Quarantine Fee Waived for NSW Residents Returning From Victoria

NSW residents returning from Victoria will not have to pay for hotel quarantine – so long as they return within the next month.

Pricey hotel quarantine fees start at $3,000 and those already struggling with the economic impacts of the pandemic have complained about being lumped with another bill.

“We have listened to the concerns of NSW residents who say they cannot afford to come home to NSW and will now give them more time to return,” said Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

The mandatory quarantine for returning residents from Victoria was only introduced last Friday after being announced two days prior.

Premier Berejiklian said that hotel quarantine is vital, and that the month extension will enable more people to return without worrying further about their bank balance.

Hotel quarantine is key to reducing the risk of seeding of COVID-19 from Victoria into NSW.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian

“We are asking any NSW residents who are in Victoria and want to come home to make their way back to NSW before Friday, 11 September 2020 if they want to avoid paying for hotel quarantine,” she said.

For NSW residents already in quarantine having returned from Victoria, the fee will also be waived to ease the financial burden.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said: “We understand the cost associated with hotel quarantine has made it difficult for NSW residents to return home from Victoria – that is why we have waived that cost for the next month.”

“These changes are also retrospective and will apply to NSW residents who have travelled from Victoria and are already in hotel quarantine.”

The NSW Government announced that the moratorium on the hotel quarantine charge will expire at 12:01am Friday, 11 September 2020.