Control measures

COVID-19 is primarily transmitted through air. In indoor spaces with poor ventilation, particles containing the COVID-19 virus can build up in the air where people are working. Adequate ventilation allows airflow into and out of a workspace, helping reduce the concentration of COVID-19 virus particles in a space.  

You can improve indoor air quality with natural or mechanical ventilation, or a combination of both.

• Natural ventilation involves using passive airflow to bring outside air into a building. You can improve natural ventilation by opening doors, windows or vents.
• Mechanical ventilation is the active process of supplying air to, or removing air from, an indoor space by powered air movement components. Examples of mechanical ventilation are Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, and fans including exhaust fans. Mechanical ventilation can also include filters that remove virus particles from the air, such as HVAC systems fitted with high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, or portable air purifiers and scrubbers.  

It is important to avoid placing fans in a way that could potentially cause contaminated air to flow directly from one person to another.

You should consider which type of ventilation is best suited for your workplace, work tasks and the risks. You must ensure ventilation in your workplace complies with national standards.  Advice from a ventilation engineer or an occupational hygienist may be needed to ensure you have adequate ventilation at your workplace.

Cleaning and disinfection remove the COVID-19 virus from surfaces that people might contact. 

• Cleaning means to physically remove contamination from surfaces using a detergent and water solution. 
• Disinfecting means using chemicals to kill the virus on surfaces. It is important to clean before disinfecting as dirt and grime can reduce the ability of disinfectants to kill bacteria and viruses.

You should provide workers with suitable cleaning and disinfecting products and necessary PPE (such as gloves and safety glasses), and ensure they are trained on how to use them.

Ensure the manufacturer’s instructions on how to use cleaning products and disinfectants are followed. Certain chemicals may present a hazard if used incorrectly or mixed.

There should be an appropriate schedule for cleaning and disinfecting, which outlines the frequency and method of cleaning, as well as any ad hoc cleaning requirements. It is recommended that frequently touched surfaces (for example, lift buttons, door handles, trolleys, checkouts and EFTPOS machines) should be cleaned and disinfected daily. Cleaning and disinfecting should also be done after a person with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 has recently been in the workplace.

More information on cleaning and disinfection can be found in the How to clean and disinfect your workplace – COVID-19 guide. While this guide was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, it provides useful information on how to undertake routine cleaning, and cleaning and disinfection following a case or suspected case of COVID-19, in a non-healthcare workplace.

Good hygiene practices are one of the most important control measures for managing the risk of COVID-19 transmission in your workplace, and includes encouraging everyone in the workplace to: 

• cover coughs and sneezes with their elbow or a clean tissue 
• avoid touching their face, eyes, nose and mouth
• dispose of tissues and cigarette butts hygienically and immediately after use
• avoid sharing equipment, including desks and PPE (if relevant), or where not possible, ensuring equipment and PPE is appropriately cleaned and/or sterilised between uses, and
• avoid sharing food, drink and kitchen utensils.

A person may become infected with COVID-19 if they touch a surface contaminated with the virus and then touch their mouth, nose or eyes before washing their hands. They may also contaminate another surface or object by touching it, putting others at risk.

Good hand hygiene practices include instructing a person to wash their hands: 

• after covering a cough or sneeze
• before and after eating, drinking and smoking 
• after going to the toilet
• after removing PPE, and
• after performing work activities where exposure may have occurred.

Good hand hygiene requires a person to wash their hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Where is it not possible to wash and dry hands, a sanitiser where the active ingredient is 70% isopropanol or 60% ethanol can be used per the manufacturer’s instructions.

You must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the provision of adequate facilities for workers, including washing facilities. Workers should have ready access to hand washing facilities with running water, soap and hygienic hand drying facilities like disposable towels. Workers without ready access to this, like field workers, should be provided with portable hand washing facilities.

Further information on hand washing can be found through healthdirect.

Physical distancing allows people to maintain appropriate distance from each other to minimise exposure to COVID-19. This makes it harder for the virus to spread.

To facilitate physical distancing in your workplace:

• consider the activities or situations where people in the workplace may be in close proximity to each other (for example, lunchrooms, meeting rooms and other shared spaces), and
• ensure the layout and workflows of the workplace allow workers to enter, exit and move about the workplace with appropriate physical distance.

To reduce the risk you may consider:

• how the layout of a facility can be adjusted to allow for appropriate physical distancing 
• whether in-person gatherings and meetings need to be adjusted (e.g. using larger meeting rooms, holding smaller gathering or allowing people attend remotely)
  managing the number of people that use workplace facilities at any one time (for example, staggering workers’ start, finish and break times).

Not everyone can work from home, but if work can be completed at home, it may be appropriate to consider this to help manage the risks of COVID-19 at your workplace. For example, a worker has COVID-19 but has minor symptoms and is well enough to work.

Whether working from home is reasonably practicable will depend on the specifics of the workplace, the facilities available for workers to work remotely and the ability for workers to do their work safely from home.

Remember that you must also manage the risks that arise from working remotely. Further information can be found on our Working from home page.

COVID-19 vaccines and boosters help protect people by either preventing or reducing the severity of COVID-19 symptoms in the person who has received the vaccine.

However, a vaccinated person may still unknowingly be infected and spread COVID-19 to others around them.

Even if workers have been vaccinated, you must continue to implement all reasonably practicable controls measures.

You should get legal advice if you are considering requiring workers to be vaccinated. There are many issues to consider - workplace relations, discrimination and privacy issues will also be relevant. Talk to your WHS regulator, the Fair Work Ombudsman, your employer organisation or other legal service for advice. If you need information on anti-discrimination laws, go to the Australian Human Rights Commission website.

PPE refers to anything used or worn by a person to minimise the risk to their health and safety. Wearing PPE can also minimise the risk of the wearer spreading illness or disease to someone else.  

If PPE has been identified as a reasonably practicable control measure in your workplace, it must be provided at no cost to workers.

All PPE users must be provided with appropriate training and instruction on how and when to put on, wear, remove, dispose or clean and maintain PPE.

For more information see our Personal protective equipment (PPE) page.

Masks

Face masks can protect people from communicable diseases like COVID-19.

Face masks might be a reasonably practicable control measure particularly for people at higher risk and in higher risk settings.

There are different types of face masks that provide different levels of protection.

• Cloth: a non-sterile, reusable mask covering the nose and mouth to create a physical barrier between the wearer and the environment. Cloth masks are not medical grade masks and are not regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). 
• Utility: a non-sterile, single use mask covering the nose and mouth to create a physical barrier between the wearer and the environment but does not achieve a close seal to the wearer’s face. A utility mask looks similar to a surgical mask, however, utility masks are not medical grade masks and not regulated by the TGA. 
• Surgical: a non-sterile, single use, medical grade mask regulated by the TGA that covers the mouth and nose but does not achieve a close seal to the wearer’s face. Surgical masks do not provide the wearer complete protection from viruses in airborne droplets. However, they can help protect the wearer from splashes, large droplets and aerosols reaching their mouth or nose.
• Respirator (for example P2/N95): a medical grade mask that provides protection against airborne contaminants such as viruses and bacteria in aerosols or respiratory droplets. P2/N95 medical grade respirator masks must meet the Australian/New Zealand Standards 1716:2021 and/or equivalent international standards and are regulated by the TGA.

Respirators should form a very close seal around the nose and mouth and are recommended for use in high-risk workplace settings such as health care and quarantine sites. You should ensure workers using respirators conduct fit testing and fit checking to ensure masks fit their face correctly. 

• Fit testing is a test to determine the correct size and style of respiratory protective equipment (RPE) for the person who will be wearing it. 
• Fit checking is a check you should do every time RPE is worn to ensure it has been properly positioned on the face, and there is a good seal between the RPE and the face.

Fit testing and fit checking should comply with any relevant Australian standards.

You will need to consider which types of masks will be the most effective for your workplace, depending on the level of risk.

Further information on masks can be found through healthdirect.

Gloves

The use of gloves is generally not required for most workplaces and should not be a substitute for frequent hand washing/sanitising.

Where you have determined single use gloves as a reasonably practicable control measure, they:

• should be appropriate for the activities in your workplace 
• should not be re-used
• should be changed frequently throughout the day, and
• disposed of appropriately.

Eye protection

Eye protection, in the form of safety glasses and goggles, can be used to protect against exposure to COVID-19. Eye protection can act as a physical barrier particularly if there is a risk of splashes or sprays of body fluids and aerosol droplets. It may also prevent people from rubbing their eyes or touching their face.

Goggles or safety glasses should be closely fitted with a wraparound style. Prescription glasses, contact lenses and safety glasses that are not wrap around do not provide adequate protection against COVID-19 and should not be considered a control measure.

Face shields

Face shields may be used as an alternative to goggles or safety glasses. A face shield is a clear plastic barrier which covers the face and eyes, extending to the ears on the sides and below the chin.

Face shields can be single use or reusable. They are generally recommended for use in health care or aged care settings where additional protection against splashes or sprays of body fluids and aerosol droplets is required. Face shields should be worn with a mask underneath.

Screens

Screens can be considered at workplaces where workers are in close proximity to each other for long periods, or for workers serving customers, clients or patients (for example, retail stores, supermarkets, pharmacies and doctor’s surgeries).

If you are considering installing a screen you need to ensure it is fit for purpose and provides adequate protection from aerosol transmission, does not impact ventilation or comfort and allows workers to work safely.