All Australian states and territories have dropped the mandatory five-day COVID-19 isolation requirement.
The decision to end the rule was made by National Cabinet in a meeting in September.
Victoria was the first state to drop mandatory isolation on Wednesday, with other states following on Friday.
Residents in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria will also no longer be required to report a positive rapid antigen test online.
Governments continue to encourage people who test positive to COVID-19 to stay at home if they feel unwell, and to wear a mask if it is necessary to leave home.
It is also advised that workers in high-risk settings, such as health and aged care, stay away from the workplace for seven days when COVID-positive, if feasible.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the country was moving towards a system of “good faith” with people looking out and caring for each other.
“We may have further waves of COVID in the future; in fact, we probably expect that. So by testing, you’re looking after yourself, looking after your family,” he told reporters.
South Australia’s Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said she trusted that the community would take individual responsibility.
“Quite often, we didn’t have things as legal directions, and people still did them. I am very confident that will continue over the next month,” she said.
Perrottet led the push to drop all isolation rules, saying it was the right decision.
Australia Winds Down Pandemic Response, Except Western Australia
Most states have ended their emergency powers after determining further extensions were inappropriate, including Victoria, which had one of the longest lockdowns in the world in its capital city of Melbourne.But Western Australia looks set to pass a law for the “ongoing management” of COVID-19 that grants law enforcement extensive powers.
This includes the authority to “break into and enter any place or vehicle” to enforce health orders.
Labor MP David Templeman, the leader of the house, said the new proposal was supposed to allow for a “temporary fit-for-purpose legal framework” to manage COVID-19.
“The reason it is important for the bill to be dealt with as quickly as possible is that it will allow COVID-19 to be managed outside of a state of emergency, with these arrangements to expire after two years,” he told Parliament on Sept. 21.
Shane Love of the Nationals Party said the state was out of step with the rest of the country.
“Those states have made dramatically different decisions from this government about these measures and the way they have gone about moving to the next phase,” he said. “I hope that the government does not jump up and make some cheap shot and say, ‘See how they manage everything else.’”
