The federal government will fund construction of a purpose-built quarantine hub in Victoria, but a site for the facility has not yet been chosen.

Victoria's Acting Premier James Merlino said the state had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Commonwealth over the new centre. The state government's preference is for the new centre to be built at Mickleham, but Avalon is also being discussed as a potential site. "I am very pleased that today, we have reached agreement, both the PM and I have signed a memorandum of understanding and we are going to get cracking and deliver this facility," Mr Merlino said.
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Earlier in the week Mr Morrison said the proposal was not "stacking up" and that he wanted further details from the Queensland government. "We've written to them and they won't tell us how much it costs," he told ABC Radio Brisbane on Tuesday. "They won't tell us whether they're going to run the facility. "They won't tell us whether it's being in addition to bringing Australians home — so supplementing what is already being done — or is to replace it?"

At a press conference on Friday, Ms Palaszczuk rejected suggestions the Wellcamp quarantine proposal was 15 pages long and lacked detail.
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Stand-alone Quarantine Facilities - Commonwealth Partnership Assessment Criteria

Today, the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding to progress negotiations on Victoria’s proposal for an alternative quarantine hub.The MoU formalises the principles agreed between the Commonwealth and Victoria to guide negotiations, including covering potential ownership of the facility, operating costs, and other key elements. The Victorian Government will be responsible for operation including operational costs and the Commonwealth will support capital costs. The MoU does not specify a site for the facility with both the Avalon site and the Mickleham site under active consideration.

The Commonwealth also tabled ‘Key Assessment Criteria’ the Commonwealth will use to assess any proposals for purpose-built quarantine facilities provided by state and territory governments seeking Commonwealth support.

Key considerations include that a proposal should be value-for-money, provide net additional quarantine capacity and work alongside (not supplant) hotel quarantine, meet the health requirements, and be for a national facility for use by all Australians. Further criteria include proximity to an international airport taking regularly scheduled international commercial passenger flights and close – within approximately 1hr vehicle transport – to a tertiary hospital, otherwise known as a principal referral hospital.

States and territories need to identify the most appropriate potential sites for quarantine capacity, reflecting their experience and the practicalities of an effective quarantine system that needs to bring together healthcare, logistics and law enforcement aspects to minimise risks.
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International Passenger Caps

National Cabinet noted international passenger cap arrangements will be in place until 31 August, and will be revisited as circumstances evolve.

National Cabinet acknowledged the work of the states in facilitating the continued repatriation of Australians from overseas. In particular, National Cabinet welcomed the resumption of flights from India following a pause. The pause ensured that Australia’s quarantine system was able to be effectively managed with a significant reduction in positive cases.
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The human biosecurity emergency period under the Biosecurity Act 2015 will be extended for a further three months.The emergency period, which has been in place since 18 March 2020 to protect Australians during the COVID-19 pandemic, will continue until 17 September 2021.

The extension, declared by the Governor General today, was informed by specialist medical and epidemiological advice provided by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) and the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer.

The AHPPC has advised that the international COVID-19 situation continues to pose an unacceptable risk to public health.

The extension of the emergency period is an appropriate response to that risk.

The human biosecurity emergency declaration ensures the Government has the powers to take any necessary measures to prevent and control COVID-19.

This extends the four existing emergency determinations including:

• mandatory pre-departure testing and mask wearing for international flights
• restrictions on the entry of cruise vessels within Australian territory
• restrictions on outbound international travel for Australians
• restrictions on trade of retail outlets at international airports.

To date, these and other measures have greatly assisted in protecting Australia by preventing and controlling the entry, emergence, establishment and spread of COVID-19.

We will continue to review these determinations regularly to take into account the latest medical advice

The Government also continues to consult with the States and Territories and the maritime industry on options for the staged resumption of cruising when the medical advice is that it is safe to do so.

These measures in place under the Biosecurity Act 2015 the can be amended or repealed at any time.

Australia's vaccine experts are expected to further restrict the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, recommending that people under 60 receive Pfizer.

The change, which sources have told the ABC the federal government is expected to agree to, will further complicate the national vaccine rollout. The federal government is yet to receive the advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), with sources saying they hope it would be before them by 2pm AEST. The vaccine is currently recommended for use by the over-50s, and that health advice has not yet changed. Out of the 3.6 million AstraZeneca doses that have been administered nationally, and according to the latest Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) update 48 people have developed an extremely rare clotting disorder likely linked to the vaccine.
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Queensland is introducing new requirements for interstate and international travellers from this weekend, with everybody who enters QLD – including returning residents – required to complete one of three declarations ahead of their arrival.The new protocols, as take effect from 1am on Saturday June 19, have hints of a ‘traffic light’ system, but with significantly more complexity.

Green and amber passes will be granted to most interstate and New Zealand arrivals, with red passes used for those arriving from a COVID-19 hotspot, and a separate system handling broader international travellers.

While the Queensland arrangements lack the simplicity of Victoria’s single green/orange/red border pass requirements, here’s who needs to apply for each pass:

• Queensland Border Declaration Pass – must be completed by anybody who has visited a current COVID-19 hotspot, as well as anybody who has travelled to a state, territory or ‘safe travel zone’ country in which a current hotspot is declared, even if they haven’t been to the hotspot, or only transited through the hotspot.
• Queensland Travel Declaration – must be completed by everybody else travelling to Queensland from across Australia and New Zealand. Can be issued as an ‘amber’ pass after visiting an interstate COVID-19 exposure site, or as a ‘green’ pass.
• Queensland International Arrivals Registration – exclusively for those arriving into Queensland from a country outside the ‘safe travel zone’ (currently, anywhere other than New Zealand). This system, as already in place, is in addition to federal Home Affairs/Border Force declarations.

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Travel trial for fully-vax'd Australians

The Government is also considering a pilot program which would let fully-vaccinated Australians travel overseas from August.

The scheme could allow them to fly to selected countries, including low-risk destinations, and return without facing quarantine provided they show a negative COVID result on arrival.

It's suggested that the trial could be rolled out alongside the introduction of an 'amber' grading for less risky countries, which would sit between the current 'green' category which for now applies only to New Zealand, and 'red', which today is basically the rest of the world.
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The certificate is automatically generated and available on the Express Plus Medicare app for people who have had both doses of an approved vaccine – currently Pfizer or AstraZeneca, though others are on the way.

The certificate can be downloaded to a smartphone and used similarly to a digital driver’s licence. It features a coat-of-arms hologram and includes the holder’s name, date of birth and a ‘validity tick’.

People will not be required to share information about non-COVID vaccinations or other health data.