The Property Council of Australia has welcomed the NSW Government's decision to end isolation requirements for close contacts, provided they have no symptoms and comply with relevant health guidelines.
Property Council's NSW Executive Director Luke Achterstraat said sensible measures that return normality to our lives and the economy were warmly welcome.
"It is well over two years since the first case of COVID was detected on our shores and with vaccination rates at very high levels it is an appropriate time to ease this isolation setting," Mr Achterstraat said.
"The property and construction industries rolled its sleeves up to undertake a highly effective sector-led vaccine rollout, proudly playing our part in the journey to living with COVID."
Mr Achterstraat said that with labour shortages becoming more acute, the need to ensure COVID settings were fit-for-purpose was a high priority.
"Labour shortages have been a huge concern for businesses, and strict isolation requirements provide a challenge for labour-intensive industries when planning their rosters and workforce arrangements," he said.
"Sensible measures that allow healthy workers back to work support our recovery and insert a sense of business-as-usual back in our lives.
"To be clear this does not mean throwing caution to wind, compliance with health guidelines is critical as is adherence to COVID-19 safety measures put in place by employers."
Mr Achterstraat said return to office momentum was building significantly.
"Office occupancy rates have continued to double each month this year, reaching some 41 per cent in March, compared to 7 per cent in January. Our CBDs are getting their buzz back," he said.
"This follows on from the free public transport levy until April 26 and the Easter weekend where four million people went on holiday and over 80,000 people went to the Royal Easter show on Monday.
"It is safe to say the community has voted with its feet to demonstrate they are not disproportionately fearful of COVID and want to explore our cities and regions."
