Mandatory isolation period to end across Australia

By Tara Atley

Oct 2, 2022

Isolation rules lifted: Prime minister Anthony Albanese with chief medical officer professor Paul Kelly. Photo: Mick Tsikas Photo by AAP Newswire

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced at a national cabinet meeting on September 30 that the five-day quarantine period will be lifted for those who do not work in high-risk settings.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

Mr Albanese said all states and territories will end their respective mandatory isolation requirements from October 14, with the exception of aged care, disability and health care staff.

He said there would now be a strong emphasis on vaccination rather than isolation.

“We wanted to make sure we have measures that are proportionate and are targeted towards the most vulnerable,” Mr Albanese said.

“We want to continue to promote vaccinations as being absolutely critical, including people getting booster shots.”

Chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly, who was present at the meeting with Mr Albanese, said the virus would almost certainly peak in the future.

“However, at the moment, we have very low rates of both cases, hospitalisations, intensive care admissions, aged-care outbreaks and various other measures,” he said.

Pandemic leave disaster payments will also cease at that time.