COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) Act 2020

• Empowers the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Attorney-General to make regulations removing or modifying the application of Justice Act provisions in relation to court and tribunal proceeding arrangements, inquiries by integrity bodies, bail processes, processes for issuing warrants, decisions, findings and court orders, and the processes by which documents are certified, served, lodged and witnessed.
• Regulations can only be made under this section if consistent with the advice of the Chief Health Officer or directions made by authorised officers about COVID-19 under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008, and if reasonable.
• Consultation must occur between the Attorney-General and the relevant Minister when recommending the making of a regulation under this section in certain circumstances.
• Consent from relevant heads of court or tribunals, or integrity entities, must also be sought when a proposed regulation to modify a Justice Act provision relates to those bodies in certain circumstances.
• Upon the repeal of Part 2.1 in 6 months' time, the regulations will be revoked, if not revoked earlier.
• The regulations cannot override the COVID -19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) Act 2020, Constitution Act 1975 or the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006.

Regulation making power

• The Governor in Council can make regulations to implement the leasing principles set out in the National Cabinet Mandatory Code of Conduct–SME Commercial Leasing Principles During COVID-19.
• The regulations will temporarily modify laws relating to retail leases and non-retail commercial leases and licences.
• Subject to the regulations, eligible leases (and other associated legislation) will continue to have effect.
• The regulations may cover: prohibiting termination of an eligible lease, changing a period of an eligible lease, changing or limiting any other right of a landlord under an eligible lease, and a range of other situations set out in section 15.
• The regulations may also confer a function, power, or duty on specified persons or bodies.
• The regulations may have a retrospective effect to 29 March 2020.

Operation of the regulations

• Any regulations made by the Governor in Council must be on the recommendation of the Minister for Small Business, following consultation with the Minister for Jobs, Innovation and Trade.
• Upon the repeal of Part 2.2 in 6 months' time, the regulations will be revoked, if not revoked earlier.
• The Small Business Commission can make arrangements to facilitate dispute resolution by mediation.
• The Small Business Commission will also monitor compliance with the regulations, and commence proceedings for offences against the regulations.
• The State will not pay compensation in respect of loss, damage or injury resulting from the making of a regulation.

• Temporary measures under this Part allow for deponents of authorised affidavits to sign affidavits, jurats and other documents by electronic means.
• Requirements that deponents be in the presence of other people when signing documents is satisfied by this being done via audio or audiovisual links.
• Electronic or scanned hard copies of documents can be signed or initialled, as opposed to original copies.
• If things are done by electronic means, affidavit takers must state this in the jurat, i.e. that the affidavit was signed or initialled by electronic means, that specified things were done by means of audio or audiovisual link, or that the document is a scanned hard copy or electronic copy.
• Courts may admit affidavits into evidence if compliance with any such requirements cannot be met for reasons of practicality.

• Persons are not required to appear before the court in relation to certain proceedings for interim accommodation orders, and the court may deal with the matter in the absence of the person.
• Various procedures to facilitate with social distancing measures and public health advice have been changed. This includes reforms to enable greater use of audiovisual and audio link in Children's Court proceedings and out of court processes to reduce the need for physical attendance.
• Flexibility in the personal service of documents with various alternatives.
• The Children's Court has greater flexibility to determine the location of the Court and the place of a hearing, which will help to manage case flow and enable social distancing.
• The Act clarifies when remote attendance in Children's Court proceedings is permissible, and minimises the need for individuals to attend court in person.
• The Act specifies measures that will satisfy reporting requirements for sentences or parole orders imposed under the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005.

• The Tribunal is empowered to make rules regulating the practice and procedure of VCAT without the Rules Committee being 'at a meeting' in the physical sense. The quorum for such meetings is set at four.
• VCAT is allowed to decide on the procedure to make Rules other than at a meeting.

• Courts and tribunals may put public health measures in place for hearings to reduce the risk of transmission, by making 'modified access and procedure orders' (MAP orders).
• Courts and tribunals do not breach any rule of law by using electronic alternatives (such as an audiovisual broadcast) to open hearings and deliver judgements.

Chapter 3, Part 3.10 Amendment of Family Violence Protections Act 2008

Chapter 3, Part 3.15 Amendment of Personal Safety Intervention Orders Act 2010

• Provides additional powers to registrars in criminal proceedings to more efficiently manage the listing and re-listing of criminal matters as a consequence of COVID-19. These include powers to adjourn criminal proceedings and change the time or place at which a criminal proceeding is listed.
• The Act outlines the circumstances in which an accused person can be remanded for more than 8 days.

• Bail undertaking may be made before a registrar or deputy registrar of the Children's Court.
• Legal practitioner or another person empowered by law may appear in court on behalf of a person for purposes of the Bail Act.
• Appearance by audio visual link or audio link permitted for the purposes of the Bail Act.

• The Supreme Court and County Court may order trial by judge alone for Victorian offences, where the accused consents and it is in the interests of justice. (Does not apply to Cth indictable offences)
• Courts may decide an expanded range of issues in a criminal proceedings 'on the papers' during the pandemic, without consent of the parties if satisfied it is in the interests of justice to do so.
• New provisions to "attend" hearings by audio visual link or video link.
• Increased flexibility for personal service with greater range of options.

• A person may apply for a 'time served order' or for a Magistrates Court order under s 171C as soon as reasonably practicable whether or not in custody.
• Time limits for registration of fines under s 17 Fines Reform Act 2014 changed from 6 months to 12 months.

• Fitness to stand trial is to be determined by a judge alone.
• Special hearing may be determined by a judge alone.
• Various other changes to these procedures which replace the CMI Act procedures, including:
• Court may call evidence on its own motion; and
• If the accused is not fit to stand trial and is not likely to be fit within 12 months, the special hearing must occur within 6 months.
• Reviews of supervision orders and applications for variation or revocation of supervision orders may be determined 'on the papers' without the appearance of the parties.

• The Secretary to the Department of Justice and Community Safety and each prison Governor has new powers to:
• prohibit or restrict prison visits;
• order all prisoners who are transferred from legal custody to a prison to be held in protective isolation quarantine for a period of up to 14 days;
• order the separation, protective quarantine or isolation of a prisoner from some or all other prisoners;
• order the lockdown of part or whole of a prison, and
• facilitate or arrange for a prisoner to be medically examined and treated for the purposes of preventing, detecting or mitigating the risk of COVID-19 or related health risks, with the informed consent of the prisoner.

• A second alternate chairperson of the Youth Parole Board may be appointed and the eligibility criteria for the positions of chair and alternate chair have been expanded.
• Pre-sentence reports can be given orally.
• The Secretary to the Department of Justice and Community Safety or the officer in charge of a remand centre, youth residential centre or youth justice centre have the power to authorise the isolation of a person for the purposes of the detection, prevention or mitigation of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Various entitlements are set out in the Act where a person is placed in isolation (e.g. access to outdoors and undertake outdoor recreation activities). Reasonable force may be used to place a person in isolation.

• Consultation, and the preparation of regulatory impact statements, generally required to take place under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 for any proposed statutory rule are disapplied in relation to:
• Rules made by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Attorney-General modifying or disapplying Justice Act provisions and subordinate instruments made under them regulating court and tribunal processes and arrangements under s4;
• Regulations made by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister for Small Business modifying the law relating to certain retail leases and non-retail commercial leases under s15;
• Regulations made by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister prescribing a Residential Tenancies Dispute Resolution Scheme under s603;
• Regulations made by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister making provision for the purposes of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to various residential tenancy matters under s609; and
• Regulations made by the Governor in Council dealing with transitional matters.

Chapter 2, Part 2.1 - Regulations temporarily modifying Justice Acts and laws

Chapter 2, Part 2.2 - Regulations temporarily modifying law relating to retail leases and non-retail commercial leases and licenses,

Chapter 4, Part 4.1 - Temporary measures relating to residential tenancies,

Chapter 6, Part 6.1 - Transitional regulations

See Subordinate Legislation Act 1994

• Enables members to attend and participate in meetings of Joint Investigatory Committees by audio or audiovisual link.
• Allows for members attending by video link to be considered 'present' for the purposes of quorums and voting on any questions arising.

• Allows for members of a Council or other persons required to attend meetings (such as members of governing bodies or special committees) under the Local Government Act 2020 to do so by electronic means.
• The relevant meetings are:
  • Council meetings
  • join meetings of Council
  • meetings of delegated committees or joint delegated committees
  • meetings of a governing body of a regional library
  • meetings of special committees.
• Allows for requirements under the Local Government Act 2020 that meetings be open to the public to be satisfied by meetings being streamed on the internet or recorded and made available soon after such meetings, unless it is considered necessary to close the meeting.

• Empowers the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority to extend existing registration for RTOs and providers of accredited senior secondary courses and qualifications for a period of up to six months.
• Empowers the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) to extend the existing registration of teachers for up to six months.
• The VIT can serve disciplinary notice by electronic means.

• New section 2 substituted, providing for a new commencement date of the majority of provisions in the Environment Protection Amendment Act 2018 being inserted into the Environment Protection Act 2017 (Principal Act). This in effect delays commencement of the Environment Protection Amendment Act 2018.
• Section 19 and Part 3 of the Principal Act have already come into effect.
• Balance of provisions to be inserted in the Principal Act now due to commence on a date to be proclaimed, but no later than 1 December 2021.
• Government has indicated its intention to for the outstanding provisions to be proclaimed and commence on 1 July 2021.

• Requirements to make documents available for inspection now taken to be satisfied if available for free on the designated entity's website, subject to the redaction of personal information.
• Requirements relating to notices issued by designated authorities to be available to be inspected can be satisfied by publication on the entity's website.
• Panel hearings now taken to be conducted in public if capable of being viewed for free electronically by the public, either live or soon after the hearing.
• Persons appearing before the panel may now appear by electronic means.

• From 1 December 2019 until six months after the commencement of the Act, weekly payments must not be terminated on the sole ground of the second entitlement period expiring, unless a worker is given 39 weeks' notice (rather than the previous notice requirement of 13 weeks) of a determination.
• The determination must also have been made in the period from 1 December 2019 to six months after the commencement of the Act.

• The Minister has a temporary declaratory power to suspend enforcement provisions relating to non-compliance with the set ratio or ratio variation of nurses and midwives in hospitals for the period specified in the declaration and subject to any conditions or exceptions contained in the declaration.
• The Minister can only exercise this power if they consider compliance with set ratios would be impracticable due to COVID-19 and after consulting with at least one relevant union and a representative body.
• Operators of hospitals subject to a such a declaration must continue, as far as practicable, to staff the hospital in a manner that takes into account the safety of patients and staff.
• A declaration can be revoked if the Minister considers it is not impracticable for a ratio or ratio variation to be complied with due to COVID-19, after consulting with at least one relevant union and a representative body.

Chapter 5, Part 5.6

- Amendment to Safe Patient Care (Nurse to Patient and Midwife to Patient Ratios) Act 2015

Provisions for tenancy agreements, rooming houses, caravan parks, site agreements and Specialist Disability Accommodation

• Rent or hiring charge increases are prohibited.
• There is no breach of duties or terms under an agreement if that breach was due to a 'COVID-19 reason'.
• Landlords and owners are prohibited from giving 'notices to vacate'.
• Tenants can provide landlords a notice of intention to vacate under certain conditions, such as suffering severe hardship.
• Parties may apply to VCAT to:
  • reduce rent or to vary terms of their agreement.
  • terminate agreements or make a possession order in certain circumstances.

Listing information on residential tenancy databases

Landlords cannot list a person's information in a residential tenancy database for non-payment of rent due to a COVID-19 reason.

Residential Tenancies Dispute Resolution Scheme

• The Act establishes the office of the chief dispute resolution officer to administer the Residential Tenancies Dispute Resolution Scheme. The Scheme will be prescribed by regulation.
• In the second reading speech it was noted that where parties cannot resolve a residential tenancy dispute, the matter will be referred to the Dispute Settlement of Victoria which can make binding orders. If the order is breached the matter can be referred to VCAT.

Regulations

• The Governor in Council may make regulations for a wide range of matters relating to residential tenancies.

Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2018

• The Act defers the implementation of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2018 by six months to 1 January 2021 or earlier by proclamation.
• Brings forward reforms in the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2018 related family violence or personal violence.