COVID-19

SLSA EVENTS

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The health and wellbeing of all members, officials and athletes within Surf Life Saving is paramount and in line with advice from the Federal Government, the following SLSA events have been cancelled:

The 2020 National Pool Championships and the Coolangatta Gold

Following the Queensland Government COVID-19 restrictions in place from Saturday 8 August, Surf Life Saving Australia has taken the decision to cancel the 2020 National Pool Rescue Championships, and the Coolangatta Gold, including Beach Warrior.

The current Queensland State Government COVID-19 border restrictions prevent anyone from New South Wales, The Australian Capital Territory or Victoria from entering the northern state with restrictions in place for the foreseeable future.

More information here.

The 2020 virtual Coolangatta Gold is open to all SLSA members and the general public and will be held over a 10-day period from October 16-25, enabling participants to complete the various components of the event during this time.

More information here.

Memo to Clubs and Branches

Marsh Sport have created a COVID-19 link on the Surf Lifesaving website that SLSA encourages all Clubs and Branches to visit. Please contact Marsh Sport for any further questions.

Read the memo here.

DOWNLOAD THE COVIDSAFE APP

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Downloading the COVIDSafe app is something you can do to protect you, your family and friends and save the lives of other Australians. This app helps state and territory health officials to quickly contact people who may have been exposed to COVID-19. It gives the government confidence they can find and contain outbreaks quickly, which will mean governments can ease restrictions while still keeping Australia safe.

Click here to download the app on Apple

Click here to download the app on Android

SPORT AUSTRALIA’S RETURN TO SPORT TOOLKIT

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Sport Australia has launched a suite of practical resources that focus on giving community sporting clubs and associations a roadmap for the safest return to sport at all levels.

Sport Australia’s Return to Sport Toolkit builds on the AIS Framework for Rebooting of Sport in a COVID-19 Environment and the Australian Government’s National Principles for the resumption of sport and recreation activities. It complements these, it does not replace them.

What Sport Australia’s Return to Sport Toolkit adds is very comprehensive and practical advice. This includes checklists and templates so that clubs can adapt them to their own needs.

It is important to emphasise that any decision on when sport resumes is guided by each State and Territory Government.

View the Return to Sport Toolkit here.

The 2020 National Sport Integrity Forum

The fifth edition of Sport Australia’s National Sport Integrity Forum was live-streamed on Monday, May 25 and featured leaders in Australian sports development discussing the opportunities and challenges in returning to sport after COVID-19.

The Forum presented leaders at the forefront of the sports industry in thought-provoking and in-depth discussions. Topics included the moral, legal and ethical issues related to playing and spectating sport, potential new sport business models and how sport can be more fail proof for external shocks such as a pandemic.

Watch Sport Australia’s panel of experts; Lynne Anderson, CEO of Paralympics Australia, Dr David Hughes, CEO of the Australian Institute of Sport, Wayne Pearce OAM, Rugby League Commissioner, Leigh Russel, CEO of Swimming Australia, David Sharpe APM OAM, CEO of ASADA and Craig Tiley, CEO of Tennis Australia, discuss the above as well as the return to sport, detailing the risks, rewards, opportunities and challenges to consider.

ADVICE FROM THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT’S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

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The Australian Government’s Department of Health recommends the following to reduce the spread COVID-19 and manage the symptoms.

Practice Good Hygiene

Everyone must practice good hygiene to protect against infection and prevent the virus spreading. Good hygiene includes:

• Covering your coughs and sneezes with your elbow or a tissue;
• Disposing of tissues properly;
• Washing your hands often with soap and water;
• Using alcohol-based hand sanitisers;
• Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces;
• If you are sick, avoid contact with others and staying more than 1.5 metres away from people.

Social Distancing

One way to slow the spread of viruses is social distancing. For example;

• Staying at home when you are unwell;
• Avoiding large public gatherings if they are not essential;
• Keeping a distance of 1.5 metres between you and other people whenever possible;
• Minimising physical contact, especially with people at higher risk such as older people with existing health conditions.

Self Isolation

If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or if you have been exposed to the virus, you must stay at home to prevent it spreading to other people.

Staying at home means you;

• Do not go to public places such as work, school, shopping centres, childcare, universities or beaches;
• Ask someone to get food and other necessities for you and leave them at your door;
• Do not let visitors in – only people who usually live with you should be in your home.

For more information from the Australian Government’s Department of Health click here.

PROPOSED PANDEMIC LEAVE AND CHANGES TO MODERN AWARDS

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The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has announced its intention to vary 103 modern awards to insert new provisions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These modern awards include awards such as:

• Clerks – Private Sector Award 2010
• General Retail Industry Award 2010
• Graphic Arts, Printing and Publishing Award 2010
• Miscellaneous Award 2010
• Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010.

 

The FWC proposed the following changes that will operate until 30th June 2020 (unless extended).

It is proposed that full-time, part-time and casual employees may too elect to take up to 2 weeks’ unpaid leave if the employee is:

• required by government or medical authorities or acting on medical advice, to self-isolate; or
• otherwise prevented from working by measures taken by government or medical authorities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The unpaid pandemic leave applies if the employee is required to work at premises operated by their employer. This means, if an employee is not required to attend their employer’s premises and is able to carry out their duties in isolation (for example, by working from home), then an employee will not be eligible to receive unpaid pandemic leave.

The employee must give their employer notice of taking unpaid pandemic leave and the reason the employee requires the leave, as soon as practicable (which may be a time after the leave starts). If required by their employer, the employee must give the employer evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person that the leave is taken for one of the reasons specified above.

Unpaid pandemic leave does not affect any other paid or unpaid leave entitlement of the employee and counts as service for the purposes of entitlements under the modern award and the National Employment Standards.

An employee may take unpaid pandemic leave even if their paid leave entitlements are available. Unpaid pandemic leave is proposed to be a one-off entitlement, which means employees will only be entitled to take the leave once during a period of employment.

It is proposed that an employee and their employer may agree to the employee taking twice as much annual leave on half-pay. For example, an employee takes two week’s annual leave but is paid for only one week.  One weeks’ annual leave is deducted from the employee’s leave accruals. Any agreement to take twice as much annual leave in this way must be recorded in writing and retained as an employee record.

Additional resources: 

1. Further flexibility changes were announced specific to the Clerks, Hospitality and Restaurants Awards which are further detailed at coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au/coronavirus-and-australian-workplace-laws/award-flexibility-during-coronavirus
2. A copy of the transcript relating to this announcement by the Prime Minister and Attorney General can be found here – www.pm.gov.au/media/press-conference-australian-parliament-house-act-020420

JOBKEEPER PAYMENT SCHEME

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The JobKeeper Payment is designed to help businesses and charities affected by the Coronavirus to cover the costs of their employees’ wages, so that more employees can retain their job and continue to earn an income.

Charities that are registered with the national regulator will be eligible for the Morrison Government’s $130 billion JobKeeper Payment if they have suffered a 15 per cent decline in turnover as a result of the coronavirus.

Eligible employers will be reimbursed a fixed amount of $1,500 per fortnight for each eligible employee. The first payments to eligible employers will commence in the first week of May 2020. JobKeeper payments can be made for the period beginning 30 March 2020.

Eligible charities can apply for the payment online and are able to register their interest via the ATO – www.ato.gov.au

CHARITY OPERATIONS AND COVID-19

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Blanket extension to Annual Information Statement submissions

As a result of the impacts of COVID-19, many charities are likely to experience issues with submitting their 2019 Annual Information Statement (and, if required, their annual financial report) by their due date.

Some of the reasons for this may include (but are not limited to):

• the inability to hold Annual General Meetings
• the inability for charities to have their financial accounts audited or reviewed
• charity Responsible Persons who are unwell due to COVID-19.
• ACNC Commissioner the Hon Dr Gary Johns has approved a recommendation that charities with AIS due dates between 12 March 2020 and 30 August 2020 now have an extension until 31 August 2020.

 

This latest extension also includes bushfire-affected charities that had previously been granted an AIS submission extension to May.

This blanket extension to AIS submission does not automatically include any obligations to other regulators – for example, charities that are incorporated associations and who report to state or territory regulators.

Changes in response to COVID-19 by the ACNC

The ACNC have announced that there is a temporary, six-month period of relief for directors from their personal liability to prevent insolvent trading if a relevant debt is incurred:

• in the ordinary course of business
• during the period of 25 March until 25 September 2020, and
• before any appointment of an administrator or liquidator.

There’s also some flexibility provided to charities who may now act outside their original charitable purpose.  Although a charity may have specific skills, expertise or resources that can assist with the community response to COVID-19, its purposes may not allow it to provide this assistance. However, for activities undertaken from 25 March until 25 September 2020, the ACNC Commissioner will accept a charity applying a broad interpretation to its purposes, as long as the charity is acting in good faith to assist in the response to COVID-19.

The Commissioner will consider that an activity to assist with the response to COVID-19 is aligned with a charity’s purposes on the following conditions:

• The charity can reasonably show that its members would approve of the activity, and
• The charity documents how it believes the activity to assist in the response to COVID-19 aligns with its purpose prior to undertaking the activity.
• Before deciding to undertake a new activity that assist the response to COVID-19, a charity’s Responsible People should review the charity’s purposes as set out in its governing document.

Charity Fundraisers

For a charity that has decided to cancel or postpone a fundraising event due to concerns over COVID-19, there may be questions raised over what to do with any money already committed (for example, through ticket sales or other purchases).

In these situations, it is important that a charity is transparent about what it is going to do:

Will the money be refunded – either immediately or in time?

Will the charity hold the money until the fundraiser is rescheduled?

Will the charity commit the money towards a future event or effort?

Whatever the charity decides to do, it is important that it communicates clearly with supporters and other stakeholders the reasons why it made the decision, as well as the measures it has in place to ensure the funds are properly refunded or used in line with donors’ original intent and the charity’s charitable purpose.

Further Information

For information on the Australian Government’s stimulus package for small and medium enterprises, including the Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme, read the latest update from the Treasurer announced on 22 March 2020 – https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/josh-frydenberg-2018/media-releases/supporting-australian-workers-and-business

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman website https://www.asbfeo.gov.au/ has more information and support.

Coronavirus information and support for business is also available from www.business.gov.au

For more information please see the ACNC website – www.acnc.gov.au

FINANCES AND COVID-19

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Boosting Cash Flow for SLS Employers

SLS entities who employ people should be eligible to receive payments from the government in order to boost cash flow and assist in retaining staff.

Entities do not have to complete any forms or apply to receive these funds, other than to submit their Business Activity Statements, or Instalment Activity Statements as normal.

The first series of payments will commence once activity statements are lodged in April and will equal 100% of the PAYG amount withheld from employee wages and salaries, up to a maximum of $50,000. The minimum payment will be $10,000. The amount will be calculated automatically by the ATO and be delivered as a credit upon lodgement of the activity statement.

A second series of payments of between $10k and $50k will also be processed from July if activity statements continue to be lodged. The maximum that can be received across both series of payments is therefore $100,000.

For full details please consult the treasury fact sheet here.

Jobkeeper Payment Grants

SLS entities who employ staff may be eligible to receive a subsidy of $1,500 per fortnight, per eligible employee, in order to continue employing them.  Entities will need to demonstrate that their turnover has fallen by more than 30% relative to a comparable period a year ago in order to claim the subsidy. This applies to full-time, part-time and long-term casuals who were employed by the company as at the 1^st of March and remain employed (including those stood down or re-hired).

Entities wishing to access this should register their interest at ato.gov.au/jobkeeper

For more detailed information go to https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/jobkeeper