COVID-19 Workplace Policy Template: Australian Employer Guidance

COVID-19 reshaped how Australian workplaces manage health, safety and business continuity. While emergency restrictions have eased, employers still have a legal duty to manage the risks of infectious diseases at work and to communicate clear, practical rules to staff.

Do you need a brand-new, COVID-only policy today? Not necessarily. Many businesses fold COVID-19 measures into a broader communicable disease or workplace health and safety policy. What matters is that you can show how you identify and control the risk, keep your team informed, and respect employment and privacy laws along the way.

In this guide, we’ll walk through what a COVID-19 workplace policy (or wider communicable disease policy) should cover in Australia, how to implement it, and the key legal issues to consider as an employer.

Do You Still Need A COVID-19 Workplace Policy In Australia?

Under Australia’s work health and safety framework, you must take reasonably practicable steps to provide a safe workplace. Today, that’s less about reacting to emergency orders and more about ongoing risk management for infectious diseases (including COVID-19, influenza and other respiratory illnesses).

You’re generally not required by law to maintain a COVID-specific policy. However, it’s still good practice to document how your business prevents and responds to illness in the workplace. You can do this with a short, tailored COVID-19 policy or by updating a general Workplace Policy that covers communicable diseases.

Why keep a policy on the books?

• It supports your WHS duty by showing how you assess and control risks.
• It gives staff clear, consistent instructions if they’re unwell or test positive.
• It reduces confusion, helps continuity planning and builds trust with customers and contractors.

External reporting obligations related to COVID-19 are now limited and vary by state or territory. Most businesses are not required to notify health authorities for every positive case. Keep an eye on current public health directions in your jurisdiction and update your documents as needed.

What To Include In A COVID-19 (Or Communicable Disease) Workplace Policy

Your policy should be proportionate to your operations and risks. A short, clear document is often best, supported by practical procedures and training. Typical sections include:

• Purpose and Scope: Who the policy applies to (employees, contractors, volunteers, visitors) and where it applies (on-site, client sites, events).
• Roles and Responsibilities: Management duties (risk assessment, supplies, communication) and worker duties (follow procedures, report illness/exposure).
• Hygiene and Prevention: Hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, workspace cleaning, ventilation and when masks may be recommended or required based on risk.
• Attendance and Working From Home: Staying home if unwell, when remote work may be approved, and any check-in processes for returning on-site.
• Testing and Isolation: When you may encourage testing, how to handle positive results, and practical isolation and return-to-work timeframes aligned with current public health advice.
• Vaccination: Your position on vaccinations and boosters (e.g. encouraged vs required). Any requirement should be risk-based, lawful and reasonable in the circumstances, and account for medical exemptions and anti-discrimination obligations.
• Leave and Pay: How sick leave, carer’s leave, unpaid leave or flexible arrangements are handled if someone is ill or caring for an ill family member.
• Visitor and Contractor Rules: Site entry requirements, hygiene expectations and notification procedures if they become unwell after attending.
• Privacy and Confidentiality: How you collect, store and share any health information (including vaccination status), with references to your Privacy Policy and data handling practices.
• Mental Health and Wellbeing: Encourage early conversations and provide support options (EAP, flexible arrangements, manager check-ins).
• Policy Review: A commitment to review and update the policy as guidance and risk levels change.

Keep the document short, practical and easy to follow. Link it to supporting procedures (for example, cleaning schedules or visitor check-in steps) so people know exactly what to do day to day.

Step-By-Step: How To Create And Roll Out Your Policy

1) Identify Your Specific Risks

Look at how illness could spread in your environment: office layout, face-to-face customer contact, shared vehicles or tools, travel, events and vulnerable cohorts. Prioritise simple controls that have the biggest impact (ventilation, stay‑home‑if‑sick, accessible sanitiser and wipes).

2) Align With Current Public Health Advice

Check your state or territory health department’s latest guidance on isolation, testing and risk controls. Your policy can reference “current public health advice” rather than fixed timeframes so you don’t have to reissue it every time advice changes.

3) Draft (Or Refresh) Your Policy

Decide whether to keep a short, COVID‑specific policy or update a broader communicable disease section within your general Workplace Policy. Use plain English, define roles and give clear “if/then” instructions for common scenarios (unwell at work, positive test, caring responsibilities, visitor notifications).

4) Consider Employment And Privacy Settings

Make sure your policy works alongside your Employment Contract, awards or enterprise agreements, and your privacy documents. If you will collect health information (such as test results or vaccination status), ensure you have a lawful basis and handle it in line with your Privacy Policy and any applicable Privacy Collection Notice.

5) Consult, Train And Communicate

Consultation with workers is part of good risk management. Walk through the policy in a short briefing, invite questions, and confirm where to find the document and supplies (masks, wipes, tests if provided). Add the policy to onboarding and the Staff Handbook so new starters are covered.

6) Monitor And Review

Track what’s working, what’s not, and update the policy as risk levels and public health guidance evolve. Keep any changes short and easy to communicate, then re-share the updated document to your team.

Legal Considerations For Australian Employers

Your policy should balance safety, fairness and privacy. Key areas to keep in mind include:

Work Health And Safety (WHS)

You have a duty to eliminate or minimise risks so far as reasonably practicable. A simple risk assessment and proportionate controls (for example, improved ventilation and encouraging unwell staff to stay home) usually satisfy this obligation in low-risk settings. Higher-risk environments (close contact, healthcare, residential care) may require stronger measures.

Employment Law And Leave

Directions to work from home, isolate or wear PPE must be lawful and reasonable in the circumstances. Leave entitlements for illness or caring responsibilities continue to apply under the Fair Work framework and any relevant award or enterprise agreement. If you need evidence of illness, consider when you can request medical certificates and keep the requirement proportionate.

Privacy And Handling Health Information

Health information (including vaccination status or test results) is sensitive personal information. Only collect what you need for safety and operational purposes, store it securely, restrict access, and delete it when you no longer need it. Your Privacy Policy and internal processes should reflect how you handle this data in practice.

Anti‑Discrimination And Reasonable Adjustments

Policies must not unlawfully discriminate (for example, against people with disabilities or medical conditions). Where appropriate, consider reasonable adjustments such as alternative duties, remote work or different PPE for medical reasons.

Reporting And Notifications

Automatic external reporting for every workplace case is generally not required now. Follow any current public health orders in your state or territory and your internal notification procedures. Notify workers who may have been exposed without disclosing more health information than is necessary.

Helpful Documents To Have Alongside Your Policy

A short policy works best when it’s supported by the right documents and processes. Depending on your business, you may also need:

• Employment Contract: Sets out role, duties, leave and flexibility expectations so it’s clear how attendance, remote work and sick leave are managed. Consider the base form of your Employment Contract for consistency with your policy.
• Workplace Policy: A central policy document covering conduct, safety, leave procedures and communicable disease rules. Many employers consolidate COVID-19 controls within a single Workplace Policy.
• Staff Handbook: A practical pack that brings key policies together for new and existing employees, often including health and safety and leave processes. See how a Staff Handbook can streamline onboarding.
• Privacy Policy: Explains how you handle personal and sensitive information, including any health data collected for safety purposes. Keep your Privacy Policy aligned with actual practices.
• Privacy Collection Notice: Tells staff and visitors what health information you’re collecting, why, and how it will be stored and used. A Privacy Collection Notice can sit on forms or intranet pages.
• Medical Release Consent Form: If, in limited cases, you need to obtain or share specific health information (for example with a treating practitioner), use a clear Medical Release Consent Form.

Not every business will need all of the above, but most employers benefit from a small, consistent suite of documents that work together.

Key Takeaways

• You don’t need a COVID‑specific policy by default, but you do need to manage infectious disease risks and communicate clear rules to staff.
• Keep your policy short, practical and proportionate to your risks, with straightforward steps on hygiene, attendance, testing, isolation and return to work.
• Make sure any directions are lawful and reasonable, leave entitlements are respected, and any health data is handled in line with your Privacy Policy.
• Consult your team, include the policy in onboarding and the Staff Handbook, and review it as public health advice changes.
• Support your policy with core documents like your Employment Contract, Workplace Policy and appropriate privacy notices and consents.

If you would like a consultation to create or review a COVID‑19 Workplace Policy (or communicable disease section) for your business, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no‑obligations chat.