Dear
Re: Lockdown changes for regional Victoria and mandatory vaccinations for allied health professionals attending residential aged care facilities
I am writing to update you about changes to the lockdown restrictions for regional Victoria announced by the Premier earlier today and that lockdown restrictions will be lifted in regional Victoria from tomorrow night.
From 11.59pm on Thursday 9 September, the five reasons to leave home will be removed in regional Victoria, except for Greater Shepparton. There will be no limit on the distance regional Victorians can travel from home – other than restrictions on entry to metropolitan Melbourne.
The Authorised Worker list will no longer apply in the regions, meaning most businesses and venues can reopen with capacity and density limits. Regional Victorians will return to the rule ‘if you can work from home, you should work from home’ but, office workers will be able to return to the office with the following capacity restrictions: up to 25 per cent of office staff or up to 10 people, whichever is greater.
Under the changes, allied health practitioners in regional Victoria (excluding Greater Shepparton) may provide individual face to face services for “essential clinical care” only if the care/service is not able to be provided via telehealth.
For this purpose, “essential clinical care” is defined as care/services:
- to prevent a significant change/deterioration in functional independence which would result in an escalation of care needs (e.g. an increase in frequency of treatment needed, requirement for specialist input or review, an increase in care needs, and/or a substantial increase to anticipated recovery time associated with a delay in receiving services)
- to provide assessment and diagnostic services to clients / patients whose care have been delayed as a result of previous restrictions, with any further delay likely to result in deterioration in functional independence or adverse health outcomes (including access to diagnostic imaging services or assessment for prescription of assistive equipment and technology)
- to provide services that are essential as part of a broader plan of care with a medical practitioner (e.g. fitting a brace post-surgery)
- to provide services that are part of a conservative management plan to avoid or delay elective surgery (as agreed with treating team)
- to provide services immediately following elective surgery that prevent secondary complications or aid functional recovery (as agreed with treating team)
Masks will continue to be required indoors and outdoors, apart from private residences, unless an exception applies.
More detail about the lockdown changes to regional Victoria is available here.
For members in metropolitan Melbourne, the lockdown restrictions remain the same for now – that is, they can provide face to face services for urgent clinical care only if the care/service is not able to be provided via telehealth.
On this basis, audiologists continue to be “Authorised Workers” and are able to provide the following “authorised health services”.
These are:
- allied health services provided by allied health professionals working as authorised workers in hospitals or in residential care facilities providing critical clinical care or as directed by the hospital
- allied health workers working in private or public community services, whether clinic-based or home-based, providing urgent clinical care. Face to face appointments should only occur for urgent clinical care that cannot be deferred. Routine face to face care is not permitted but may be provided via telehealth
- allied health services provided by allied health professionals working in private practice providing care through telehealth and other virtual care options
- allied health students on placement providing authorised care in hospitals or in residential care facilities, or through telehealth
Mandatory vaccination of residential aged care workers
Victoria has released a new public health direction for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination of residential aged care workers. This came into effect at midnight.
Under the public health direction, a “residential aged care worker” includes allied health professionals who are direct care staff, who attend the residential aged care facility to provide care to facility residents and who are employed or engaged by a resident of the facility to provide care to the resident.
By 17 September 2021, workers will need to be able to show under these requirements that:
- (a) they have received a full COVID-19 vaccination; or
- (b) they have received a partial COVID-19 vaccination and made a booking to receive a full COVID-19 vaccination by 15 November 2021; or
- (c) they have not received any doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and have made a booking to receive a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by 1 October 2021; or
- (d) they cannot receive a COVID-19 vaccine for one of the permitted exemptions.
Please stay safe, and if there is anything we can do to assist you during this time, please don't hesitate to contact the office on 03 9940 3900 or email: info@audiology.asn.au
Yours sincerely
Dr Tony Coles
CEO
Audiology Australia
Suite 101, 13 Cremorne Street Cremorne, VIC 3121
ABN: 31 168 531 324 | p: 03 9940 3900 | e: info@audiology.asn.au | w: www.audiology.asn.au