As announced by the Victorian Government, from Thursday 6 August there will be a number of significant changes at Woodgrove as Stage 4 restrictions are introduced across metropolitan Melbourne. These changes will be in place for at least six weeks.

The Victorian Government has stated that shopping centres can remain open during this time. As such, Woodgrove remains open, operating at significantly reduced levels to provide access to permitted retail for our community, should you choose to visit us.

The Stage 4 restrictions will see many of our retailers temporarily close for at least six weeks. The following essential goods and services are permitted to continue to trade during this time:

• Supermarkets and grocery shops, including all food and liquor shops
• Convenience stores and newsagents
• Pharmacies
• Medical centres for appointments that cannot be undertaken virtually
• Retailers working onsite for the purposes of fulfilling online orders
• Restaurants and cafes for delivery and contactless takeaway only
• Bank branches
• Medicare and/or Centrelink
• Locksmiths
• Laundry and dry cleaners
• Telecommunication services
• Maternity supplies
• Post offices
• Fuel retailing
• Hardware, building and garden supplies retailing for tradespeople
• Specialist stationery services for business use
• Disability and health equipment, mobility services
• Security services
• Building maintenance, cleaning
• Road transport (i.e. freight and couriers)

Although these retailers are permitted to trade, some may make the decision to temporarily close or otherwise reduce their hours. We encourage you to visit https://woodgrove.qicgre.com/Articles/2020/03/COVID-19-and-Store-Updates for the most recent information on individual retailers’ trading hours.

Please note that our café and restaurant retailers are permitted to remain open, offering takeaway and home delivery services only. Details of café and restaurant retailers offering takeaway and food delivery is available here.

All other stores are considered non-essential under the Stage 4 restrictions and must close for trade from Thursday 6 August. For further detail on the business restrictions announced by the Victorian Government, we encourage you to visit https://www.vic.gov.au/coronavirus-covid-19-restrictions-victoria. 

Don’t forget that you can also take advantage of our Order & Collect service, which lets you order from your preferred retailer and have your shopping delivered directly to your car. To find out more, click here.

Mandatory Face Coverings

If you choose to visit us during this time, please remember that you must wear a face covering at all times when visiting our Centre, unless:

• You are under 12
• You have a medical condition that prohibits the wearing of a face covering
• It’s not practical
• For professional reasons.

To help keep our entire community safe, please be sure to bring an appropriate face covering with you when you next visit Woodgrove.

Thank you for your ongoing patience and understanding as we all adjust to these rigorous new measures and navigate the changes together with kindness and compassion.

Keeping our community safe

As has been the case throughout the entire COVID-19 crisis, the health and wellbeing of our customers, staff, retailers and contractors is our number one priority. This is more important now than ever before.

We continue to implement and maintain stringent precautionary measures to keep our entire community safe. These include:

• A strengthened focus on disinfecting commonly touched areas, sanitising high-touch points with high-grade disinfectant throughout the Centre.
• Positioning permanent hand sanitisation stations at key points throughout the Centre.
• Placing Australian Government-issued information posters in our bathrooms, which outline crucial information on how you can help stop the spread of COVID-19.
• Rolling out public hygiene advertisements across the Centre, reinforcing the preventative measures each of us should adopt.
• Installing signage and floor decals across parts of the Centre, reminding our community to keep 1.5 metres between themselves and others at all times, including when queuing or moving through the Centre.
• Adjusting air-conditioning systems to maximise the intake of fresh air, ensuring that quality air is circulated throughout the Centre.
• Reminding our community to adhere to government mandates to wear a face covering while outside of the home, unless there’s a valid reason not to.
• Working closely with our retail partners to help ensure that we are all playing our part to keep our shared environments safe.

While we are doing what we can to help protect the health of our community, we all have a part to play in keeping our community safe, and that means:

• Practise social distancing while you’re at the Centre and always keep at least 1.5 metres between yourself and others.
• Maintain a high level of personal hygiene. Wash your hands regularly (take advantage of our hand sanitisation stations located throughout the Centre) and safely cover your cough or sneeze.
• Wear a face covering, unless you have a valid reason not to, and follow all government directives and advice.
• Most importantly, stay at home if you are feeling unwell, are awaiting test results, or are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms.

As always, we are closely monitoring public health updates and are prepared to act quickly should the advice change. Once again, the health and safety of our community is our overriding priority.

Trading Hours

During the Stage 4 restrictions, our Centre’s trading hours are as follows:

Monday: 9am - 5:30pm
Tuesday: 9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday: 9am - 5:30pm
Thursday: 9am - 5:30pm
Friday: 9am - 5:30pm
Saturday: 9am - 5pm
Sunday: 10am - 5pm

Customer Service Desk

Due to Stage 4 restrictions Woodgrove have temporarily closed the Customer Service Desk. All Customer Service facilities will continue to remain available online via our website or through Centre Management. Please click here for a list of Guest Services. 

Planning your visit 

As part of the Stage 4 restrictions, you can only travel up to 5km from your home to shop for necessary goods and services, and only one person from your household can leave home to shop once per day. Please keep this in mind if you are planning on visiting Woodgrove for your essential needs. For more information on the Stage 4 restrictions, we encourage you to visit https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/stage-4-restrictions-covid-19.

If you’re planning on visiting Woodgrove for your essential shopping, it’s important to plan your trip in advance to help keep our community safe. Here are some things to think about when planning your visit:

1. Avoid visiting the Centre at peak times
2. Check store trading hours and individual conditions of entry in advance
3. Pre-book health and other appointments
4. Wear a face covering
5. Most importantly, if you are feeling unwell or are awaiting test results, stay at home.

To find out more, click here.