Racing Victoria COVID-19 Protocols
Notice to Trainers:
As the COVID-19 environment continues to present the racing industry in Victoria with daily challenges, it is perhaps timely to remind everyone that your compliance, and by extension your staff, with Racing Victoria’s COVID-19 protocols, which reflect the Government’s legal requirements, is essential.
A full list of the MANDATORY PROTOCOLS can be found on the Racing Victoria web-site. Key obligations include:
- MASKS ARE COMPULSORY. Compulsory mask wearing at all times, whether indoors or outdoors, except where a jockey / track rider is riding.
- BUSINESS MUST OPERATE A QR CODE. You must keep a log of those persons who attend your workplace via the Victorian Government’s QR code system.
- SOCIAL DISTANCING REQUIREMENTS. You must enforce social distancing requirements amongst all employees / third party attendees at your workplace.
- TRACKWORK RIDERS TO REMAIN OUTDOORS. At track work, ensure riders DO NOT enter any enclosed facilities and are legged up in outdoor areas only.
- LIMIT THE NUMBER OF PERSONS YOU BRING TO RACEDAY. Caps will be strictly enforced. That is, Trainer(s) + 1 other per horse to attend race day + 1 other person (provided that person has an essential role).
Whilst not mandatory, to add further protections to your workplace, Racing Victoria also HIGHLY RECOMMEND you adopt the following measures as far as is practicable:
- LIMIT ENGAGEMENT WITH SERVICE PROVIDERS. When procuring goods or services from third parties, limit interaction between those service providers and your team. If you must have someone in attendance, then limit the interaction between the person hosting the service provider and your team. This will ensure that, if a contact tracing is necessary due to an infected service provider, the contact tracers can easily identify your team’s close contacts with the infected service provider.
- HAVE TWO TEAMS AS BACK-UP SHOULD A COVID POSITIVE BE A CLOSE CONTACT OF YOUR STABLE. Investigate having “team A” and “team B” in place at your workplace that can be utilized in the event that a contact trace requires some of your team to stand down.
- LIMIT SHARING OF STAFF. Limit the sharing of staff. If you must share staff, it is critical you are aware of when the staff member is at your site and what they are doing, and with whom on your team they are engaging.
Racing Victoria Stewards and Race Club Officials will be actively monitoring and enforcing participant compliance with the mandatory protocols on both race days, and at our state wide training centres.
Please also understand that Racing Victoria must act with an abundance of caution, and will not hesitate to close down a stable - as they have already done with a number across the last six weeks - if the protocols / Government Health orders are breached and the circumstances of that breach leave them with no choice.
If you have any questions in respect of the above, you can direct these to our office, or to Racing Victoria through their dedicated COVID email address crisismanagement@racingvictoria.net.au.
Kind Regards
ANDREW NICHOLL
Chief Executive
