Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has moved to reinstate emergency pandemic leave payments until September 30, on the back of widespread criticism of their removal and a snap national cabinet meeting.
Key points:
- The $750 payments ended two weeks ago
- The Prime Minister's office has confirmed that payments will be backdated until July 1
- The payment would cost $780 million and be shared 50-50 between the Commonwealth and the states and territories
The pandemic payment scheme offers Australians who have tested positive to COVID-19 but do not have access to sick leave up to $750 in support, and will now be made available from Wednesday, backdated from July 1.
Speaking after national cabinet on Saturday, Mr Albanese said the decision was made in recognition of the risks associated with new, more infectious, COVID-19 variants.
"I want to make sure that people aren't left behind, that vulnerable people are looked after and that no-one is faced with the unenviable choice of not being able to isolate properly without losing an income and without being put in a situation that is very difficult," he said.
The payment is also available for people who need to stay home and care for a person with COVID-19, including children under 16 or a person with a disability, as well as close contacts.
The scheme ended last month despite warnings that millions of people would contract COVID-19 in the weeks ahead.
In recent days, there have been mounting calls from the opposition, the Greens, unions and medical groups for the government to reinstate the payments.
The Prime Minister defended not reinstating the payment earlier, maintaining he was following the timeline laid out by his predecessors.
"We didn't make the decision, the former government did in consultation with the states and territories," Mr Albanese said.
"We've responded collectively — the Commonwealth with states and territories — and that is appropriate."
Mr Albanese said reinstating the payment until September would cost $780 million and would be shared 50-50 between the Commonwealth and the states and territories.
Advocates, health experts and the peak body for Australian unions all welcomed the resumption of the scheme, arguing it was the best way to protect Australian workers from COVID-19.
"This is a really essential part of our defences as a country. It's about supporting everyone," Australian Council of Trade Unions Secretary Sally McManus said.
"We really welcome that the Prime Minister is backing workers to keep everyone safe at this time."
But Australian Medical Association (AMA) President Omar Khorshid argued the payments should never have stopped.
Acting Opposition Leader Sussan Ley accused the Prime Minister of being dragged "kicking and screaming" to the snap national cabinet meeting.
"Anthony Albanese needs to apologise to every casual worker who suffered stress as a result of this flip-flopping."
National cabinet to continue meeting regularly until September
The nation's leaders also shared updates on the COVID-19 situation in their states and territories at today's meeting, which had been brought forward by two days after Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly provided an emergency update on the pandemic.
National cabinet will continue to meet every two to three weeks until the end of September, with health experts expecting the current wave to peak in August.
The federal government will also reinstate emergency crisis payments for people on youth allowance or in severe financial hardship until the end of September, and will introduce a new temporary Medicare item, covering long consultations allowing GPs to prescribe COVID-19 antivirals until the end of October.
Medicare-funded telehealth sessions had also ended last month, but health groups had been calling for funding for the items to continue, arguing it had been a key part of the pandemic response.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) President Karen Price described the new Medicare item as a "temporary reprieve" but said it did not go far enough.
"I will say it until I am blue in the face, longer telehealth consultations via phone must be a permanent fixture of our telehealth system," Professor Price said.
"Anything less is not good enough as far as I'm concerned.
Masks indoors 'encouraged but not mandated'
The nation's leaders also agreed to provide consistent health messaging across each jurisdiction, encouraging Australians to wear masks indoors but stopping short of mandating them.
Dr Khorshid said the nation's leaders needed to continue to monitor the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation, and respond as necessary.
"If we get to a situation where mask mandates are required in order to slow the spread in the community and make sure there's a hospital bed available for any of us who might need it tomorrow, if that's the decision that's necessary, then that's the decision the premiers should make and they should be supported by the Commonwealth government in doing that," he said.
The federal government is also standing firm on its decision to stop providing free rapid antigen tests for concession card holders, but the Prime Minister said there was no shortage of free RAT stocks across the country to support the public health response.
Following national cabinet, South Australia announced it would provide 10 free RATs over a three-month period for concession-card holders, while New South Wales has already done the same.
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2022-07-16 02:12:09Z
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