COVID-19 Latest updates

Keeping everyone safe during this time

We know that health and safety is front of mind for lots of our customers at the moment, and we want to let you know that we’re working closely with the Department of Health to ensure the most effective protection for both you and our team members in our stores during the COVID-19 situation.

Increased cleaning & sanitisation throughout our stores

We’ve added extra cleaning & sanitisation to high contact areas of the store, including trolleys, baskets, checkout areas and self-service screens. We ask all customers not to enter a store if they are unwell, to wash or sanitise their hands before entering stores, and to remind everyone to not touch their face unless your hands have been sanitised. The sanitisers we use at Coles have all been confirmed to kill coronavirus.

Not touching face & washing hands regularly

We have received questions about protective equipment in-store. To date, the Department of Health factsheet does not consider wearing gloves or masks to be necessary when shopping or at check-outs, and interactions in-store within social distancing guidelines are considered low risk. The Department of Health factsheet recommends washing hands regularly, using hand sanitiser and keeping a safe distance as the most effective ways of protecting yourself and others.

Keeping a safe distance

We’ll be adding signs around our stores and at the checkout area to help you follow social distancing guidelines. The length of a trolley (1.5m) is a good guide for the distance you should keep from other customers and team members, and we ask that you follow all directions signposted in-store on keeping a safe distance.

Less contact near the checkout

We’ll be making a few changes at our supermarket checkouts to help with social distancing. We’ll be asking you to queue at the marked signs in front of the checkout, along the belted area and when you’re packing. We’ll also ask you to pack your own bags to minimise both handling & close contact time. When paying, we recommend card payments instead of cash, and we encourage you to use tap and go to make checking out as easy as possible.

Making our bakery more convenient

We’ll be making a few changes to make our bakeries more convenient. Single item bakery goods such as in-store baked bread will be individually pre-wrapped, and for bread loaves, we’ll be stopping slicing on-demand to ensure better availability of pre-sliced options.

Finally, we’ll be regularly rotating our teams on checkouts throughout the day to help keep everyone safer. Please respect the guidelines we’re putting in place as your health and safety remains a priority for us.

Click here for more ways we can help stop the spread together.

ENSURING ALL CUSTOMERS HAVE ACCESS TO NECESSITIES

Our team members, suppliers and transport partners have been working hard to deliver more products to stores every day and we are stocking shelves as quickly as possible.

To continue to allow everyone the opportunity to purchase staple items, the following purchase limits are currently in place:

One pack per person:

• Toilet paper

Two items per person:

• Pasta
• Flour
• Dry rice
• Paper towels
• Paper tissues
• Hand sanitisers
• Eggs
• Frozen vegetables
• Frozen desserts
• Sugar
• UHT long-life milk
• Canned tomatoes
• Liquid soap
• Nappies

We will also be introducing some additional limits on certain items in each store. These can vary between stores, so please visit your local Coles for more information.

We are grateful to our team members and suppliers who are working tirelessly to do the best job possible under the circumstances, and we thank you for your understanding and support. Please continue to respect and support our team members, particularly if a product isn’t available or the checkout queues are longer than normal.

WE’RE OPEN 7AM TO 10PM EVERY DAY*

Our supermarkets will remain open 7am to 10pm every day*, with the first hour of trade on weekdays exclusively for Coles Community Hour. Once this hour is complete, all other customers will be invited through the doors to complete their grocery shop. Supermarkets will also close no later than 10pm to give our team members the time and space to extensively clean our stores and replenish the shelves for customers the next day.

*where state laws allow.

COLES COMMUNITY HOUR

Community Hour is held from Monday to Friday from 7am to 8am in all Coles supermarkets, for the following community members:

Starting Thursday 26 March, Tuesdays and Thursdays will be for emergency services and healthcare workers who:

• Can demonstrate they are registered with AHPRA;
• Have a workplace ID; or
• Are wearing their work uniform^.

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays Coles Community Hours will be for elderly customers and others in need of assistance who simply need to present a government-issued identification card including:

• Pensioner Concession Card
• Companion Card
• Commonwealth Seniors Health Card
• Health Care Card
• Seniors Card
• Disability Card

Store managers will use sensible discretion and compassion to ensure vulnerable customers who require access are able to complete their shopping during Community Hour.

Once this hour is complete, all other customers will be invited through the doors to complete their grocery shop.

For elderly or vulnerable people in our community unable to access supermarkets, there are charities throughout the country available to assist. To locate a charity in your area, please visit www.foodbank.org.auOpens in new window or www.askizzy.org.auOpens in new window . Please note, Foodbank does not supply food and groceries direct to the general public, but provides food and grocery relief to 2,400 charity agencies across Australia.

KEEPING EVERYONE SAFE DURING THIS TIME

We know that health and safety is front of mind for lots of our customers at the moment, and we want to let you know that we’re working closely with the Department of Health to ensure the most effective protection for both you and our team members in our stores during the COVID-19 situation.
Click here for recommendations on how we can stop the spread together.

UPDATE ON THE COLES REFUND AND RETURNS POLICY

From 13 March 2020, we have temporarily suspended our change-of-mind refund policy to discourage over-purchasing.

If you have already purchased additional items you no longer want, please consider donating them to community organisations like our long-standing partner, Foodbank, which will ensure they are directed to people in need. To confirm your local Foodbank is accepting donations, what they are accepting and their opening hours, visit www.foodbank.org.auOpens in new window.

NO RAIN CHECK

As we continue to see unprecedented demand in our stores, we will be temporarily suspending our in store ‘rain check’ policy to avoid any disappointment relating to product availability.

Thanks for your ongoing support and patience in these unprecedented times.

WE ARE EMPLOYING 5,000+ MORE AUSTRALIANS AND INVESTING IN OUR SUPPLY CHAIN

To help us continue to offer the best possible service to customers during this busy time, we are recruiting an additional 5,000 casual team members to join our supermarkets across Australia. This will allow us to serve more customers and replenish shelves faster. Click here to search and applyOpens in new window.

We are also actively working with other major employers and our unions to find job opportunities if they have been recently been forced to reduce team numbers.

We have in the last week also opened three new pop-up distribution centres in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria to create more jobs in our supply chain network. These centres will speed up getting more stock to stores. We will also continue to push ahead with our investment plans.

PROVIDING INCOME TO SHAREHOLDERS

On Friday we will be paying our interim dividend which will be returning over $400 million to shareholders. This will benefit millions of Australians either through direct shareholding, superannuation or index funds.

DONATING AN ADDITIONAL $1M A WEEK TO SECONDBITE AND FOODBANK

To give extra support to those who need it most right now, every week we’ll be donating additional food and household goods to the retail value of $1M to our charity partners SecondBite and Foodbank. These charities are focused on helping our most vulnerable communities during this challenging time, and this additional support will help boost our ongoing food donation program. Unfortunately, community centres are closing down making it more difficult to help those most at need.

NEW COLES ONLINE PRIORITY SERVICE (COPS)

Coles Online Priority Service (COPS) will be launching soon for customers who are unable to easily access a Coles Supermarket. This service will allow these customers to purchase their essential items online and have them delivered to their home.

More details will be announced shortly. Launch of this service will be phased to ensure we can meet the delivery needs of our customers most in need at this time.

Key information regarding COPS:

Products and orders

In order to ensure you have better availability on everyday items, we’ve reduced our range to help focus on the product categories you need the most. As a reminder, product limits in our supermarket network also apply to online orders.

Home Deliveries

• We have a selection of 3-hour and 6-hour home delivery windows available. Additionally, we’re offering a free 12-hour delivery window between 8am-8pm.
• As we focus on the safety of our customers and team members, deliveries to the kitchen bench have been suspended and all orders will be delivered to your doorstep.
• Unattended delivery is still available when placing your order. Our team member will try to locate a safe, discreet, weather-proof area to leave your order. You can also choose to leave a specific instruction when checking out.
• All orders will be delivered in Coles Better Bags, which are reusable or can be recycled. Standard bagging fee applies ($0.15 per bag).

Thank you again for your ongoing support during this time.