*****IMPORTANT ADVICE FOR ALL HONORARY JUSTICES FROM RVAHJ******
Revised RVAHJ Office Service – During Stage 3 Extension
The Stage 3 Shutdown extension for greater Melbourne area and some relaxation for regional Victoria due to the Coronavirus has been released by the Government on the 3rd June 21, the RVAHJ update on the range of changes to the way we operate is as follows as advice to members:
Elwood Office
The Association Office in Elwood is operating with continued limit services until the Stage 3 (extension) restrictions in Melbourne are removed or relaxed:
- We are no longer providing witnessing and certification services from Elwood
- Phone calls are diverted to the answering machine and checked regularly
- Email to [email protected] is the best way to communicate with the office
- Association operations for members are still functional and we are operating “business as usual” in most instances
- For urgent issues or concerns, members should call the President on 0418 885 122, Secretary on 0458 222 673 or reach out to any of the other Board Members
The implemented comprehensive Covid 19 Safe Plan for the Elwood Office is will continue to be used as restrictions ease for the Elwood office.
Honorary Justices – Stage 3 Restrictions
DSS’s are expected to continue to be closed during the restrictions for the greater Melbourne area as all police stations, community based and commercial (shopping) locations will also be closed. DSS located in regional areas that are located in community based locations and police stations will need to check with the person in charge to get approval to reopen. It is expected that many of these locations will continue to remain closed until the Health emergency is over for all of Victoria.
For those locations that are able to reopen and provide services to the public will need to do so following the Health Departments guidelines of social distancing, wearing of masks at all times and also ensuring the clients logging in to the Vic Gov QR system.
It is most likely that the DSS host venue will have already implemented the QR Code system for your location. Please ensure that you are familiar with the requirements, and it will be a requirement that you ask and confirm with the client that they have checked in. The easiest way of doing this is to ask to see the ’green’ tick on their mobile phone to confirm registration on the system.
For those locations that do not have the Vic Gov QR code it will be necessary to create one for your location. The RVAHJ has already registered with the Vic Gov QR system and please contact [email protected] if you need one organised for your location. Please have the following info available, i.e. venue address, contact person name, contact number and email address; who will be the first point of communication with contact tracers if the need arises.
Remote (Online) Witnessing
The RVAHJ remote witnessing service has been very busy with a lot of requests coming through on the website contact us page. As a result, we have just increased the number of hours and days for the service to include Monday to Friday for on average 4 hours per day. Please refer the public to this service as needed via the following link https://www.rvahj.org.au/remote-witnessing/ we will continue to review additional times and days based on demand.
Note that Certified True Copies, Medical Treatment Decision Makers and Advanced Care Directives cannot be remotely witnessed.
Official Announcements
The following Gov Announcements provide additional detailed information and guidelines for the current Stage 3 lockdown.
STATEMENT FROM THE ACTING PREMIER
Click here to ” down load ” statement
7 DAY CIRCUIT BREAKER EXTENSION RESTRICTIONS
Click here to ” down load ” restrictions summary
Once again we thank all JPs and BJs for your incredible commitment to the local community during this difficult time. Please keep up the great work – those who are unable to witness and those who can. But above all things, stay safe and look after yourself and your family.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Mracek JP FRVAHJ
President, RVAHJ