A Buninyong business has been charged by the state government for allegedly failing to maintain COVID-safe practices during the height of the pandemic.
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Barmana Pty Ltd was charged by the Department of Justice and Community Safety for failing to comply with a direction to have a COVIDSafe plan in place and failing to "prominently display signage at each entrance" on August 30, 2021, and again on October 13 for failing to have a COVIDSafe plan in place.
The charges were officially filed in February, according to court documents seen by The Courier.
It's understood Barmana Pty Ltd is trading as Chocalatto on Warrenheip Street, according to publicly-available ASIC documents.
A prosecutor from DJPR briefly appeared for a contest mention at the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Wednesday - representatives from the accused were not present.
A summary was not read out in court, and the prosecutor requested more time to serve the full brief.
The case will return to court on July 28 for further mention.
According to the state government, "(i)ndividuals can be liable for fines of up to $10,904 for breaching a pandemic order or direction through the court system, and businesses can face fines of up to $54,522" - failure to have a COVIDSafe Plan in place or comply with a requirement of a COVIDSafe plan can attract a fine of $2181 for individuals or sole traders, or $10,904 for companies or body corporates.
Ballarat was repeatedly placed into lockdown in 2021 as cases surged - right now, more than 95 per cent of residents have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 78.5 per cent have had a booster shot.
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