Treasury Laws Amendment (COVID-19 Economic Response No. 2) Act 2021

• Amends the Payments and Benefits Act to allow the Treasurer to make rules for an additional kind of coronavirus economic response payment for entities adversely affected by a significant lockdown imposed by a State or Territory within a specified time period, amends the tax secrecy provisions in TAA 1953 to allow protected information to be disclosed to Australian government agencies for the purposes of administering COVID-19 business support programs, amends the income tax law to make payments received by eligible businesses under certain COVID-19 business support programs administered by the Commonwealth non-assessable non-exempt income so that the payments are not subject to income tax, and amends the income tax law to make Commonwealth COVID-19 disaster payments to individuals non-assessable non-exempt income so that the payments are not subject to income tax, among other things.

Public Health (Emergency) Declaration Further Extension 2021 (No 3)

• Further extends the period during which the Public Health (Emergency) Declaration 2020 (No 1) is in force for a period of 90 days.

Public Health (Lockdown Restrictions) Emergency Direction 2021 (No 3)

• Requires all people in the ACT to stay at home except for certain permitted purposes, among other things.

Public Health Amendment (COVID-19 Penalty Notice Offences) Regulation (No 2) 2021

• Enables a penalty notice to be issued for the offence of failing to comply with a direction of the Minister for Health and Medical Research under the Public Health Act 2010, Section 7 that applies to an occupier of a construction site in certain areas of Greater Sydney - came into force on 11 August 2021.

Public Health Amendment (COVID-19 Penalty Notice Offences) Regulation (No 3) 2021

• Enables penalty notices to be issued for offences relating to failing to comply with the direction in the Public Health (COVID-19 Additional Restrictions for Delta Outbreak) Order 2021, Clause 23 concerning outdoor gatherings, Public Health (COVID-19 Additional Restrictions for Delta Outbreak) Order 2021, Clause 25A concerning answering questions from authorised contact tracers, and Public Health (COVID-19 Self-Isolation) Order (No 2) 2021 - came into force on 16 August 2021.

Public Holidays Amendment (COVID-19 Revocations) Order 2021

• Cancels 3 part-day public holidays declared for certain parts of the Parks local government area in August 2021, as the agricultural shows scheduled for the days have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic - came into force on 11 August 2021.

Public Health (COVID-19 Additional Restrictions for Delta Outbreak) Amendment (No 25) Order 2021

• Extends certain restrictions applicable to Greater Sydney to the Bogan, Bourke, Brewarrina, Coonamble, Gilgandra, Narromine, Walgett and Warren local government areas - came into force at 8:05 pm on 11 August 2021.

Public Health (COVID-19 Additional Restrictions for Delta Outbreak) Amendment (No 26) Order 2021

• Extends certain additional Greater Sydney restrictions to the Bayside, Burwood and Strathfield local government areas, and extends the duration of certain Newcastle and Hunter area restrictions until the beginning of 20 August 2021 - came into force at 5 pm on 12 August 2021.

Public Health (COVID-19 Additional Restrictions for Delta Outbreak) Amendment (No 27) Order 2021

• Extends the Greater Sydney area additional restrictions to the rest of the State until the beginning of 22 August 2021, provides that certain outdoor work may be carried out in all areas of Greater Sydney if no more than 5 workers visit the place of residence at any time, prohibits persons in declared areas of Greater Sydney from leaving their place of residence to undertake outdoor recreation, but allows leaving for the purpose of supervising a child who is undertaking exercise or at play, requires persons to answer questions from contact tracers, clarifies when a person may leave a place of residence in Greater Sydney to move to a new place of residence, between difference places of residence of the person or to inspect a potential new place of residence, and reduces the distance a person is generally permitted to travel outside their local government area to obtain food or other goods or services or for exercise and outdoor recreation from 10 km to 5 km - came into force at 5 pm on 14 August 2021 and the beginning of 16 August 2021.

Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Amendment Regulation 2021

• Extends the protections of Schedule 5 of the Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2021 and the Conveyancing (General) Regulation 2018 for certain commercial lessees where related businesses have had a fall in turnover due to the lockdowns in NSW - came into force on 13 August 2021.

COVID-19 Directions (No. 40) 2021: Directions to Close Places, Activities and Services in Darwin and Surrounding Areas of Katherine

• Requires occupiers of a place and proprietors of a business in the lockdown area to close to the public and requires the provider of activities or services in the lockdown area to cease providing services and activities to the public.

COVID-19 Directions (No. 41) 2021: Directions for Aged Care Facilities

• Limits entry to aged care facilities, requires persons entering or remaining on the premises of an aged care facility to wear a face mask, requires certain persons to submit to a COVID-19 testing procedure and sets the requirements for collecting information.

COVID-19 Directions (No. 42) 2021: Directions to Lock Down Darwin and Surrounding Areas of the Territory and Katherine

• Restricts movement in an out of, and within, the lockdown area, restricts gatherings, and imposes restrictions outside the lockdown area.

COVID-19 Directions (No. 43) 2021: Amendment to COVID-19 Directions (No. 40) 2021

• Revokes Direction 7(c) of the COVID-19 Directions (No. 40) 2021.

Border Restrictions Direction (No. 35)

• Prohibits persons from entering Queensland if they have been in a COVID-19 hotspot unless permitted by the direction, and sets the entry requirements for border zone residents, among other things.

Declared Hotspots Direction

• Identifies COVID-19 hotspots for the purposes of certain Directions, declares the ACT as a COVID-19 hotspot and declares the entire NSW local government areas of Queanbeyan-Palerang as a COVID-19 hotspot.

Disability Accommodation Services Direction (No. 22)

• Imposes requirements for all shared disability accommodation services, restricts access to restricted shared disability accommodation services, and sets requirements for collection of contact information, among other things.

Hospital Entry Direction (No. 3)

• Imposes entry requirements for all hospitals, restricts entry to restricted hospitals, and sets requirements for collection of contact information at hospitals, among other things.

Interstate Places of Concern (Stay at Home in Queensland) Direction (No. 4)

• Imposes requirements for persons who have been in an interstate place of concern, quarantine requirements, travel requirements for persons in quarantine, and requirements for provision of information.

Restrictions for Impacted Areas (No. 13) (SEQ, Cairns and Yarrabah Eased Restrictions Stage 1) Direction

• Requires people living in, or who have been in, or who reside with someone who has been in, an impacted area (Brisbane City Council, Gold Coast City Council, Ipswich City Council, Lockyer Valley Regional Council, Logan City Council, Moreton Bay Regional Council, Noosa Shire Council, Redland City Council, Scenic Rim Regional Council, Somerset Regional Council, and Sunshine Coast Regional Council, Cairns Regional Council and Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council) to wear a face mask, restricts the number of visitors to their home and limits gatherings, and also restricts business activities and undertakings in impacted areas.

Rural and Regional Adjustment (COVID-19 Business Support Grants Scheme (August 2021)) Amendment Regulation 2021

• Enables the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority to give grants of up to $5,000 (excluding GST) to eligible businesses and non-profit organisations to provide these businesses with relief and support.

COVID-19 Emergency Response (Savings and Transitional Matters) Regulations 2021

• Provides for certain Orders to continue in force, pursuant to Section 20 of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act 2020.

Emergency Management (Activities - Associated Direction No 8) (COVID-19) Direction 2021

• Makes modifications to the Emergency Management (Activities - General No 3) (COVID-19) Direction 2021 including, but not limited to, modifications to requirements for density and mask requirements for various settings, seated food and beverage consumption, and dancing and singing.

Emergency Management (Cross Border Travel - Associated Direction No 41) (COVID-19) Direction 2021

• Applies cross border requirements to overseas arrivals and interstate arrivals from the ACT, NSW, QLD, NT and Victoria, declares restricted zones and prescribed roads, modifies self-quarantine requirements for certain people, modifies requirements for arrivals of vessels, and modifies certain requirements for essential travellers.

Emergency Management (Residential Aged Care Facilities No 40) (COVID-19) Direction 2021

• Ensures that appropriate measures are taken to establish controls and safeguards to protect vulnerable members of the SA community, including by mandating a requirement to maintain records of COVID-19 vaccinations.

Direction Under Section 16 - Contact Tracing - No. 8

• Requires, among other things, contact information of persons entering relevant locations to be kept, persons entering relevant locations to use the Check in TAS app or provide contact information, and owners or operators of relevant locations to ensure that a QR code that is compatible with Check in TAS has been applied for, received, and displayed in a prominent location, to facilitate contact tracing.

Direction Under Section 16 - Hospitals - No. 7

• Limits access to the premises of a hospital in Tasmania and places requirements on the operator of a hospital to take all reasonable steps to ensure a prohibited person does not enter, or remain on the premises of the hospital, among other things.

Direction Under Section 16 - Mandatory Vaccination of Certain Workers - No. 1

• Prohibits certain persons from entering, or remaining on the premises of, a residential aged care facility unless they are sufficiently vaccinated against COVID-19.

Direction Under Section 16 - Masks at Hospitals - No. 2

• Requires a person who enters, or remains on, the premises of a hospital to wear a fitted face covering while the person remains on those premises.

Direction Under Section 16 - Stay at Home Requirements - Travellers from Australian Capital Territory - No. 1

• Requires, among other things, a person in Tasmania who was in the ACT at any time on or after 5 August 2021 but before 5pm on 12 August 2021 to remain in, or on, the person’s primary residence unless they are leaving for the permitted reasons.

Emergency Management Amendment Regulations 2021

• Amends the Emergency Management Regulations 2020 by enabling an infringement notice to be issued in respect of the offence of providing false or misleading information to an emergency management worker and increasing the penalty that may be payable by an individual in respect of an infringement notice under the Emergency Management Act 2006.

Care Facilities Directions (No. 41)

• Provides for restricted access to care facilities in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 within a particularly vulnerable population - came into force at 11.59 pm on 26 August 2021.

Restricted Activity Directions (Metropolitan Melbourne) (No. 9)

• Restricts the operation of certain businesses and undertakings in Metropolitan Melbourne to address the serious public health risk posed to Victoria by COVID-19 - came into force at 11.59 pm on 26 August 2021.

Stay at Home Directions (Metropolitan Melbourne) (No. 4)

• Restricts the circumstances in which residents of Metropolitan Melbourne may leave their residence, restricts public and private gatherings, and requires face coverings to be worn indoors and outdoors - came into force at 11:59 pm on 26 August 2021.

Victorian Border Crossing Permit Directions (No. 28)

• Continues to provide a ‘traffic light’ border crossing scheme for persons seeking to enter Victoria from any other State or Territory in Australia or, after entering Australia from a Green Zone Country in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 - came into force at 11.59 pm on 12 August 2021.

Workplace (Additional Industry Obligations) Directions (No. 37)

• Establishes additional specific obligations on employers and workers in specific industries in relation to managing the risk associated with COVID-19 - came into force at 11:59 pm on 16 August 2021.

Workplace Directions (No. 44)

• Limits the number of Victorians attending Work Premises to assist in reducing the frequency and scale of COVID-19 outbreaks in Victorian workplaces and establishes more specific obligations on employers and workers in relation to managing the risk associated with COVID-19 - came into force at 11.59 pm on 17 August 2021.

Controlled Border for Western Australia Amendment Directions (No 37)

• Makes various amendments to the Controlled Border for Western Australia Directions including, but not limited to, prohibiting a person from entering a premises where another person is in quarantine, and adding new definitions.

Extension of State of Emergency Declaration

• Extends the state of emergency declaration for a period of 14 days.

Residential Aged Care Facility Worker Access Directions

• Restricts the entry of unvaccinated aged care facility workers to residential aged care facilities except in certain circumstances, requires evidence of vaccination to be produced for inspection, and requires residential aged care facility owners, occupiers, or persons in charge to keep vaccination status records, among other things.

COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border) Order (No 2) Amendment Order (No 10) 2021

• Designates Fiji and Indonesia as very high risk countries, extends the existing exemption for NZ citizens and related persons to include certain other dependent children, provides a new exemption for persons who arrive from Fiji but are transiting through NZ to another overseas destination and do not intend to enter or remain in NZ, provides a new exemption for persons in medical transfers between Fiji and NZ, and removes Fiji as a low-risk destination for the purpose of the quarantine-free travel prerequisite so that an aircrew member who has undertake any flight to or from Fiji in the 14 days period before their arrival in NZ on a QFT flight must have a negative result from a test for COVID-19.

COVID-19 Public Health Response (Alert Level Requirements) Order (No 9) 2021

• Moves New Zealand from alert level 1 to alert level 4.

Australian Government: 

• One Million Doses of Pfizer Vaccine from Europe Boosting Australian Supplies

Fair Work Ombudsman: 

• COVID-19 Vaccinations: Workplace Rights and Obligations

National Heavy Vehicle Regulator: 

• NHVR Supports Accredited Operators During COVID-19 Restrictions

Therapeutic Goods Administration:

• Communicating about COVID-19 Vaccines
• TGA Batch Release of Pfizer Vaccine Purchased from the Government of Poland
• TGA Grants Provisional Determination to Merck Sharp & Dohme's Antiviral COVID-19 Treatment Molnupiravir

ACT Government:

• Changes to Transport and City Services in Response to COVID-19
• Closure to Some ACT Parks and Reserves
• Face Mask Requirements
• Lockdown in the ACT
• Quarantine, Isolation and Stay at Home
• Quarantine Requirements for Additional NSW LGAs
• Seven-day Lockdown for the ACT
• Update on Dubbo Situation
• Updated Travel Restrictions for Greater Melbourne and Cairns

ACT Health:

• Changes to Non-urgent Care in ACT Health Facilities
• COVID-19 Update: ACT Enters Seven-day Lockdown 12 August 2021
• COVID-19 Update: Changes to Your Visit to ACT Health Facilities
• COVID-19 Update: Surgical Masks Mandatory at Health Facilities
• Visitor Restrictions Currently in Place

WorkSafe ACT: 

• Non-essential Construction Work During the ACT COVID-19 Lockdown

NSW Health:

• Eligible Authorised Workers to be Given Vaccine Priority
• Stay-at-home Order for Australian Capital Territory, Additional Local Government Areas of Concern and Newcastle and Hunter Restrictions Extended
• Stay-at-home Orders for Regional NSW from 5pm Today
• Stay-at-home Orders - Western NSW

NSW Resources Regulator: 

• COVID-19 - Advice to Mine Operators

SafeWork NSW: 

• SafeWork NSW in Retail COVID Blitz

NT Government:

• ACT Declared a Hotspot
• Arts and Culture 2021 COVID-19 Interruption Support Re-opened
• COVID-19 Infringements - Darwin and Alice Springs
• COVID-19 - No Exemption, No Entry
• Covid 19 Quick Response Grants - New Round of Trade Support Scheme
• COVID-19 Update: Cairns & Yarrabah Hotspots Revoked
• Essential Workers
• Lockdown Restrictions in Place
• Supporting Small Business with Immediate Lockdown Payments

QLD Government: 

• Restrictions for Impacted Areas - South East Queensland, Cairns and Yarrabah

Department for Energy and Mining: 

• COVID-19: SA Travel Restrictions Update

SA Government:

• Category 1 Essential Travellers
• Category 2 Essential Travellers
• Entry into SA Requirements Table
• NT Essential Traveller Table
• Over Sixteen? Get the Vaccine
• Public Activities Levels Chart
• Public Activities Level 1+ Requirements
• QLD, ACT, NSW and VIC Essential Traveller Table

Tasmanian Government:

• Additional Quarantine Capacity to Come Online
• Additional 17,550 Pfizer Doses for Tasmania
• COVID-19 Update - ACT
• COVID-19 Update - NT
• Important Community Updates
• Mandatory Vaccinations for Aged Care Workers
• Man Fined, Must Leave the State for COVID Breach
• Super-Six-Week Vaccine Blitz Now Underway
• Three People Fined for COVID Related Breaches
• Three Tasmanians Fined after Declaring False Travel Information
• Woman Receives Double Fine for Arrival Breach
• 4 Point Delta Shield Plan to Protect Tasmanians
• $20 Million Package to Help Tasmanian Businesses

VIC Government:

• Extended Melbourne Lockdown to Keep Victorians Safe
• More and More Victorians Pick a Reason to Get Vaccinated
• More Support for Melbourne Businesses in Lockdown
• One Million Reasons for Victorians to Get Vaccinated
• Supporting Our Hardest Hit Small Businesses

Victorian Building Authority:

• Changes to the Authorised Provider and Authorised Worker List
• Important COVID-19 Restriction Information for the Construction Sector
• Lockdown Extended in Metropolitan Melbourne Until 11.59pm, Thursday August 19

WA Government:

• Amendments to WA’s Controlled Border with NSW, ACT and SA
• COVID-19 Vaccine Bookings Open to Everyone 16 Years and Over
• Public Health Advice Issued for Returned Travellers from the Northern Territory
• WA’s Controlled Border Arrangements Strengthened

Ministry of Health: 

• Time Between Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine Extended

NZ Government:

• Alert Level 4
• Fiji and Indonesia Designated Very High Risk Countries Due to COVID-19 Risk
• Government Releases Expert Advice on Reconnecting New Zealanders
• Government Sets Out to Plan to Reconnect New Zealand to the World
• Govt Triggers Business Support Following COVID-19 Community Case

World Health Organisation:

• Post COVID-19 Condition: WHO Supports Standardization of Clinical Data Collection and Reporting
• WHO Statement on Advancing the Next Series of Studies to Find the Origins of SARS-CoV-2