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Riverland stone fruit grower Michael Trautwein and his daughter Kirby Trautwein have recorded good crops this year but are in need of more workers.

Many stone fruit growers are facing the tough decision to not harvest some of their fruit this season as they scramble to secure enough workers to get their fresh produce picked in time.

While farmers report strong consumer demand and great eating quality for this season's apricots, nectarines and peaches, some just can't find enough workers to pick and pack all their fruit as the numbers of seasonal workers and backpackers dwindle due to COVID-19 border restrictions and overseas travel. Read more of this ABC Article.

 

 

 

 

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The Australian Government, through the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) is hosting a National Harvest Virtual Jobs Fair to help agribusinesses across Australia find the staff they need.

Exhibiting is free and employers can showcase job opportunities and connect with enthusiastic job seekers looking for work

The National Harvest Virtual Jobs Fair is being held online on Thursday, 19 November 2020 from 1pm to 5pm (local time Vic/NSW/ACT/Tas). Employers can chat online with potential employees to discover if they might be a good fit for their business.

Employers can register their interest in being an exhibitor by submitting an Exhibitor Expression of Interest and a response will be sent shortly afterwards.

Visit the event website for more information...

Exporting Victorian Stone Fruit into UAE & Saudi Arabia
Wednesday 18 November, 5pm AEST
As the Victorian summer fruit season approaches, join the Global Victoria team in the Middle East and Africa to hear how your business can take advantage of the demand for quality stone fruit in the Middle East. Hear from two major fresh produce importers in the key markets of UAE and Saudi Arabia about the opportunities for Victorian stone fruit exporters in market and learn more about how Australian brands such as Pink Lady® have found success in the region. Victorian produce enjoys a strong reputation as clean, safe and delicious in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and market demand for summer fruits is strong.
Who should attend: Victorian stone fruit growers who are interested in taking advantage of the opportunities to export their produce to the Middle East. 
Register: Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to confirm your attendance and you will receive a Microsoft Teams Live event link from the team a few days prior to the session.

Future Drought Fund: Drought Resilience Research and Adoption Program

Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs- This program will establish eight regionally-focused Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs, the Hubs will support networks of key stakeholders to work together, including primary producers, grower and community groups, industry, researchers, entrepreneurs, education institutions and governments to:

  • provide extension, adoption and commercialisation support
  • plan co-designed and demand driven drought resilience research, development, extension, adoption and commercialisation (RDEA&C).

Each Hub can receive up to $2 million per year (GST exclusive). The grant amount will be up to 50% of eligible project costs (grant percentage). Closing Date & Time 23 December 2020 - 11:00pm AEDT. Click here for further information.

Seasonal Workforce Accommodation Program (SWAP) Grant
Funding will support local solutions that address seasonal worker accommodation needs. Preference will be given to activities that support the 2020-21 harvest up to June 2021. Activities that have a plan for supporting future seasons will be considered.

• Grant funds cannot be used for the purchase of plant or vehicles (but hire costs associated with accommodation and transport may be considered).
• The funding is for new activities or works that are not already provided as part of the business’s normal practice.
• The minimum grant amount is $10,000.
• The maximum grant amount is $1 million

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI) PROCESS: Applications open November and close on 15 December and will be assessed on a first come, first served basis. Find more info on Guidelines, eligibility & EOI process here

Changes to Seasonal Horticulture Workers Directions


Further to the Premier’s press conference and the release of Workplace Directions No 11 (Additional Industry Obligations) there are two important changes to the seasonal workforce testing requirements effective from 11:59pm Sunday 8 November 2020.

  • The requirement for seasonal workers relocating from Melbourne to regional Victoria to have a COVID negative test has been removed. 
  • The surveillance testing program remains in place and is applicable to all farms in Victoria. DHHS has advised this means an employer undertaking seasonal horticulture work must allow (and keep records of) DHHS to carry out COVID-19 surveillance testing on its seasonal workers at the seasonal Work Premises if requested. The focus for surveillance testing, at this current time, remains on farms in and around Melbourne.

All other requirements for seasonal horticulture (fruit and vegetable) remain in place including the need for a Seasonal Horticulture Worker COVIDSafe plan, use of worker bubbles and other COVID safe practices, increased record keeping, and an additional COVIDSafe plan for accommodation and transportation where it is within the responsibility of the employer or labour hire provider.
 
As we move towards COVID Normal, businesses and community facilities are being reminded about the importance of effective implementation of COVIDSafe Plans. 
 
The range of materials prepared for seasonal horticulture are being updated and will be available shortly on the website.  The latest Additional Directions can be found here: Workplace (Additional Industry Obligations Directions) (No 11) 
 
Information on seasonal horticulture worker guidance and COVIDSafe plan can be found https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/coronavirus-sector-guidance-agriculture-forestry-and-fishing

Handy Covid Resources:
Below, you will find links to websites that offer various tools to assist with issues such as contact tracing, temperature screening, QR Code scanning to complete health screen questions etc…

Contact Harald (www.contactharald.com)

  • Bluetooth card system.
  • Records ‘contact events’ when 2 or more cards come within 2 meters of each other for 2 minutes or more.
  • Data presents the ability to proactively manage people / areas of the workplace where close contacts are occurring + prompt report of close contacts in the event of a suspected / confirmed case.
  • We have provided these cards to all workers, critical contractors and regular drivers.

COVID Pass (www.covidpass.com.au)

  • Used across our smaller facilities as part of the daily health screen.
  • QR posters displayed on entrances.
  • Worker scans the QR reader using their camera (Phone) which prompts the completion of the health screen questions.
  • These questions can be customised.

Noah face (www.noahface.com)

  • Temperature screening

Smartbadge: Smart Badge

  • Real time access to all contact tracing within your business or event - Meaning no two week delay on tracing your contacts over a set period of time
  • Targeted Isolation- This means, rather than an entire business isolating or event being cancelled when a positive case of Covid 19 is reported, only those who are known contacts of the positive case need to isolate. The rest of the business can continue work unaffected. Significant data for hospitals
  • Targeted Deep Clean– Similar to targeted isolation above, Smart Badge can reduce the need for a complete building or site deep clean in the event of a positive case.  Only those areas that the Positive case and close contacts have moved through need to be deep cleaned. Again, allowing minimal flow on effect for the business.

DHHS

There are new health Directions affecting seasonal horticulture workplaces. Farm businesses have responsibilities for managing seasonal workers in horticulture which are designed to protect regional communities.

 
The Victorian Government’s Workplace Additional Obligations Directions for coronavirus (COVID-19) risk management require employers with seasonal work premises, where seasonal workers commute daily to the work premises from Greater Melbourne, to:
  1. Each day ask each seasonal worker, and each seasonal worker must declare, if they have travelled from Greater Melbourne that day. The employer must keep a daily record of these declarations.
  2. Participate in surveillance testing of seasonal workers for coronavirus (COVID-19) at the Work Premises in accordance with the requirements of DHHS.
  3. Keep written records of surveillance testing of seasonal workers for coronavirus (COVID-19) and have them available for inspection by an Authorised Officer upon request.
DHHS seeks the cooperation of all growers to enable surveillance testing to occur in regions close to Melbourne.
 
Please note that this testing is separate from the mandatory testing of each seasonal worker who is relocating to regional Victoria for seasonal work and will be living away from their usual residence in Melbourne. This group must be tested before they can commence picking or packing work
 
Why is DHHS testing?
Testing is one of the best tools in the public health arsenal to help find and contain coronavirus (COVID-19).
That is why in this tricky period of reducing community transmission and tentative reopening, DHHS is undertaking ‘surveillance testing’ across a range of industries. This will give them a snapshot of an at-risk population and tell them how much, if any, virus is circulating. It gives them a chance to manage an outbreak quickly if they find any virus. Testing won’t be forever. DHHS is expanding the industries in which it undertakes surveillance testing as Victoria opens up again, especially as many Melbourne people travel outside the Restricted Area of Greater Melbourne for seasonal horticulture work.
 
How will the testing happen?
  1. DHHS is asking initially for farm businesses in regions close to Melbourne to volunteer for testing. They will establish a schedule of testing visits each day and week for the next 10 weeks. If insufficient volunteers come forward, DHHS will require businesses to participate. Please complete the below template form and email it to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  2. DHHS will create a roster of businesses per day each week for testing, grouped according to the crop/harvest cycle between now and Christmas.
  3. DHHS Rapid Response Testing Teams (five to six health professionals in a van) or, less frequently, private pathology companies, will undertake the testing on-site at your property. There will be no cost to the farm business, except for the time taken to participate.
  4. The testing team will be in touch to organise with you the precise details such as date, times and location that best suit the business. They will arrive on-site – in the car park or outside the packing shed, for example. For larger farms/sheds, they may be able to attend at different times of the day – say at 7am and 12pm to ensure that disruption to picking/packing is minimised.
  5. A few days before the scheduled visit DHHS will send you information for workers about the testing, including any requested material in languages other than English. This material will emphasise that DHHS is only interested in worker information (name and unique mobile phone number) for the purposes of testing and to provide the test results. DHHS has no interest in the status or personal business of anyone being tested. Those being tested do not require a Medicare Card or other identification. 
  6. The testing team will arrive on-site and set up before the appointed start of your session. They will aim to test as many people on-site as possible.
  7. All seasonal workers are required to be tested. On the day you will need to record the names of those being tested. Other staff, contractors or visitors on-site that day are welcome to be tested if they would like.
  8. As this is surveillance testing, so long as the person is free of coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms, they are able to keep working and undertaking their normal daily practices. They do NOT have to isolate while waiting for results. Anyone with symptoms must follow the usual isolation procedures and should not be attending work.
  9. The testing team is only there to test and perform a public health function – not to check any other compliance, records or information.
Is the testing mandatory?
To ensure the safety of workers and the continuity of key industries it is important that all seasonal workers participate in surveillance testing.
However, the requirement to meet the obligations for surveillance testing within the Directions is the responsibility of the employer/host. Some workers will refuse to be tested and there is no penalty under the Directions for them refusing to do so. The aim should be to encourage as many workers as possible to participate in testing for the benefit of the industry and the community.
 
What information does DHHS need?
To participate in the surveillance testing please email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Business name
  • Business contact and mobile
  • Main crop grown
  • Peak harvest period
  • Peak period that picking and/or packing workforce on site
  • Address for testing
  • Contact person and phone number at the testing site
  • Approximate number of tests required
  • Preferred day and time for testing
For further information on the surveillance testing program email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
 
More information about the Directions for seasonal horticulture workplaces can be found on the Victorian Government's coronavirus website.

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