At Amazon Australia we continue to put the health and safety of our people first, and are now offering voluntary onsite COVID-19 tests to workers at our fulfilment centre and delivery stations in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne as part of our efforts to keep our people safe during the pandemic.
The provisional onsite testing in Sydney enables our workforce to gain easier access to testing, and relieves some of the pressure on community COVID-19 testing sites. COVID-19 tests are performed by a reputable third party organisation, are voluntary, and are available for free to everyone who works at Amazon sites.
“Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our people, and we’ve invested heavily to ensure this since the pandemic began. Onsite testing complements the many safety measures already in place at our sites to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including strict social distancing, temperature monitoring, and wearing of masks," said Jane Bourke, Director Workplace Health and Safety APAC, who ran Amazon’s global COVID-19 safety response taskforce for 15 months in the USA before returning to Australia.
"Above all, the aim is to provide reassurance for our team, and providing easy access to regular testing for workers onsite helps with early identification and isolation of people who are asymptomatic and might be unknowingly transmitting the virus.”
In Sydney, onsite testing is available at our operational sites in Moorebank, Regents Park and Frenchs Forest. In Melbourne it is available at Ravenshall and Dandenong South and in Lytton, Brisbane.
Onsite testing complements the many safety measures already in place at our sites to prevent the spread of COVID-19"
Craig Fuller, Director of Operations said, "Our absolute priority is to create a safe environment and maintain privacy of the people who are getting tested. It has been well received by our teams in Sydney and we’re pleased that we’re now able to offer the same convenience to our workers in Brisbane and Melbourne.”
We have also introduced a vaccination benefit for our Australian frontline workforce: a special payment of $140 is available to eligible fulfillment centre and delivery station workers if they choose to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as recommended by the Government and on the advice of a health practitioner. We are also supporting our employees with access to paid or unpaid leave options to attend vaccination appointments.
Amazon has invested over $11.5 billion in COVID-19 related measures globally including:
- Mandatory social distancing guidelines of 2m to minimize close contact between workers, as well as staggering shifts
- Mandatory wearing of face coverings at all sites
- Temperature checks for all people entering our sites
- Frequent cleaning and disinfection of surfaces and commonly touched points in our buildings
- Up to two weeks paid leave for employees diagnosed with COVID-19, or placed into isolation by Amazon or the government.
Read more about how we prioritise the safety of our people here.
