Cyclone Alfred Update: Resources and Support

With Cyclone Alfred expected to make landfall in the next days, bringing strong winds and heavy rains in its wake, we hope you, your families, and employees are all staying safe throughout this severe weather event.

MPAQ will endeavour to continue providing support to members during this time. However, as our offices are located in Brisbane, we may also experience disruptions in our operations. If during the cyclone period you try to call the office and are unable to get through, here are some email addresses to send your queries to and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Membership concerns - membership@mpaq.com.au
HR and employment advice - advice@mpaq.com.au
Technical advice - technical@mpaq.com.au
Training queries - training@mpaq.com.au
Event queries - events@mpaq.com.au
General inquiries - info@mpaq.com.au

We have prepared some resources below that may assist you and your business.

Our thoughts and wishes are with you during this time. For urgent assistance, visit www.qld.gov.au/disasterhelp or phone the Queensland Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349. Stay safe!

Navigating the Cyclone: Employer Rights and Obligations

With workplace disruptions certain, employers need to understand their rights and obligations under the Fair Work Act 2009 and Work Health and Safety laws, while also considering provisions in Industrial Instruments such as Enterprise Agreements and Modern Awards.

MPAQ has put together some information that will help employers navigate the following key areas:

• When can employees be stood down and will there be payments?
• Workplace closure versus employee's inability to travel 
• Business decision to close versus business cannot operate 
• Stand down versus inclement weather 
• What will employees use: annual leave or personal leave?

Circumstances may differ and you may have questions specific to your needs. For further information or advice, please call the MPAQ HR Advisory team on 07 3273 0800 or email advice@mpaq.com.au. 

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Ensuring Sites are Secure

Please ensure you have appropriate precautions to prepare your worksite from weather and gusty winds. (Information provided by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland)

• Check fences are secure and lock all gates / entries.
• Post emergency contact information on site fencing.
• Remove or secure items that may blow about in extreme weather, including loose tools, materials such as sand, soil, cement, gravel, and equipment.
• Secure floor openings with barricades or covers.
• Cover, backfill or otherwise protect trenches and excavations.
• Brace unfinished or temporary structures.
• Remove scaffolding, ladders, shoring and formwork if possible.
• Remove or secure (out of direct sunlight) flammable liquids and compressed gas cylinders.
• Secure, fence-off and lock tower crane bases.
• Set tower cranes to weather-vane.
• Close windows and lock heavy machinery and cabs before removing the keys.
• Store or position other equipment at its lowest potential energy state.
• You should also roster on a list of standby personnel, and obtain after-hours phone numbers from all relevant subcontractors, in case you need to arrange emergency repairs after a severe storm (e.g. scaffolding).

Emergency Hotlines and Resources

• First aid and emergency plan information
• The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) for the latest weather warnings and forecasts.
• Get Ready Queensland for practical advice on storm preparation, including a video on what to expect in a Category 1 or 2 cyclone: Tropical Cyclone Alfred
• Cyclone Alfred Disaster Management page for current warnings
• Your local council dashboard for updates on local conditions, road closures, and emergency alerts.
• In an emergency, ABC Emergency will provide regular warnings on ABC Radio. You can also find a map of current warnings and detailed information.
• Emergency alert messages are sent from: +61 444 444 444 These messages are not a scam and are official text messages from the Queensland State Disaster Coordination Centre as part of the national geo-targeting emergency alert system