Superseded - Border restrictions Direction (No. 5)

This direction has been superseded by the Border Restrictions Direction (No. 60)

Direction from Chief Health Officer in accordance with emergency powers arising from the declared public health emergency

Public Health Act 2005 (Qld)

Section 362B

On 29 January 2020, under the Public Health Act 2005, the Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services made an order (Order) declaring a public health emergency in relation to coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The public health emergency area specified in the Order is for ‘all of Queensland’. Its duration has been extended by regulation to 19 May 2020 and may be further extended.

Further to this declaration, l, Dr Jeannette Young, Chief Health Officer, reasonably believe it is necessary to give the following directions pursuant to the powers under s362B of the Public Health Act 2005 to assist in containing, or to respond to, the spread of COVID-19 within the community.

Guidance

For the purpose of this direction, all travellers to Queensland including returning residents and workers should practise social distancing and risk mitigation measures such as remaining 1.5 metres away from other persons, regular washing of hands, and limiting travel outside of the home or place of accommodation and work except for permitted purposes.

Preamble

1. This Public Health Direction replaces the Public Health Direction – Border Restrictions (No. 4) given on 10 April 2020.
2. This Public Health Direction is to be read in conjunction with other Public Health Directions issued under section 362B of the Public Health Act 2005 that have not expired or been revoked.

Citation

3. This Public Health Direction may be referred to as the Public Health Direction – Border Restrictions (No. 5).

PART 1 — QUARANTINE FOR TRAVELLERS

Directions

4. This Direction applies from the time of publication until the end of the declared public health emergency, unless it is revoked or replaced.
5. A person who arrives in Queensland from another State or Territory of Australia will not be allowed to enter Queensland, unless they are an exempt resident or exempt person.
6. An exempt resident or exempt person who arrives in Queensland must self-quarantine if:
   1. they have been outside Australia in the last 14 days; or
   2. they are non-cruise maritime crew who must comply with requirements in the class exemption for non-cruise maritime crew.
7. An exempt resident who arrives in Queensland must self-quarantine if:
   1. in the last 14 days, they have been in particular areas of Australia decided by the Chief Health Officer and published on the Queensland Health website (a COVID-19 hotspot), unless the person was in the COVID-19 hotspot for an essential purpose or enters Queensland for an essential purpose; or
   2. they are a person mentioned in paragraph 10 item 1(b) (a person moving to Queensland to make Queensland their principal place of residence).
8. From 12.01 am on Tuesday 5 May 2020, an exempt person who arrives in Queensland must self-quarantine if:
   1. they are an agribusiness or commercial fishing employee or contractor; and
   2. in the last 14 days, they have been in a COVID-19 hotspot; and
   3. they cannot produce adequate documentation from an interstate health authority to demonstrate self-quarantine was completed at a place  in the COVID-19 hotspot.
9. The Chief Health Officer may give an exemption from the requirement to self-quarantine under paragraphs 7 and 8 if the Chief Health Officer considers:
   1. there are compassionate or other grounds such that self-quarantine would lead to an unusual or disproportionate hardship for the person; or
   2. the person is essential for the proper functioning of the State; or
   3. other exceptional circumstances exist that merit the person not being required to self-quarantine.
10. An exempt resident is a person mentioned in the following table:

11. An exempt person is a person mentioned in the following table:

Definitions

Class exemption for non-cruise maritime crew means the class exemption for non-cruise maritime crew in Schedule 1 of this direction.

Note: for the purposes of the class exemption for non-cruise maritime crew in Schedule 1 of this direction reference to a port authority includes a terminal operator

COVID-19 hotspot means a particular area of Australia decided by the Chief Health Officer and published on the Queensland Health website.

Critical resources sector employee means a person that:

1. is an employee of a resources company or service provider; and
2. is required to be appointed under the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999; the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999; or the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 and the position is mentioned in the list published on the Queensland Health website; or
3. has been approved by the Chief Health Officer as a critical resources sector employee.

Essential business, activity or undertaking means a business, activity or undertaking that is not prohibited by the Non-essential Business, Activity and Undertaking Closure Direction      (No. 8), or its successor, or another Public Health Direction.

Essential goods or servicesare food and other supplies, and services, that are needed for the necessities of life and operation of society, such as food, fuel, medical supplies, and other goods or services.

Essential purpose means a permitted purpose other than those referred to in paragraphs (a) (to the extent of obtaining essential goods), (c), (e), (g) and (i).

Health practitionermeans:

1. a registered health practitioner as defined by the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law; or
2. the following health service providers under the Health Ombudsman Act 2013 (Qld):  audiologists, social workers, dieticians, speech pathologists and exercise physiologists providing community based clinical services and primary health care.

Note: a registered health practitioner includes a person registered to practise in the following professions:

• a. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practice;
• b. Chinese medicine;
• c. chiropractic;
• d. dental (including the profession of a dentist, dental therapist, dental hygienist, dental prosthetist and oral health therapist);
• e. medical;
• f. medical radiation practice;
• g. midwifery;
• ga. nursing;
• h. occupational therapy;
• i. optometry;
• j. osteopathy;
• ja. paramedicine;
• k. pharmacy;
• l. physiotherapy;
• m. podiatry;
• n. psychology.

Non-cruise maritime crew means maritime crew defined under the class exemption for non-cruise maritime crew in Schedule 1 of this direction.

Permitted purpose means:

1. to obtain essential goods or services;
2. to obtain medical treatment or other health care services;
3. to engage in physical exercise if it is done:
   1. alone; or
   2. with one other person; or
   3. with the person’s family group who ordinarily live in the same household as the person;
4. to perform work or volunteering, or carry out or conduct an essential business, activity or undertaking, and the work, business activity or undertaking to be performed is of a nature that cannot reasonably be performed from the person’s principal place of residence;
5. to visit another person’s residence in accordance with any public health direction applicable to home confinement, movement or gatherings;
6. to visit a terminally ill relative or to attend a funeral, subject to any applicable restrictions under other relevant Public Health Directions;
7. to provide assistance, care or support to an immediate family member;
8. to attend any court or tribunal of Australia or to comply with or give effect to orders of the court or tribunal of Australia;
9. to attend a childcare facility, school, university, or other educational institution, to the extent care or instruction cannot reasonably be obtained in the person’s principal place of residence;
10. to assist with or participate in an investigation or other action by a law enforcement authority, whether voluntarily or not;
11. for children under 18 years who do not live in the same household as their biological parents or siblings or one of their parents or siblings, continuing existing arrangements for access to, and contact between, parents and children and siblings, but not allowing access or contact with vulnerable groups or persons;

    Example of a vulnerable group or person – a person over 70 years or a person with a medical condition that makes them vulnerable to COVID-19

12. avoiding injury or illness or to escape a risk of harm;

    Example – escaping a risk of harm related to sexual, domestic and family violence

13. to comply with or give effect to the exercise of a power or function of a government agency or entity under a law.

Relevant authoritymeans an emergency officer appointed under the Public Health Act 2005.

Self-quarantine means:

1. self-quarantine in accordance with a direction or further direction given by a relevant authority, or if no direction is given, for a period of 14 days; or
2. for non-cruise maritime crew, self-quarantine in accordance with the class exemption for non-cruise maritime crew.

PART 2 — PENALTIES

A person to whom the direction applies commits an offence if the person fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with the direction.

Section 362D of the Public Health Act 2005 provides:

Failure to comply with public health directions

• A person to whom a public health direction applies must comply with the direction unless the person has a reasonable excuse.
• Maximum penalty—100 penalty units.

Dr Jeannette Young

Chief Health Officer

1 May 2020

Published on the Queensland Health website 1 May 2020 at 11.25pm

Schedule 1: Class exemption for non-cruise maritime crew

On 9 April, the National Cabinet agreed that the Australian Government and all states and territories would implement a consistent and immediate exemption for non-cruise maritime crew to provide for the transiting to and from their places of work, within and across jurisdictions with agreed documentation.

National Cabinet noted that states and territories may adopt additional protocols in consultation with industry that creates protection for crews on board vessels, and will put in place appropriate penalties for companies and individuals that are found to be in breach of the requirements of the exemption.

The exemption will be reviewed on 1 June 2020.

Class exemption

This class exemption for non-cruise maritime crew will be implemented by the Australian Government, and all states and territories in their relevant primary or subordinate legislation. The purpose of the exemption is to enable key industries and supply chain activities to continue to operate while at the same time mitigating the risk that these workers may spread COVID-19.

Definition of maritime crew

Maritime crew includes anyone required to be part of a crew operating or providing services to support the operation of a commercial vessel (excluding cruise vessels) or a government vessel in Australian waters. A commercial vessel is defined as any vessel involved in commercial activity in support of the movement of freight and important industries (such as the resources industry) or person involved in the provision of port services, maintenance services, marine pilots and marine surveyors. Maritime crew does not include cruise ship crew.

Maritime crew includes Australian and New Zealand Citizens, permanent residents, maritime crew visa holders and sub-class 400 (temporary specialist worker) visa holders.

This advice does not apply to crew on cruise ships.

Maritime crew also includes any Government officials involved in the regulation or other authorisation of the industry, including personnel from the Australian Government (such as the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, the Australian Border Force, the Department of Agriculture and the Environment, the Department of Health) and the state/territory government (such as the Department of Health, Maritime Regulatory agencies, Port Authorities, and Environment Protection agencies). These officials are exempt from any quarantine or self-isolation requirements where they are required to attend a vessel for the purposes of conducting their regulated activities.

Provisions

These provisions apply to Australian and international crew working on commercial vessels in Australia (not cruise ships). Vessels may berth in Australia at any time, however, if the vessel arrives within 14-days from their last international port of call or from the last time crew (not including cruise ship crew) joined the vessel within Australia and all occupants aboard the vessel have declared that they are healthy the following restrictions apply:

• All crew must remain on-board while the vessel is berthed in a port or any other place where cargo is loaded or unloaded.
• Crew are able to disembark to conduct essential vessel functions and crew must wear personal protective equipment (PPE) while performing these functions.
• Crew must also use PPE in public spaces on board the vessel while non-crew members are on-board.
• These restrictions apply until 14 days has elapsed since the vessel departed the last foreign port before Australia or the last time crew joined the vessel within Australia, unless crew are unwell or there is a suspected case of COVID-19 on-board. If a person is unwell, there will be a human biosecurity assessment, and if indicated, a subsequent referral to state and territory human biosecurity officer (public health doctor) for direction as per current process.
• The period maritime crew spend at sea prior to their arrival in Australia and during operations in Australia since the last time crew joined the vessel counts towards the 14-day period of self-isolation. In practice, if a vessel has travelled for ten days since last being in a foreign port, the period of self-isolation for its crew members would be the remaining four days.
• Shore leave can be taken once the 14-day period has elapsed so long as no crewmember has demonstrated signs of illness or is suspected of having COVID-19.
• Commercial vessels that have made declarations during pre-arrival formalities that crew are ill and showing COVID-19 health symptoms will be managed in accordance with established pratique arrangements and in consultation with state police jurisdictions. Reception and management plans will be drawn together prior to allowing the vessel to enter an Australian port.

Crew signing off a vessel

• Both Australian and foreign crew signing off a vessel at an Australian port who have completed the 14-day isolation period will be permitted to:
  • transit and depart Australia via a flight; or
  • proceed to join another vessel in Australia; or
  • for Australian residents, return to their normal place of residence in Australia.
• Crew departing via a flight will need to provide evidence of their flight details or the next vessel they are to join.
• Where a crewmember is signing off a vessel (within the 14-day period) and remaining in Australia to join another vessel they must self-isolate at their accommodation for the remainder of the 14-day self-isolation period.
  • Crew members departing Australia may proceed directly to the airport and depart; or they must self-isolate at their accommodation until the time they proceed to the airport.
  • Crewmembers can proceed to join another vessel in Australia, but they must self-isolate at their accommodation until the time they board the vessel.
  • Where a crewmember’s transportation out of Australia is delayed or cancelled, the crewmember can remain in Australia on their existing Maritime Crew Visa until an alternative transportation option is arranged.
  • Crewmembers must still complete their 14-day self-isolation period following the departure from their last foreign port.
• Where a crewmember is an Australian resident and is signing off a vessel (within the 14-day period) and returning home they must self-isolate at their usual place of residence for the remainder of the 14-day self-isolation period.
• Where a crewmember is an Australian resident and is signing off a vessel (following the completion of the 14-day period) and returning home they may travel home without the need to quarantine prior to arrival or self-isolate at their usual place of residence.

Crew arriving by international aircraft or travelling within Australia to join a vessel

The following exemptions are in place for commercial vessels and non-cruise maritime crew:

• Crew travelling to Australia (by aircraft) to join a vessel must adhere to the following arrangements:
  • On arrival in Australia crew may be subject to additional screening by biosecurity.
  • Crew may take a domestic flight/s to their final destination to meet their vessel but must self-isolate at their accommodation if they have a layover at any time.
  • Crew must proceed directly to the vessel or self-isolate in their accommodation.
  • Crew experiencing any signs of illness must not join the vessel and should seek medical assistance.
  • Once on the vessel, crew members may leave the vessel to undertake vessel functions and must wear PPE while performing these functions.
• Crew travelling within Australia (by any means of transportation) to join a vessel must adhere to the following arrangements:
  • During travel to their destination or on arrival at their destination crew may be subject to additional screening by biosecurity.
  • Crew may take a domestic flight/s to their final destination to meet their vessel but must self-isolate at their accommodation if they have a layover at any time.
  • Crew must proceed directly to the vessel or self-isolate in their accommodation.
  • Crew experiencing any signs of illness must not join the vessel and should seek medical assistance.
  • Once on the vessel, crew members may leave the vessel to undertake vessel functions and must wear PPE while performing these functions.
• Crew joining a vessel in Australia within 14-days need to undertake appropriate precautions when interacting with others. This includes:
  • Use of appropriate PPE when interacting with others (port workers and other crewmembers who will be leaving the vessel for shore leave or sign-off).
  • Practice good personal hygiene and clean/sanitise surfaces and common areas.
  • Use separate facilities to other crewmembers (where possible).
  • Maintain appropriate social-distancing.

Documentary evidence of exemption

• Crew travelling to a vessel in Australia or leaving a vessel to return home or leave Australia should carry the following documentary evidence to demonstrate to state or territory authorities they are subject to an exemption:
  • A letter from their employer on company letterhead indicating their name, occupation, reason for travel relating to their work and the location where the work is to be conducted
  • A letter from the port authority indicating that the vessel that the work relates to is expected to be in that port at the specified time
  • Their Maritime Security Identification Card where they have one
  • A copy of the company COVID-19 management plan or staff procedures.
• Companies with crew travelling to join commercial vessels in Australia may also be requested to submit their company COVID-19 management plan or staff procedures and a list of staff expected to be travelling and subject to this exemption to relevant authorities.
• Where the maritime crew have complied with all of the requirements of the exemption state and territory law enforcement representatives will permit the crewmember to travel to their vessel and to travel home from their vessel at the end of their allocated shift without impediment.
• State and territory law enforcement representatives will check compliance with the exemption conditions and action may be taken if maritime workers are found to have not complied with any of the requirements of the exemption.