This page is current as at 19/9/2020 10am
COVID-19 information
The latest information, resources and links will be posted here to assist in providing Life Saving Victoria (LSV) members and stakeholders with the most relevant and up-to-date information regarding COVID-19.
Information is changing quickly, we take advice from the Federal Government through the State Government’s Department of Health and Human Service (DHHS) and will use their information for the most up-to-date advice. For the most up-to-date information, including the latest government advice and updates, visit the DHHS website or the Victorian Government’s health alert page.
Below you will find information including:
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a new virus that can cause an infection in people, including a severe respiratory illness.
People of all ages have been diagnosed with COVID-19, but those known to be most at risk of severe illness are elderly people and those with pre-existing medical conditions.
The most common coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms reported are:
- Fever
- Respiratory symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath or breathing difficulties
- Sore throat
- Fatigue
Visit DHHS – About Coronavirus for more information about the virus.
Coronavirus hotline – 1800 675 398
If you suspect you may have the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) call the dedicated hotline – 1800 675 398 – open 24 hours, 7 days.
Please keep Triple Zero (000) for emergencies only.
Latest Alerts:
Regional Victoria and Metropolitan Melbourne have specific reopening roadmaps, relating to how many active coronavirus (COVID-19) cases are in the community.
From 11:59pm Sunday 13 September 2020, Metropolitan Melbourne moved to First Step restrictions and Regional Victoria moved to Second Step restrictions.
On Tuesday 15 September, the Victorian Government announced that from 11.59pm on Wednesday 16 September Third Step restrictions apply throughout regional Victoria.
On Sunday 27 September, the Victorian Government announced that from 11.59m on Sunday 27 September Second Step restrictions would apply throughout metropolitan Melbourne.
From 11 October all Victorians must wear a fitted face mask when they leave home, no matter where they live.
From 11.59pm on 18 October, changes are being made to restrictions in both metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria – a DHHS summary of the changes can be found here.
Regional Victoria Roadmap
https://www.vic.gov.au/restrictions-roadmap-regional-victoria
From 11.59pm on 18 October, changes are being made to restrictions in both metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria – a DHHS summary of the changes can be found here.
Metropolitan Melbourne Roadmap
https://www.vic.gov.au/coronavirus-covid-19-restrictions-roadmap-metro-melbourne
From 11.59pm on 18 October, changes are being made to restrictions in both metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria – a DHHS summary of the changes can be found here.
Visit https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/victorias-restriction-levels-covid-19 for details about what you will be able to at the current level of restrictions.
Police can issue fines for non-compliance with these restrictions.
Clubs and members should stay up to date with the latest information from the DHHS website and consider activities and travel based on latest restrictions.
See also DHHS information, updates and advice about the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
We have developed a dedicated page where you can find all information on LSV’s COVID-19 recovery support for lifesaving clubs. Go to www.lsv.com.au/clubcovidrecovery
LSV updates
Regional Victoria and Metropolitan Melbourne have specific reopening roadmaps, relating to how many active coronavirus (COVID-19) cases are in the community.
From 11:59pm Sunday 13 September 2020, Metropolitan Melbourne moved to First Step restrictions and Regional Victoria moved to Second Step restrictions.
On Tuesday 15 September, the Victorian Government announced that from 11.59pm on Wednesday 16 September Third Step restrictions apply throughout regional Victoria.
On Sunday 27 September, the Victorian Government announced that from 11.59m on Sunday 27 September Second Step restrictions would apply throughout metropolitan Melbourne.
From 11 October all Victorians must wear a fitted face mask when they leave home, not matter where they live.
From 11.59pm on 18 October, changes are being made to restrictions in both metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria – a DHHS summary of the changes can be found here.
See below for more details on what stages Melbourne and Regional Victoria are currently at.
From 6pm on Sunday August 2, Victoria declared a State of Disaster. On 2nd September 2020 legislation was passed to extend the current State of Emergency for an additional 6-months.
From 11:59pm on 5 August business restrictions apply:
Services and industries that are able to remain operational will be required to have a COVID Safe Plan by 7 August.
From 11:59pm on 5 August, employers that require their staff to attend a work site must issue a worker permitto their employees – this is the employer’s responsibility.
Metropolitan Melbourne Roadmap
https://www.vic.gov.au/coronavirus-covid-19-restrictions-roadmap-metro-melbourne
From 11:59pm 18 October 2020 a number of restrictions are easing, but Metropolitan Melbourne remains in Second Step restrictions – a DHHS summary of the changes can be found here.
Regional Victoria Roadmap
https://www.vic.gov.au/restrictions-roadmap-regional-victoria
From 11:59pm 18 October 2020 a number of restrictions are easing, but regional Victoria remains in Third Step restrictions – a DHHS summary of the changes can be found here.
From 11 October all Victorians must wear a fitted face mask when they leave home, not matter where they live.
From 11:59pm on 18th October, regional indoor pools are able to open for under 18s .
Life Saving Victoria (LSV)
Life Saving Victoria (LSV) continues to closely monitor the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. LSV commends the Victorian Government on its approach to slowing the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and remains supportive of all measures to protect local communities.
LSV welcomes the announcement by the Victorian Government of a $150 million survival package for Victoria’s sport, tourism and creative industries, which includes support for sporting clubs, community sport and recreation organisations, to help them return strongly after the pandemic.
LSV Return to Play Plan
Each time restrictions are updated, LSV updates its Return to Play Plan for the Aquatic Industry. Aquatic facilities are encouraged to use this plan t0 guide their reopening arrangements.
Coronavirus – A Return to Play Plan Template for Aquatic Facilities (Version Seven)
Previous updates
RLSSA Guidelines
Royal Life Saving Society Australia has developed a Guideline for Safe Pool Operations – COVID-19 which forms the minimum national benchmark of safety activities that facilities should meet prior to re-opening their doors.
RLSSA Statement 2
RLSSA Statement – the case for re-opening aquatic facilities
RLSSA Statement 1
23 March 2020
COVID-19 Impact on the Aquatic and Fitness Industry
13 March 2020
DHHS & LSV Response to Coronavirus in Aquatic and Leisure Facilities
Business Continuity
For more information about business impacts in Victoria, visit https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/business-sector-coronavirus-disease-covid-19
30 March 2020
Moratorium on Commercial Evictions
The Federal and State Governments announced on 30th March 2020 that a moratorium on evictions will be introduced for the next 6 months for residential and commercial tenants who are experiencing financial distress due to the impact of coronavirus. This will apply across all states and territories.
27 March 2020
What can be done to support business continuity?
While COVID-19 started as a health emergency, it is rapidly developing into an economic crisis. Your planning needs to consider a significant downturn in business activity. You may need to consider how you redeploy staff across other areas of your organisation. You may need to discuss leave arrangements. As a last resort, you may need to consider stand downs.
S524 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) allows an employer to stand down an employee without pay in certain circumstances for a period when the employee cannot be usefully employed because of, among other reasons, a stoppage of work for any cause for which the employer cannot reasonably be held responsible. Stand downs should only be considered as a last resort and specific advice should be sought before doing so.
What financial support is available?
- Casuals and sole-traders are able to access a “coronavirus supplement” of $550 a fortnight for the next six months. Any sole traders and casual workers who are currently earning less than $1,075 a fortnight will be eligible to receive the full supplement.
- Households: If you’re not eligible to receive the coronavirus supplement, you could still be able to claim a $750 stimulus payment. The payment will be made automatically from July 13 to about 5 million Australians, including the age pension, a carers allowance or family tax benefit and Commonwealth senior card holders That’s in addition to a separate $750 stimulus payment announced earlier this month.
- Resource: Australian Federal Government – Department of Social Security
- Resource: Minister for the Department of Social Services Statement
- Resource: Australian Federal Government – Australian Tax Office
- Resource: Economic Justice Australia – COVID-19 and Centrelink Factsheet
What is the impact for the industry?
The impact of the current State of Emergency will be significant, but exact details are unknown. Research by Royal Life Saving Society identifies the scale of the industry:
- There are more than 1,077 aquatic facilities, the majority owned by local councils.
- There are more than 1,176 swim schools, including many small businesses.
- The aquatic industry sector employs approximately 67,000 frontline workers.
- Approximately 1.5 million children 0-14 years participate in organised swimming (lessons, coaching) outside of school programs every year.
- We estimate more than 106 million individual pool visits annually.
Training
LSV training services are continuing to operate across Victoria with some modifications or suspensions to training delivery, in line with Restrictions for Metropolitan Melbourne and Restrictions for Regional Victoria.
We have a range of measures in place to ensure the safety of our candidates in areas where face to face courses can still be delivered and LSV will continue to extend a 25% discount on aquatic courses (Swim Teacher, Pool Lifeguard, ATO) until December 31, 2020.
There are some variations in what we can offer for these regions, as outlined below. The table below sets out the current delivery status of LSV Pool Lifeguard, Community Surf Lifesaving Certificate, Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety and Aquatic Technical Operator training courses, following recent Government announcements.
Metropolitan Melbourne – Effective for Second Step (28 SEPT)
| Course Type | Key Courses | Public | Group/ Onsite | Remote Delivery |
| Aquatic | Community Surf/ Inland Waterways Lifesaving Certificate | To be confirmed | To be confirmed | N/A |
| Pool Lifeguard | permitted workers | permitted workers | N/A | |
| Swim Teacher | ||||
| Aquatic Technical Operator | permitted workers | permitted workers | N/A | |
| Emergency Care | Provide CPR | Y | ||
| Provide First Aid | Y | |||
| Other First Aid | Permitted workers | N/A |
Regional Victoria – Effective for Second Step (14 SEPT)
| Course Type | Key Courses | Public | Group/ Onsite | Remote Delivery |
| Aquatic | Community Surf/ Inland Waterways Lifesaving Certificate | To be confirmed | To be confirmed | N/A |
| Pool Lifeguard | Y | Y | N/A | |
| Swim Teacher | Y | Y | ||
| Aquatic Technical Operator | Y | Y | N/A | |
| Emergency Care | Provide CPR | Y | Y | Y* |
| Provide First Aid | Y | Y | Y* | |
| Other First Aid | Y | Y | N/A |
*LSV Third Party Providers may have face to face options available for First Aid and CPR if they are unable to deliver remotely. Enquire with LSV if you would like to know if there is a Third Party Training Provider in your area.
Courses available state-wide
LSV will continue to offer CPR and First Aid Webinar Training for essential services workplaces. To book a Webinar contact (03) 9676 6950.
CPR@Home and First Aid@Home for individuals and workplaces are available to book online: www.lsv.com.au/training
Regional Victoria
Private group courses – all courses including pool based courses are currently available for booking, contact (03) 9676 6950 to check date availability. Candidates attending courses must reside in Regional Victoria and provide identification on arrival. Candidates and trainers must ensure that they are wearing a mask when they arrive on course and that when not wearing, they carry it where possible. Exceptions will be made where a medical certificate is supplied.
Public courses – under Third Step restrictions in Regional Victoria LSV has suspended the delivery of public access courses.
Metropolitan Melbourne
Under restrictions in Metropolitan Melbourne LSV has suspended the delivery of face to face training. Group and public courses will continue to be delivered from September 14, 2020 Contact (03) 9676 6950 to book a group or for public courses go to www.lsv.com.au/training
Education
To support a return to business trading once safe and appropriate, LSV a is providing support for swim schools to restart and become stronger than before.
The LSV Swim School Support Services will include a FREE one hour Swim Teacher PD session each week providing swim teachers with skills to deliver swimming lessons under appropriate and phased physical distancing requirements.
Facilities will also be offered swim school programming options to help:
- Maximise pool occupancy with physical distancing restrictions
- Understand economic measures vs public health measures
The Swim School Programming Options’ will be distributed via a free resource along with the option to customise and tailor this to your specific facility and clientele.
For tailored support for your swim school contact schoolswimming@lsv.com.au for a quote.
Water Safety @Home
Life Saving Victoria have developed a new ‘Water Safety @Home’ online activity suite, to provide schools, industry and the community with interactive virtual resources to encourage the continuation of swimming and water safety education during the COVID-19 period. These activities include new Swimming & Water Safety Toolkit resources; CPR & First Aid for Kids @Home + Everyday Lifesaver App; Swimming @Home; Nippers @Home; and the Water Safety Watch & Learn video series.
Visit www.lsv.com.au/watersafetyathome for more information and to access all resources.
Pool Safety Services
LSV are pleased to continue to offer a 25% discount on Pool Safety Services including:
-Pool Safety Assessments
-Supervision Plan Validation Audit
-SwimSafe new registrations
-Watch Around Water new registrations
-Supervision Plan development
-Emergency Planning Services
Where possible, Pool Safety services will be performed remotely. Where a site visit is required, aquatic facility staff and LSV assessors are required to follow all health department advice throughout the duration of the assessment – including the wearing of masks, maintaining physical distancing and adhering to the 1.5m and 4m2 rules.
For more info head to: https://lsv.com.au/pool-safety-services/ or email us at: assessments@lsv.com.au or call at 03 9767 6985
Are planned LSV industry events going ahead?
A number of upcoming activities and events which will be impacted by the current state of emergency. While some activities will need to be cancelled, where possible activities will be postponed or conducted via an alternative method. See LSV event advice for a full list of changes.
Pool Lifeguard Challenge
The 2020 Pool Lifeguard Challenge will not be held.
Aquatic Industry Summit
The 2020 Aquatic Industry Summit will go ahead in a blended delivery with a virtual offering streaming live from 9am on Friday 30th October 2020.
To watch the live stream, visit: https://lsv.com.au/aquatic-industry-summit/
Aquatic, Fitness and Recreation (AFAR) – Professional Development Series
Following the success of the AFAR PD series during the COVID-19 State of Emergency, LSV has taken the decision to continue providing FREE VIRTUAL PD to industry personnel once per month via a Microsoft Teams event.
These sessions will be held on the 2nd week of every month – starting 8th July 2020.
The session will be divided into three themes:
- 10am-10:30am – Safety & Operations
- 10:30-11:00am – Swimming and Water Safety Education
- 11:00-11:30am – Leadership
To participate head to: https://lsv.com.au/pool-safety-services/afar/
Please take care of yourself and others during this difficult time and stay connected, these are really trying times and sometimes we all need some additional support.
DHHS mental health resources
Helplines
If you would like to talk to someone now, you can contact:
Lifeline | 13 11 14 | lifeline.org.au
Beyond Blue | 1300 22 4636 | beyondblue.org.au
Kids Helpline | 1800 55 1800 | kidshelpline.com.au
Head to Health | headtohealth.gov.au
Eheadspace 1800 650 893 | headspace.org.au/eheadspace/
Love me Love you | lovemeloveyou.org.au
National Coronavirus Helpline | 1800 020 080
You can also access a number of other National help lines and websites
Support groups and online forums; talking about what’s going on with others who understand – or may be going through something similar – can really make a difference.
Our friends at Black Dog Institute have a list of support groups in every state and territory that can help you connect with groups of people who meet regularly to discuss their experiences, their problems and their strategies for coping.
The Beyond Blue online forums are also a great way to connect with people online, in a safe and anonymous environment, to discuss anxiety, depression, suicide and a range of life issues. Anyone in Australia can participate in discussions, connect with others and share their experiences with our community.
About #InThisTogether
The National Mental Health Commission has come together with mental health organisations, experts and leaders to develop #InThisTogether – a national conversation that everyone can join in on, sharing practical tips online to support the mental health and wellbeing of Australians during #COVID-19.
Resources
The following section provides a selection of resources to assist you, your families, workplaces and clubs to stay connected, talk and support.
Phoenix Australia resources
From our friends at Phoenix Australia a number of useful resources, click through the link above for contact and additional information.
Resources for community members
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Tip sheet: Taking care of yourself and your family
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Tip sheet: Isolation activities for children and adolescents
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Video: Keeping yourself mentally well
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Video: 4 ways to look after yourself during self-isolation
Resources for organisations
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Video: Looking after the mental health of your workforce
Other helpful resources from our networks
Sport Australia – helpful tools, resources and videos from the team at AIS
RUOK? – tools and tips for staying connected
Tip Sheet Children and COVID-19 – Ambulance Victoria developed resource to assist with talking to children and young children
Mental Health Considerations during COVID-19 Outbreak – information from the World Health Organisation on key mental health considerations
LSV Trauma Support resources
LSV Critical Incident information provides information on reactions, tips and information on Trauma response to stressful situations. Members can contact LSV Comms for further support.
Critical Incident Management Brochure
Stay active
Physical activity is a proven way to reduce the effects of stress. Look for online content that could help you exercise, do yoga or learn a new healthy pastime. Dust off your home exercise equipment, and use the downtime to improve your fitness!
VicHealth has reviewed the best smartphone applications for healthy living.
LSV Partner Support
Westpac has supported their customers and community through the good and tough times for more than 200 years and they continue to be there for you as the COVID-19 situation evolves.
Visit the Westpac COVID-19: Customer Support page to find out more
Resources
World Health Organisation (WHO) COVID-19 myth buster information
DHHS Heath Provider Quick Reference Guide
DHHS COVID-19 self-assessment checklist
Posters
Slowing the spread of coronavirus (PDF)
Wash your hands regularly poster
Wash your hands regularly poster – Simplified Chinese (PDF)
Wash your hands regularly poster – Arabic (PDF)
Cover your cough and sneeze poster
Cover your cough and sneeze poster – Simplified Chinese (PDF)
Cover your cough and sneeze poster – Arabic (PDF)
Swimming and Water Safety Online Resources
Learning activities that can be completed in the classroom or at home
Fun family activities for school holidays and weekends at home
LSV Podcast
LSV Event Advice
LSV would like to advise our members and stakeholders that in the interest of?our community, the following events have been postponed/cancelled.
These decisions have been made in response to the current and evolving circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 virus, in the best interested of the health and wellbeing of our members, staff, stakeholders and wider community.
We share the disappointment this news brings and apologise for any inconvenience that may be caused.
| Month | Scheduled Dates | Event | Status |
| September | September/October | ILS Lifesaving World Championships 2020 (Riccione, Italy) | POSTPONED |
| October | October |
|
ONLINE |
| November | |||
| December |