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Melbourne accountants and bookkeepers have been granted a small concession following ongoing lobbying from the professional associations.
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5km rule clarified for Melbourne accountants, bookkeepers
18 September 2020
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The Victorian Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions has now confirmed that metropolitan Melbourne accountants and bookkeepers will be allowed to collect essential records from their office even if it requires travelling beyond the 5km radius of their home.
The clarification from the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services was relayed to the professional accounting and bookkeeping associations in correspondence seen by Accountants Daily, with a note that a valid permit would be required.
“They will need to issue themselves (if accessing their own office) with a permit stating ‘collecting essential equipment of supplies necessary for working from home’,” the DHHS said.
The confirmation comes after the 11 professional accounting and bookkeeping bodies forming the National Tax Liaison Group had appealed to the Victorian government to allow practitioners to travel to their own practices or their clients’ business premises to access crucial physical documents.
However, tax practitioners will still not be allowed to work from their offices.
“You cannot work onsite. You can collect essential equipment or supplies if they are necessary for working from home. A worker may also access the premises for carrying out emergency maintenance of necessary infrastructure, such as IT servers,” the DHSS said.
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“Only the worker required for the activity must attend and they must have a valid permit for the time required to complete the task. They cannot stay and work from the workplace.
“Mail should be sent and received electronically where possible. Physical mail should no longer be sent or received. If it is unavoidable, it should be diverted to workers’ homes or to a post office box.”
Under the government’s roadmap for reopening, most businesses, including the professional services sector, are not permitted to reopen until 26 October.
The timeline is dependent on the condition that average state-wide cases fall under five for the previous 14 days.
To aid businesses through the extended shutdown, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a new $3 billion support package that includes grants of up to $20,000.
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