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GEIFN | CONSOLIDATED | Information on Coronavirus (COVID-19) | Friday 17 April 2020

[Edited and collated extracts from public addresses]

Topics Covered:

  1. Victorian State of Emergency Extended until at least midnight 11 May 2020
  2. Stage Three restrictions remain in place
  3. Summary of Assistance for Victorian businesses
  4. Police Conducting Spot-Checks and Issuing Fines for Breaches
  5. Advice on Livestreaming and Online Learning in Shared Environments
  6. ATO Support available for businesses affected by COVID-19
  7. Coronavirus and Temporary Visa Holders
  8. Information for International Students
  9. Acknowledgment to Sources

1. Victorian State of Emergency Extended until at least midnight 11 May 2020

Premier Daniel Andrews announced on 12 April 2020 that the State of Emergency declared last month will be extended until at least midnight 11 May 2020.

The month-long extension will ensure the Government can continue its strict enforcement of social distancing, isolation and other vital directions put in place by the Chief Health Officer to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Read the full announcement from Premier Daniel Andrews here.  

2. Stage Three restrictions remain in place

The message to Victorians hasn’t changed: Stay home. Protect our health system. Save lives. There are only four reasons to leave your home: food and supplies, medical care and care giving, exercise, and work or education.

3. Summary of Assistance for Victorian businesses

  • Rental relief: $500 million package announced 15/4 to assist tenants and landlords in Victoria. More
  • A comprehensive list of existing relief packages from Victorian and Federal Governments plus links to other associations and resources. More

4. Police Conducting Spot-Checks and Issuing Fines for Breaches

Police will continue to conduct spot-checks and fine individuals and organisations who do not comply with the social-distancing restrictions. 

From 28 March to 12 April 2020 Victoria Police have conducted 19,303 spot checks at homes, businesses and non-essential services across the state and issued over 900 fines - including to those in our community doing the wrong thing.

If community members do not have a valid reason to away from their home, THEY CAN BE FINED and PEOPLE MAY DIE as a result of their recklessness.

Places of Worship are closed. Services may be live-streamed from inside Places of Worship but ONLY Officiating Clergy/Monastics/Teachers and other Essential Attendants to the livestreaming activity can be present.

Please reinforce this important message with your communities.

5. Advice on Livestreaming and Online Learning in Shared Environments

Please find attached a flyer from the . If you are new to livestreaming and looking for a simple guide this flyer provides links to sites which explain the basics. The examples are from NSW but the principles are the same.

Livestreaming lets you link people into services, seminars or other events without needing to be physically present. This meets the Covid-19 rules for social distancing.

Examples of livestreaming

Equipment for the host
  • Video /audio input (computer, (video) camera, microphone, mobile phone)
  • An internet connection 
  • Access to a livestreaming service (see below)

Equipment for participants
  • A computer or a mobile phone with internet or mobile phone access.

Some commonly used livestreaming Services
  • Facebook Live: for reaching people with Facebook accounts using computer or mobile device. More: Hubspot, Facebook or Techsoup  
  • Zoom Meeting: good for interacting with participants, via computer or mobile device. The host needs a Zoom account but not the participant. More.
  • Instagram Live: for reaching people with an Instagram account via mobile only. More: Instagram or YouTube. 
  • YouTube Live: requires computer with webcam or regular camera and a YouTube account for the host. More: Google and YouTube

Collaborative Learning Environment Tools
  • Google Classroom: a free web service, developed by Google for schools, that aims to simplify creating, distributing, and grading assignments in a paperless way. The primary purpose of Google Classroom is to streamline the process of sharing files between teachers and students. More.
  • Apple Classroom: an app for iPad and Mac that helps guided learning, share work, and manage student devices. It supports both shared and one-to-one environments. You can launch a specific app, website, or textbook page on any iPad in the class, share documents between teacher and students, or share student work on a TV, monitor, or projector using Apple TV. You can even see which apps students are working in, mute student devices, assign a specific shared iPad for each student, 
 and reset a student’s password. And when class ends, you can see a summary of your students’ activities. More.
  • Microsoft Teams: an app that acts as a homepage for classroom assignments and resources. The platform, which comes free for schools or districts using Office 365, works with OneNote Class Notebooks—a digital workspace where students can find and share assignments, receive feedback and collaborate digitally. More.

6. ATO Support available for businesses affected by COVID-19

  • COVID-19: wages subsidy. The JobKeeper Payment provides a wage subsidy to businesses. More: ATO 
  • Increased thresholds to support your business. You can access expanded instant asset write-off and accelerated depreciation. More: ATO
  • Providing benefits to employees in tough times. These common scenarios will help you with your FBT obligations. More: ATO
  • Avoid scams and identity theft. Scammers use every chance to target you, especially when times are tough. More: ATO

7. Coronavirus and Temporary Visa Holders

The Federal Government is making a number of changes to temporary visa holder arrangements during the coronavirus crisis in order to protect the health and livelihoods of Australians, support critical industries, and assist with the rapid recovery post the virus. 

All were welcomed to Australia on a temporary basis for different reasons including to fill skills shortages; to study as full fee-paying international students; to visit family and friends; or to work and holiday.

They are an important part of our economy and society. For example, there are over 8,000 skilled medical professionals on temporary visas supporting our health system right now.

8. Information for International Students

The Federal Government knows that COVID-19 is affecting international students in Australia and a range of additional support is available at this difficult time.
  1. Students should speak to their education providers to determine what arrangements for remote learning are currently in place. The majority of providers have moved to an online or remote learning model.
  2. International students in their first year of studies who are experiencing financial difficulties should contact their education provider in the first instance to see what support may be available.
  3. Students who have been here longer than 12 months who find themselves in financial hardship will be able to access their Australian superannuation.  Visit www.ato.gov.au for more information.
  4. International students are able to work up to 40 hours per fortnight. International students working in supermarkets, aged care and as nurses have had these hours extended until 1 May to support these critical sectors in the current health emergency.  
  5. International students can also contact international.students@dese.gov.au or 1300 981 621 (9am to 5pm AEDST Monday to Friday).

9. Acknowledgment to Sources

This is a consolidated account of information current at time of issuance, received with gratitude by GEIFN. Sourced, collated and provided by Victorian Jewish Community COVID-19 Taskforce, Buddhist Council of Victoria and Buddhist Council of NSW, various Government Authorities and community organisations
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