NSW Government Weekly Update - 10 September 2021

For the latest COVID-19 advice & information please visit www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19

• Stay-at-home orders for adults who have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be lifted from the Monday after NSW passes the 70 per cent double vaccination target.
• The roadmap is subject to further fine-tuning and health advice if circumstances change drastically or if cases within a designated area remain too high.
• The freedoms for vaccinated adults and those with medical exemptions include the following.
• Gatherings in the home and public spaces:
  • Up to five visitors will be allowed in a home where all adults are vaccinated (not including children 12 and under).
  • Up to 20 people can gather in outdoor settings.
• Venues including hospitality, retail stores and gyms:
  • Hospitality venues can reopen subject to one person per 4sqm inside and one person per 2sqm outside, with standing while drinking permitted outside.
  • Retail stores can reopen under the one person per 4sqm rule (unvaccinated people will continue to only be able to access critical retail).
  • Personal services such as hairdressers and nail salons can open with one person per 4sqm, capped at five clients per premises.
  • Gyms and indoor recreation facilities can open under the one person per 4sqm rule and can offer classes for up to 20 people.
  • Sporting facilities including swimming pools can reopen.
• Stadiums, theatres and major outdoor recreation facilities:
  • Major recreation outdoor facilities including stadiums, racecourses, theme parks and zoos can reopen with one person per 4sqm, capped at 5,000 people.
  • Up to 500 people can attend ticketed and seated outdoor events.
  • Indoor entertainment and information facilities including cinemas, theatres, music halls, museums and galleries can reopen with one person per 4sqm or 75 per cent fixed seated capacity.
• Weddings, funerals and places of worship:
  • Up to 50 guests can attend weddings, with dancing permitted and eating and drinking only while seated.
  • Up to 50 guests can attend funerals, with eating and drinking while seated.
  • Churches and places of worship to open subject to one person per 4sqm rule, with no singing.
• Travel:
  • Domestic travel, including trips to regional NSW, will be permitted.
  • Caravan parks and camping grounds can open.
  • Carpooling will be permitted.
• Masks:
  • Masks will remain mandatory for all indoor public venues, including public transport, front-of-house hospitality, retail and business premises, on planes and at airports.
  • Only hospitality staff will be required to wear a mask when outdoors.
  • Children aged under 12 will not need to wear a mask indoors.
• Non-vaccinated young people aged under 16 will be able to access all outdoor settings but will only be able to visit indoor venues with members of their household.
• Employers must continue to allow employees to work from home if the employee is able to do so.

• Parts of regional NSW currently deemed low risk and which have seen zero COVID cases for at least 14 days will emerge from lockdown at 12:01am Saturday 11 September, but will continue to operate under restrictions to ensure the safety of regional communities.
• Local Government Areas (LGAs) still seeing COVID case numbers will continue to follow stay-at-home orders and will be monitored by NSW Health with updates provided as circumstances develop.
• For a list of freedoms available to people in regional LGAs where stay-at-home orders have lifted, see the attached media release.
• For a list of LGAs where stay-at-home orders will remain in place, visit: https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/lockdown-lifted-parts-of-regional-nsw.
• For more information, please visit: www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/

• Northern border residents will be able to cross the Queensland border from 1am on Monday 13 September for essential work and essential reasons with the reinstatement of the border bubble, following discussions between the NSW and Queensland Governments.
• The 12 LGAs included in the border bubble are Ballina, Byron Bay, City of Lismore, Clarence Valley, Glen Innes Severn, Gwydir, Inverell, Kyogle, Moree Plains, Richmond Valley, Tenterfield and Tweed.
• Essential work means any work or volunteering that cannot be reasonably done from home and people crossing the border for essential work will need to have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. NSW residents are not able to cross the border for recreation or social visits.
• Residents will still require a Border Zone Travel (X Pass) to cross the border, which can be obtained at www.qld.gov.au/border-pass.

• All HSC students will get the opportunity to complete their studies in 2021, with the full complement of HSC exams to go ahead from 9 November 2021.
• The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) has issued a revised timetable, with 110 exams taking place over 19 days, ending on 3 December. Students will receive their ATARs on 20 January 2022, with their HSC results released on 24 January.
• Strict COVID-safe protocols supported by NSW Health will be in place to protect students, exam supervisors and school staff when HSC exam start on 9 November 2021.
• 68,710 students are on track to receive the HSC in 2021, according to the HSC Enrolment Snapshot, which will be released on Monday by NESA.
• View the 2021 HSC exam timetable: https://www.educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/key-dates-exam-timetables/hsc-written-exam-timetable.
• View COVID-safe exam protocols: www.educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/covid-19-advice.

• The NSW Government will introduce a bill in Parliament to amend the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW), adding religion to existing protected grounds of disability, sex, race, age, marital or domestic status, homosexuality, transgender status and carer’s responsibilities. These reforms will see NSW join other states and territories in making religious discrimination unlawful.
• In June 2021, the Commonwealth Government announced its intention to introduce a Religious Discrimination Bill to protect against discrimination based on religious belief or activity in key areas of public life into Federal Parliament by the end of this year.
• The NSW Government plans to await the passage of the Commonwealth Bill through Parliament before finalising the detail of NSW reforms, to enable it to consider the interaction of Commonwealth law with NSW reforms and to avoid constitutional inconsistency.

• Plans to kick-start the State’s economic recovery will be enhanced and more targeted following feedback and ideas put forward by Western and South-Western Sydney business and community representatives at a virtual forum.
• Representatives from chambers of commerce, peak bodies and community organisations and local businesses outlined the issues people are facing on the ground and presented potential solutions to reignite our economy during the two-hour event.
• A range of ideas were presented at the forum including; a reopening package tailored to the region, upskilling young people for the post-lockdown economy, small infrastructure projects and housing affordability opportunities.
• Ideas and proposals put forward at the forum will help shape the NSW Government’s economic recovery efforts for Western and Southwest Sydney as well the rest of the State.

• Koalas, rock wallabies and the Nightcap Oak are some of the iconic species set to be protected under an historic National Parks plan to declare 221 sites as Assets of Intergenerational Significance (AIS) and set a target of zero extinctions of species on the NSW National Park estate.
• The new AIS have been identified as home to species at risk from feral animals, bushfire and climate change, and follow the first AIS declaration earlier this year to protect the ancient Wollemi Pines.
• The AIS initiative is a key pillar of the National Parks Threatened Species Framework, which will align NPWS with the global biodiversity agenda and position the agency as a world leader in threatened species conservation.
• An interactive map of all AIS sites can be found via https://ais-map-dot-npws-ais-portal.ts.r.appspot.com/map.

• The NSW Government is amping up the State’s live music scene once again with the return of Great Southern Nights in March and April 2022.
• ARIA-award winning indie pop artist Amy Shark and Yolngu rapper Baker Boy join Jessica Mauboy, Jimmy Barnes, Missy Higgins and Peking Duk as the first artists of the line-up, with shows to be held from 18 March to 10 April 2022.
• Following its hugely successful debut in 2020, Great Southern Nights will again create jobs and revenue for artists, venues and crew in Sydney and across regional NSW, highlighting the State’s rich live music culture. 
• Venues can apply to be part of the Great Southern Nights program via the website. For information: www.greatsouthernnights.com.au.

• The NSW Government has announced $1.49 million in funding to four local councils under the 2020-2021 Coastal and Estuary Grants Program to assist with increasing the resilience and health of coastal communities and their coastlines.
• The successful recipients are:
  • Central Coast Council Awarded $644,560 to complete stages two and three of its Coastal Management Program (CMP) for Tuggerah Lakes Estuary, and $326,667 to complete stage two of a CMP for open coast and coastal lagoons.
  • MidCoast Council Awarded $40,000 for a scoping study for Great Lakes, Karuah and Khappinghat estuaries, and $31,600 to review the current framework for management of Jimmy’s Beach.
  • Maitland City Council Awarded $381,667 to review and reset the strategic direction of the management of the Hunter River Estuary by developing a CMP. This project will bring together Maitland City, Newcastle City, Port Stephens and Dungog Shire Councils.
  • Georges River Council Awarded $66,666 to complete a detailed design for foreshore protection works required at Donnelly Park, Connells Point.