permitted services and provide transport for permitted workers.

Banking and finance

Businesses providing these services will not be allowed to have staff on-site:

• Non-Depository Financing
• Financial Asset Investing
• Insurance and Superannuation Funds
• Auxiliary Finance and Insurance Services

These services will be allowed to have staff on-site:

• Bank branches
• Critical banking services to support the provision of services, credit and payment facilities, including the functioning of all operational, treasury, distribution, reporting, communications, monitoring, maintenance, corporate, support and other functions.

Information, media and telecommunications.

The following businesses will be closed for on-site work:

• Book Publishing
• Directory and Mailing List Publishing
• Other Publishing
• Software Publishing
• Motion Picture and Sound Recording Activities
• Library and Other Information Services

The following industries will be allowed to open with a COVID-Safe Plan:

• Telecommunications services
• Newspaper and magazine publishing
• Radio broadcasting
• Television broadcasting
• Internet publishing and broadcasting
• Internet Service Providers, Web Search Portals and Data Processing Services
• Production, broadcast and distribution of telecommunication and supporting infrastructure required to support critical functions, such as law enforcement, public safety, medical or other critical industries and where it cannot be undertaken virtually.
• Screen production.

Professional, scientific and technical services

The following businesses will be closed for on-site work:

• Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services
• Legal and Accounting Services
• Advertising Services
• Market Research and Statistical Services
• Management and Related Consulting Services
• Professional Photographic Services
• Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
• Computer System Design and Related Services

The following exemptions to on-site work will be allowed with a COVID-Safe Plan:

• Involved in COVID-19 (e.g. MedTech research including vaccines)
• Hazard monitoring and resilience
• Biosecurity and public health
• Medical or other research where Australia has a competitive advantage, and which cannot be shut down and requires on site attendance
• Critical scientific facilities – for critical scientific experiments, labs, collections

There are more rules and details in the material the government released which you can find here.

Court hearings

Under stage four restrictions, physical appearances in court will be almost entirely shut down as the courts shift their operations online. Most hearings will now occur over video link, however, the Magistrates court will remain open for urgent matters relating to bail, remand and family violence, a spokesperson said.

Childcare sector

Childcare centres remain open in a limited capacity to children of essential workers provided they have permits signed by employers.

Parents are still able to drop their child/children at a family member’s home for care under lockdown rules. “In-home arrangements, if they’re existing arrangements, they can continue as well. There’s no permit required for a family member, for instance. You could take a child to a family member to be looked after while you went and did other things. All in accordance with the rules,” Mr Andrews said. “That’s all you could do, though. It’s just a matter of drop-off and pick-up.”