Pursuant to clause 24 of the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Alert Level Requirements) Order (No 9) 2021 (“Order”), the Director-General of Health may exempt a class of persons, businesses, services, or goods (or any person, business, service, or goods) from the application of any provision of the Order or from the requirement to comply with any provision of the order.

Being satisfied that the exemption is necessary or desirable to promote the purposes of the Act or the purposes of the Order, and the extent of the exemption is not broader that is reasonably necessary, I grant an exemption to:

1. Suppliers of solid fuel sold in bulk, excluding retailers, are exempt from the requirement to have systems and processes in place to ensure that no customers or clients enter the workplace under clause 20(a)(i) of the Order for customers who are otherwise unable to access bulk supplies of solid fuel for residential use in compliance with Alert Level 4 restrictions.
2. Customers of suppliers of solid fuel sold in bulk are exempt from the requirement to stay at home under clause 15(1) of the Order where it is necessary for them to leave their home or place of residence in order to collect bulk supplies of solid fuel for residential use where they are otherwise unable to access such supplies in compliance with Alert Level 4 restrictions.

Conditions

The exemptions are subject to the following conditions:

1. The supplier must comply with all requirements under the Order for Alert Level 4 businesses permitted to have customers on its premises in relation to customers permitted to enter the workplace under this exemption.
2. The supplier must comply with all requirements under the Order for Alert Level 4 businesses not permitted to have customers on its premises in relation to all other customers.
3. Customers must remain in their vehicles on-site.
4. Staff must remain two metres or more away from customers, and customers at least two metres away from each other.
5. Where possible, suppliers must stagger collections to ensure that as few customers as possible are on-site at any one time.
6. The supplier must have systems and processes in place to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable that both staff members and customers wear face coverings onsite.
7. Collection of bulk solid fuels is only made available to customers where delivery is not available (i.e. customers do not live in an area where solid fuel providers can deliver to them or their local provider does not deliver).
8. Collection may only be made from bulk solid fuel suppliers, not from retailers.
9. The supplier must have systems and processes in place to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable that each person who enters the workplace:
   1. scans the QR code for the workplace, whereby the supplier must have one or more QR codes within or nearby the premises that can be scanned by a customer from their vehicle; or
   2. provides details in a contact tracing record that the person in control of the workplace collects.
10. Payment is made by contactless payment.

Dated this 27th day of August 2021.

Dr ASHLEY BLOOMFIELD, Te Tumu Whakarae mō te Hauora, Director-General of Health.