March 30

Laing O’Rourke has made some changes to the way it is delivering the NSW bushfire clean-up program to ensure it can continue to be rolled out as quickly and as safely as possible.

COVID-19 is obviously having a significant impact on all parts of life at the moment. The changes have been designed to protect the health and safety of the community, contractors and our people, while also ensuring work can continue at pace.

The changes include:

• Pausing community and contractor information sessions and are exploring how these can be replaced with online sessions, webinars or 1:1 meetings, conducted at a safe distance.

• Changing the way we conduct initial site visits. In some cases, and with the consent of the landowner, these may now be undertaken without the landowner present. In others, the meeting can take place while observing social distancing requirements.

• Changing the way our staff members and contractors work. For example, our daily start work meetings are now taking place over the phone or outdoors observing social distancing.

• Ensuring our staff are taking extra precautions to stay safe. This includes providing hand sanitiser at all of our sites, encouraging staff to wash their hands regularly and thoroughly, to stay at home if they feel unwell, and to practice social distancing at all times.

While the virus presents a new challenge, Laing O’Rourke and the NSW and Australian governments are determined to maintain momentum and continue providing tangible help to fire-affected communities across NSW.

This is a constantly evolving challenge that we are all facing together. As the situation unfolds, we will continue to keep the community updated.

With these new measures in place, the Laing O’Rourke team has been busy getting on with the job.

Over the coming weeks you may see teams working on the North Coast at:

• Nymboida, Kangaroo Creek, Bungalwalbin, Bara Ridge, Camira, and areas around Kempsey and the Mid Coast.

At the same time, we will be contacting homeowners to discuss their requirements and book in a time for our team to inspect their property in the following locations:

• Northern NSW: Around the Mid Coast including Bobin, around the Clarence Valley, Glen Innes, South Arm, Taylors Arm, Yarranbella, and around Tenterfield.

Residents with questions about the clean-up process can contact Laing O’Rourke by calling 1800 007 539.