From Saturday, December 5, certain businesses or venues will need to record the name, phone number, date and arrival time of staff, patrons, volunteers and contractors.
Businesses will retain these records only for the purpose of Department of Health COVID-19 contact tracing  and will keep the information for 28 days.
Businesses can maintain their contact register through booking systems, QR codes, and written contact records. SafeWA is a free app endorsed by the Department of Health to provide businesses with a digital contact register system. Customers that download the free app enter their details once and can then use it at multiple businesses using the State-wide SafeWA QR code system. Data is encrypted at the point of capture, stored securely and only accessible by authorised Department of Health contact tracing personnel, should COVID-19 contact tracing be necessary. 
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Businesses or venues in the creative and leisure sectors required to keep a contact register include:

• food and licenced venues (restaurants, cafés, bars, pubs, taverns, nightclubs);
• gyms, indoor sporting centres and pools;
• galleries and museums;
• cinemas, theatres and other entertainment venues;
• community facilities, libraries and halls;
• zoos and amusement parks;
• function centres; and
• accommodation facilities that already have check-in arrangements in place (i.e. hostels, hotels, large camp grounds).

 
Read the full media statement here.

Heritage Minister David Templeman and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt used the backdrop of NAIDOC Week to honour one of the most significant winners of the 2020 WA Heritage Awards. The Lock Hospital Working Group and two of its members - Bob Dorey and Kathleen Musulin - were presented with five awards they won in the prestigious awards program earlier this year. In traditional dress and ceremony, Bob Dorey honoured the many Aboriginal men, women and children of the Bernier and Dorre Islands' Lock Hospitals.

The Lock Hospitals saw the incarceration of hundreds of Aboriginal people forcibly removed from country and transported to the islands for treatment of venereal disease. Over 10 years, it is estimated that more than 200 Aboriginal prisoner patients died on the islands. The community project was established to protect and share traumatic stories of the lock hospitals and acknowledge the impact of this traumatic chapter on local Aboriginal culture and generational wellbeing. A memorial statue on the Carnarvon coast, Don't Look at the Islands, and an interpretive Path of Pain were produced as part of the project to allow for truth-telling and healing for the communities involved. 

Winners of the 2020 WA Heritage Awards were announced in June and the Lock Hospital Working Group were joint winners in the Contribution by a community-based organisation category, along with the Goldfields Aboriginal Languages Centre. 

Two nationally recognised short courses, the Pool Lifeguard Skill Set and the Swimming and Water Safety Teacher Skill Set have been developed to fast track participants into entry level pool lifeguarding and swimming instructor roles in time for the West Australian aquatic sector’s busy summer period.

The demand for these courses (which are free to eligible applicants) was identified by Royal Life Saving WA who are anticipating higher than usual demand in metropolitan and regional swimming pools as people holiday at home over the summer months. 

The Swimming and Water Safety Teacher Skill Set includes water rescue techniques, water familiarisation and buoyancy and a range of swimming strokes. The Pool lifeguard skill set will include water rescue, first aid training and supervision in an aquatic environment.

Royal Lifesaving WA will deliver these new ‘job ready’ courses which also provide a pathway to full qualifications.   For further information please refer to www.jobsandskills.wa.gov.au.

​In addition, secondary school students now have the opportunity to receive fully funded training to become qualified swimming instructors for the Department of Education’s VacSwim program. www.education.wa.edu.au/swimming-lessons.