"A dog's breakfast of state-based COVID rules is making it extremely difficult for individuals and businesses to understand and comply with many aspects of the transition to living with COVID," Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association Ai Group said today.
"The hodgepodge of restrictions and the anomalies and complexities may seem laughable to many but for individuals and businesses facing fines and worse, it amounts to unnecessarily bureaucratic approaches that will put a hand brake both on the return to freedom and our economic recovery from the COVID disruptions.
"When setting their COVID rules the states and territories should consider the need for people to understand and respect the practices they are required to adopt. This is fundamental to the effectiveness of rules in relation to health, wellbeing and the recovery of the economy.
"Our vaccination rates are our front line of defence and the health and bureaucratic machinery of government needs to take a step back sooner rather than later. Some states have talked of winding back most rules and QR code check-ins when high vaccination rates are reached and this should be the case for all of our jurisdictions.
"Here are some examples of the challenging requirements which are confusing and sometimes redundant:
"Mask wearing – the exceptions have been greatly varied across jurisdictions and would be a key area for uniformity, for any future mask wearing needs – especially with interstate travel increasing:
"After 1 December NSW won't require double vaccinations to work in or access various retail and services businesses but if those same people need to work in Victoria they will need to be double vaccinated. A construction worker living in NSW does not need to be vaccinated to work, but if they want to do work in Victoria they will need to be.
"Unvaccinated people can visit non-essential retail stores in Victoria but those same people will be unable to visit those same stores when we reach a 90% double vax rate.
"In NSW, you don’t have to wear a mask in an office if you are fully vaccinated, but a person working in a large warehouse many metres from other people is required to do so.
"In South Australia at 90% fully vaccinated, those who are double vaccinated will be able to have a beer standing at the bar while the unvaccinated will have to sit down!
"Canberra residents returning to the capital from Sydney can do so freely, while anyone else from Sydney visiting Canberra will need a permit. How that makes any sense in a jurisdiction with one of the highest vaccination rates in the world is anyone's guess.
"For the sake of the economy and getting the community back to normal we need a lighter touch from rule makers and more common sense to prevail," Mr Willox said.
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