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Australiatest0
Accessing health services during coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions Elective surgery Some elective surgery is now available, including: IVF screening programs (cancer and other diseases) post-cancer reconstruction (such as breast reconstruction) procedures for children aged under 18 years joint replacements, including knees, hips and shoulders cataracts and eye procedures endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures Around 1 in 4 closed elective surgery lists are reopening as part of this first stage of a gradual restart.
Australiatest1
Accessing health services during coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions Remotely (telehealth) Any Australian with a Medicare card can now access telehealth services via phone or videoconference. This service helps protect both patients and health workers from unnecessary risk of infection. It is available from doctors, nurses, midwives, or allied and mental health professionals. This is a temporary measure until 30 September 2020. You don’t need any special equipment, and can either use your phone or a computer. You and your provider will decide the best system to use for your needs. Providers will bulk-bill consultations for: Commonwealth concession card holders children under 16 years patients who are vulnerable to COVID-19 For telehealth, vulnerable patients are those who are: isolating at home on the advice of a medical practitioner or a COVID-19 hotline aged over 70 an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person aged over 50 immunocompromised or have a chronic health condition a parent of a new baby pregnant meets the current national triage protocol criteria for suspected COVID-19 infection Otherwise, you can pay by credit card at the time of your consultation. To make a telehealth appointment, just call your health care provider. Your provider might also offer any of your existing appointments as a telehealth appointment. If you need to make an appointment on behalf of someone else, get information about their condition before calling. This will ensure you can provide important details to your provider. Read more about telehealth services in the consumer fact sheet at MBS online. During your telehealth consultation your doctor might need to give you a prescription. Read more about how you can get medicines, including delivery to your home.
Australiatest2
Accessing health services during coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions What options are available for accessing services? If you are struggling to breathe or seriously unwell, and it is an emergency call 000 immediately. Tell ambulance staff about recent travel and any potential contact with someone with COVID-19. Whether for COVID-19 or another health reason, the way you access health care during the shutdown depends on your circumstances. You might see your health care provider: in person, by going to their facility in person, at your home remotely, via telehealth You should keep your regular health care appointments, including home care, and medical or pathology appointments for chronic conditions. You might be able to arrange a telehealth appointment for some things. We are opening GP respiratory clinics around the country to assess people with fever, cough, a sore throat, or shortness of breath. healthdirect Coronavirus (COVID-19) Symptom Checker Answer questions about your symptoms to see if you need to seek medical help or get tested. This tool is available online at any time.
Australiatest3
Accessing health services during coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions In person (home visits) You should continue to receive your usual health care, including any care you receive at home, such as services under the Commonwealth Home Support Programme and Home Care Packages. If you are unwell and think you might have COVID-19, let your provider know before your appointment. When receiving face-to-face care at home, your care provider will: follow all hand hygiene and cough etiquette protocols stay 1.5 metres from you, unless you need direct care generally not wear protective gear, unless you have been diagnosed with, exposed to, or are showing symptoms of COVID-19 — if they do, it does not mean they are unwell Aged care workers with symptoms get tested for COVID-19. If they are suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19, they will not work. If you want to start receiving services at home for the first time, check your eligibility. You can apply for yourself or on behalf of someone you care for. For other services, you can either visit your health care provider or book a telehealth appointment. If you are isolating, you can also get your medicine delivered to your home.
Australiatest4
Accessing health services during coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions In person at your health provider For any general health issues and regular appointments, you can go to your health provider’s surgery, as usual. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, let your health provider know when making the appointment. Also tell them any recent travel or potential contact with someone with COVID-19. When attending for treatment, follow the instructions your provider gives you. This could include wearing a mask (your provider can give you one), sanitising your hands when arriving and entering through a separate area. Remember to practise physical distancing. When receiving face-to-face care, your health care provider: will follow all hand hygiene and cough etiquette protocols will stay 1.5 metres from you, unless you need direct care may or may not wear protective gear, depending on the situation — if they do, it does not mean they are unwell If you need to make an appointment on behalf of someone else, get information about their condition before calling. This will ensure you can provide important details to your provider. If you need medicines, you can still get them from pharmacies.
Australiatest5
Boosting cash flow for employers What you need to know For most businesses, the cash flow boost will automatically be credited to your account when you lodge your activity statement. You won’t be disadvantaged if you have been given a deferral for your earlier activity statement or are not required to lodge your income tax return yet. Read more about the impact of lodgment deferrals. If eligible, the minimum cash flow boost credit you will receive when the March activity statement is lodged is $10,000. See examples of what you will receive. The cash flow boosts will be applied to reduce liabilities arising from the same activity statement. If there is credit remaining after this occurs, you will generally receive a refund of that amount. If you are due to receive a refund, we will generally pay it within 14 days. Any excess credit from the activity statement that received the cash flow boost amount will be refunded to you, rather than offset against other tax debts. However, any excess may still be applied against any outstanding debts with other Australian Government agencies.
Australiatest6
Boosting cash flow for employers Eligibility Discretion to give you further time We have discretion to give you further time, after 12 March 2020, to: hold an ABN provide us notice that business income or supplies were made. However, the discretion is intended to be utilised only in very exceptional circumstances. This can include where you cannot satisfy the condition: because although you were running an active business prior to 12 March 2020, you were not required to hold an ABN as a matter of law. For example, an entity which operates in the external territories of Australia is not required to have an ABN. only because you have deferred your lodgment under an extension of lodgment date granted by the Commissioner of Taxation. For example, you had an automatic ATO lodgment deferral in place, as you were affected by the Australian bushfires in late 2019, and you lodge your first BAS after 12 March 2020. We are unlikely to exercise the discretion to extend the 12 March 2020 date if doing so would be inconsistent with the integrity provisions. For example, where steps are taken to set up new entities, or revive dormant entities, solely for the sole or dominant purpose of accessing the cash flow boost. Find out about: Providing more information about your eligibility or ineligibility PS LA 2020/21 Commissioner's discretion to allow further time for an entity to register for an ABN or provide notice to the Commissioner of assessable income or supplies
Australiatest7
Boosting cash flow for employers Eligibility Businesses (including sole traders, companies, partnerships or trusts) and NFP organisations will be eligible to receive the cash flow boost if: You are a small or medium business entity or NFP of equivalent size (that is, an entity with aggregated annual turnover less than $50 million). You held an ABN on 12 March 2020. You made payments to employees subject to withholding (even if the amount you were required to withhold is zero), such as salary and wages director fees eligible retirement or termination payments compensation payments voluntary withholding from payments to contractors. On or before12 March 2020, you lodged at least one of a 2018–19 income tax return showing that you had an amount included in your assessable income in relation to you carrying on a business an activity statement or GST return for any tax period that started after 1 July 2018 and ended before 12 March 2020 showing that you made a taxable, GST-free or input-taxed sale. There are only exceptional circumstances where we may have discretion to give you further time after 12 March 2020. You won’t be disadvantaged if you have been given a deferral for your earlier activity statement or are not required to lodge your income tax return yet. Read more about the impact of lodgment deferrals. You are not eligible for the cash flow boosts if you change the way you operate for the sole or dominant purpose of becoming entitled to cash flow boosts when you would otherwise not be entitled. Read more about schemes. If you don't meet these general eligibility criteria but think you may still be entitled to the boost, there are special eligibility rules for entities in the following situations: New to business Charities Business created PAYG withholding role after 12 March 2020 Entities that are not registered for GST Entities with a reduction in turnover to below $50 million Businesses with related parties, or that are part of a group Businesses with multiple branches Businesses that are part of a GST joint venture Businesses that use another entity to manage payroll Example 1 – A business that is eligible for the cash flow boost Robert has operated a small restaurant in Adelaide since 2015. He has had an ABN since then and pays wages to his chefs every week. Robert's income tax return for 2018–19 is not due until May 2020. However, he has lodged all his activity statements since July 2018. Robert is eligible to receive a cash flow boost. End of example Example 2 – A business that does not pay employees Angela runs a small convenience store in Darwin using a trust as her business vehicle. She is the only person who works in the business. She provides for her own remuneration by making trust distributions during the year and does not pay any wages. As Angela does not make eligible payments to employees, she is not eligible to receive the cash flow boost. On 15 March 2020, Angela realises her business is not eligible and applies to become registered for PAYG withholding, backdated to 1 March 2020. She changes her business records to reclassify some trust distributions as wages. Angela is still not eligible to receive the cash flow boost because she has changed the way her business operates for the purpose of receiving a cash flow boost that she was not otherwise entitled to receive. End of example Find about about: Special eligiblity rules Delivery of the cash flow boosts Accessing the cash flow boosts What you will receive Tax consequences
Australiatest8
COVID-19 Mythbusting Microwaves sanitise masks There is no evidence masks are sanitised by microwave radiation. It is also a bad idea. Firstly, microwave radiation can burn or disfigure certain parts of the mask. Secondly, if the mask contains metal, it can damage your microwave oven and set it alight. Simply putting your mask through your washing machine with detergent is sufficient to disinfect it. Learn more about the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.
Australiatest9
COVID-19 Mythbusting Parcels from China can spread coronavirus There’s no evidence the virus can survive on packages or letters for 28 days. According to WHO: “The most important thing to know about coronaviruses on surfaces is that they can easily be cleaned with common household disinfectants that will kill the virus. Studies have shown that the SARS-COV-2 virus which causes COVID-19 can survive for up to 72 hours on plastic and stainless steel, less than 4 hours on copper and less than 24 hours on cardboard. These were under experimental conditions using sensitive detection methods". “As always clean your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub and avoid touching your eyes, mouth, or nose”. Visit the World Health Organisation for more information.
Australiatest10
COVID-19 Mythbusting I don’t need to get the flu shot Influenza (flu) and COVID-19 are two separate infections. While they’re both viral infections, the viruses belong to two separate groups. The regular influenza vaccination does not provide immunity to COVID-19. Learn more about how to protect yourself and others. It is very important for people to get their influenza vaccination. As outlined by the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Nick Coatsworth, “we’re entering flu season and…one of the biggest messages we have…to the public is get your flu vaccination”. Some people become very sick with influenza. Having the influenza vaccination, will help prevent you getting infected with COVID-19 and influenza at the same time. Learn more about the DCMO'S response.
Australiatest11
COVID-19 Mythbusting Eating garlic/immune boosters prevents infection According to WHO “Garlic is a healthy food that may have some antimicrobial properties. However, there is no evidence from the current outbreak that eating garlic has protected people from COVID-19". Vaccines are the only effective means to boost your immune system to prevent infection. Learn more about the World Health Organisation's response.
Australiatest12
COVID-19 Mythbusting MMS (miracle mineral supplement) is an effective treatment MMS contains sodium chlorite, which can be used to make chlorine dioxide, a chemical used as a textile bleaching agent and for disinfection. According to the TGA, “products containing… sodium chlorite pose a serious health risk if consumed by humans and should be labelled with warnings and the word ‘POISON’”. MMS is not approved by the TGA for any therapeutic use and should not be taken to treat coronavirus. Note that sodium chlorite is completely different to sodium chloride or common table salt.
Australiatest13
COVID-19 Mythbusting Gargling salt water will prevent coronavirus Gargling salt-water does not prevent COVID-19. While gargling is a common treatment for a sore throat, there is no evidence to suggest that it would eliminate or prevent COVID-19. Learn more about the World Health Organisation's response to this myth.
Australiatest14
COVID-19 Mythbusting Ibuprofen exacerbates coronavirus There is no published peer-reviewed scientific evidence to support this claim. If you are currently taking ibuprofen to manage a health condition, do not stop taking it without speaking to your doctor first. The TGA will continue to monitor this issue. Learn more about the TGA's response.
Australiatest15
COVID-19 Mythbusting If you can hold your breath for 10 seconds, you’re ok Holding your breath for 10 seconds without coughing does not indicate you are free from coronavirus. If someone has an acute viral infection, it may be difficult for them to take a deep breath. However, being able to breathe deeply doesn’t mean someone is free of COVID-19. People’s symptoms vary and the only way to determine if you have the virus or not is to get tested. Learn more about symptoms to look out for.
Australiatest16
COVID-19 Mythbusting BioCharger NG can help treat coronavirus The BioCharger is not a cure or treatment for COVID-19. As stated by the manufacturer, Advanced Biotechnologies, “The BioCharger is not a medical device and for that reason Advanced Biotechnologies suggest that anyone seek medical attention from their primary care provider if they are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19”. The TGA has issued the company with two infringement notices and published a warning to advertisers and consumers about illegal advertising relating to COVID-19. According to the TGA, the assertion "that the device could be used in relation to 'Wuhan Coronavirus'", is "a claim which has no apparent foundation, and which the TGA takes extremely seriously”. Learn more about TGA's response or ABC's report on this myth.
Australiatest17
COVID-19 Mythbusting Hand dryers kill coronavirus No, hand dryers don’t kill the SARS-COV-2 virus which causes COVID-19. Hand dryers blow out warm air and are not designed to disinfect materials from harmful organisms. To disinfect your hands, you should clean with soap and water or an alcohol-based disinfectant. Learn more about the World Health Organisation's response to this myth.
Australiatest18
COVID-19 Mythbusting Hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment Hydroxychloroquine is an unproven treatment. Clinical trials around the world are testing whether it can treat COVID-19. However, according to the TGA, “these medicines pose well-known serious risks to patients including cardiac toxicity (potentially leading to sudden heart attacks), irreversible eye damage and severe depletion of blood sugar (potentially leading to coma)”. Learn more about hydroxychloroquine.
Australiatest19
COVID-19 Mythbusting Breathing techniques can cure the virus This breathing technique does not cure the virus. Controlled coughing helps with conditions such as cystic fibrosis to clear airways of mucus. It is relatively safe to perform as the mucus in cystic fibrosis usually can’t infect others. In the case of COVID-19, where people can infect others through airborne droplets, the opposite is true and this technique could help spread the infection. Learn more about the ABC's investigation into this myth.
Australiatest20
COVID-19 Mythbusting Hospitals are giving out secret prevention tips Hospitals are not disseminating secret prevention tips to staff. The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital have all publicly refuted several viral posts attributed to them. For accurate information, visit australia.gov.au.
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COVID-19 Mythbusting Hot temperatures kill the virus There’s no evidence that the virus dies in temperatures above 27 degrees or is prevented by drinking warm water. Learn more about the World Health Organisation's advice to the public.
Australiatest22
COVID-19 Mythbusting Vitamin C is an effective treatment The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) investigated this claim and “found there is no robust scientific evidence to support the usage of this vitamin in the management of COVID-19”. Vitamin C deficiency is rare in Australia. The only well-established evidence for the use of Vitamin C is in the treatment of scurvy which is caused by Vitamin C deficiency.
Australiatest23
COVID-19 Mythbusting UV rays kill the virus UV lamps should not be used to prevent coronavirus or used on hands or other areas of skin. UV radiation cannot sterilise; at best in ideal situations, it can inhibit growth of some microorganisms. Like sunbathing without sunscreen, UV lamps can cause skin irritation and you run the risk of long-term skin damage. Learn more about the World Health Organisation's response to this myth.
Australiatest24
COVID-19 Mythbusting Drinking water prevents infection Drinking water does not wash the virus into the stomach. While hydration is important with an infection, sipping water will not prevent infection nor will it prevent infection from spreading.
Australiatest25
COVID-19 Mythbusting There is a cure/ vaccine for coronavirus There is currently no treatment or vaccine for COVID-19. Scientists around the world, including those at the University of Queensland and the Doherty Institute, are working hard to find a vaccine with the World Health Organisation estimating a publicly available vaccine is 18 months away. In the meantime, the best thing people can do is to stay at home as much as possible. Learn more about the World Health Organisation's response to this myth.
Australiatest26
COVID-19 Mythbusting 5G networks are spreading the virus 5G mobile networks do not spread COVID-19. As stated by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), “[s]uggestions that 5G has caused or is linked to coronavirus are utterly baseless”. Similarly, the World Health Organisation has noted: “Viruses cannot travel on radio waves/mobile networks. COVID-19 is spreading in many countries that do not have 5G mobile networks." “COVID-19 is spread through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks. People can also be infected by touching a contaminated surface and then their eyes, mouth or nose."
Australiatest27
COVID-19 Mythbusting Mosquitos spread coronavirus There is no evidence to suggest mosquitoes carry and spread COVID-19. While mosquitoes can transmit other viruses like dengue and malaria, they don’t transmit other well-known viruses like HIV and Ebola. The novel coronavirus is primarily spread by droplets produced during coughing or sneezing rather than blood. The SARS-COV-2 virus which causes COVID-19 has been found in blood samples from infected people, however there is no evidence it can spread via mosquitoes. Learn more about the World Health Organisation's response to this myth.
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COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund What initiatives are currently part of the Fund? Renewing Reef HQ Aquarium This initiative provides $2.6 million for Reef HQ Aquarium to ensure the critical systems that control the environment within the aquarium are upgraded and maintained, supporting the health and wellbeing of the living exhibits while the aquarium is closed. For further information, visit www.reefhq.com.au or contact the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s Marketing Team on 0488 073 281 or email [email protected]
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COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund What initiatives are currently part of the Fund? Commonwealth National Parks—Support for Tourism—Fee Waivers From 16 March to 31 December, 2020, the Australian Government is waiving up to $11.2 million in entry fees to the following national parks managed by Parks Australia: Booderee National Park Kakadu National Park Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Free park entry will provide additional incentives for travelers to visit these must see destinations once travel restrictions are relaxed. The Australian National Botanic Gardens, Christmas Island National Park, Pulu Keeling National Park and Norfolk Island National Park do not charge entry fees and remain free to visitors. In addition, up to $772,000 is available to assist businesses operating in Commonwealth National Parks by: Providing temporary relief from licence fees and permit charges levied by the Director of National Parks for the period of 1 January 2020 to 31 March 2021. Aside from the immediate respite from some ongoing operating costs, this will also allow business to re-commence operations without having to pay for licences and permits. Providing rent relief to tenants of the Australian National Botanic Gardens in accordance with the Australian Government's Rent Relief Policy For more information email [email protected]; or visit www.parksaustralia.gov.au/covid-19.
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COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund What initiatives are currently part of the Fund? Supporting Indigenous Visual Arts Centres The $7 million contribution to the Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support (IVAIS) Program supports Indigenous Art Centres and Indigenous Art Fairs during the Coronavirus crisis and beyond. Payments will be made directly to IVAIS-funded Indigenous Art Centres and IVAIS-funded Art Fairs to maintain operations and employment levels, ensuring that they continue to support artists and their communities. For more information phone 1800 006 992, email [email protected], or visit www.arts.gov.au/covid-19-update.
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COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund What initiatives are currently part of the Fund? Levy Relief for Commonwealth Fisheries The Australian Government is waiving $10.3 million across the final two instalments of levies for Commonwealth managed fisheries, reducing levies for the 2019–20 financial year by two thirds. This will support fishers' cash flow during the outbreak, and help them remain viable and able to return to full production when the outbreak subsides. For more information, visit afma.govcms.gov.au/afma- covid-19-update or contact the levies area of AFMA: Phone 1300 723 621 or email [email protected].
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COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund What initiatives are currently part of the Fund? Crisis Relief for Regional Arts The $10 million initiative for the Regional Arts Fund provides crisis relief and targeted support to organisations, artists and arts workers that are critical to delivering the arts to communities in regional and remote areas. For more information email [email protected] or visit www.arts.gov.au/covid-19-update.
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COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund What initiatives are currently part of the Fund? Regional Air Network Assistance The Australian Government is providing $198 million to assist domestic commercial airlines to maintain a basic level of connectivity across their network of regional routes. This will support critical air services connecting regional Australia to freight, medical testing, supplies and essential personnel. For more information go to Assistance to the aviation sector or refer to the grant guidelines on the GrantConnect website: www.grants.gov.au.
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COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund What kinds of support are available? Support is tailored to meet the needs of communities and industries that need assistance during the crisis and into recovery. This may include: fee or levy relief—this can be applied through existing mechanisms, requiring little or no action by businesses; increasing payments through existing grant programs—in ways that are quick and simple to deliver; or establishing targeted new programs to support the particular needs of an industry sector.
Australiatest35
COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund What initiatives are currently part of the Fund? Additional Funding for the Export Market Development Grant Scheme The Australian Government is providing an immediate cash flow boost to eligible Export Market Development Grant (EMDG) applicants in the 2019–20 financial year. The EMDG scheme reimburses small and medium-sized businesses up to 50 per cent of their eligible overseas market-promotion and export-development activities, to a maximum of $150,000. This new measure will increase funding for the 2019–20 financial year by almost $50 million so that eligible applicants receive their full entitlement. For more information visit www.austrade.gov.au/Australian/Export/Export- Grants or contact the EMDG team at Austrade: [email protected].
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COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund What initiatives are currently part of the Fund? Regional Airlines Funding Assistance The Australian Government is providing $100 million to financially assist smaller regional domestic air service providers to help manage cash flow issues they may be experiencing as a result of the impacts of the Coronavirus. This will help these service providers to maintain essential connectivity for regional and remote communities. Air service providers can apply to the Government to be considered for support for assistance on a month-by-month basis, where there is a demonstrated need. For more information go to Assistance to the aviation sector or refer to the grant guidelines on the GrantConnect website: www.grants.gov.au.
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COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund How does the Fund work? The Deputy Prime Minister chairs a Ministerial Advisory Group, which meets regularly to consider proposals submitted from across a number of portfolios. Funding is channelled through existing mechanisms where possible to ensure support is provided quickly. New funding mechanisms are established where there is a critical need. Initiatives under the Fund are administered by the department or agency with the relevant sector responsibilities.
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COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund What initiatives are currently part of the Fund? Support Act: Crisis Relief to Artists, Crew and Music Workers The $10 million contribution to the performing arts industry charity Support Act enables it to provide immediate crisis relief to artists, crew and music workers affected by the Coronavirus crisis. For more information email [email protected] or visit www.arts.gov.au/covid-19-update.
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COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund What initiatives are currently part of the Fund? The following initiatives are part of the COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund: Regional Airlines Funding Assistance Regional Air Network Assistance Airfreight Support Levy Relief for Commonwealth Fisheries Additional Funding for the Export Market Development Grants Scheme Supporting Indigenous Visual Arts Centres Crisis Relief for Regional Arts Support Act: Crisis Relief to Artists, Crew and Music Workers Supporting Australia's exhibiting zoos and aquariums Commonwealth National Parks—Support for Tourism—Fee Waivers Temporary waiver of Environmental Management Change for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Renewing Reef HQ Aquarium
Australiatest40
COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund What initiatives are currently part of the Fund? Supporting Australia's Exhibiting Zoos and Aquariums This $94.6 million initiative provides vital funding to exhibiting zoos and aquariums whose tourism revenue stream has stopped as a result of the travel and social distancing restrictions in place to limit the spread of Coronavirus. Funding will assist these businesses with the fixed operational costs associated with caring for animals, and will help exhibiting zoos and aquariums to remain viable and ready to welcome tourists when restrictions are eased. For more information visit www.austrade.gov.au/Australian/Tourism/Tourism- and-business/Grants/supporting-australias-exhibiting-zoos-aquariums- program/zoosandaquariums or contact the Austrade Programs Team by emailing [email protected] or calling 1800 048 155.
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COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund What initiatives are currently part of the Fund? Airfreight Support The Australian Government has set up a $110 million International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) to keep open key international freight links with trading partners for goods coming into and going out of Australia. IFAM will support the efforts of businesses trading internationally, including in the agricultural, seafood and healthcare sectors, to re-establish key global supply chains, which have been disrupted by COVID-19, supporting the international economic recovery. IFAM is essential to helping secure items critical to the ongoing health response in Australia, such as essential medical supplies, medicines and personal protective equipment. IFAM is a targeted, emergency and temporary measure helping Australian business in its efforts to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. Businesses in the agricultural and seafood sectors wishing to access the mechanism can register their interest at haveyoursay.agriculture.gov.au/international-freight- assistance or by calling the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment on (02) 6272 2444.
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COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund What initiatives are currently part of the Fund? Temporary waiver of Environmental Management Change for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park This $8.1 million initiative temporarily waives the Environmental Management Charge for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park until 31 December 2020. For more information, visit www.gbrmpa.gov.au or email [email protected] and for media enquiries email [email protected].
Australiatest43
COVID-19 early release of super After you apply It will take us up to four business days to process your application and send your outcome letter to your myGov inbox. You may also receive an SMS notification. If you receive a notification from us and haven't applied to access your super early, you need to call us or your fund as soon as possible. If you have an Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) fund and your application is approved, you do not need to contact us or your fund. Your fund will make the payment to you without you needing to apply to them directly. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) have issued guidance to super funds and expect payment to be made to members within five business days once they have been notified by us. However, this time may increase where funds need to contact you to clarify information. More information can be found on APRA's websiteExternal Link. If your fund is a state-administered fund, they need to follow the rules of their trust deed to determine if they're allowed to release super due to COVID-19. You will need to get confirmation from your fund, before you submit an application, that they can release your super early and whether they require a letter of approval (determination) from us. If your fund is an SMSF , you will need to let them know that you have received the letter of approval from us so they can make the payment to you.
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COVID-19 early release of super Submit an application Applications for early release of superannuation are accepted through ATO online services via myGov. You can only submit one application for COVID-19 early release of super in each financial year: 2019–20, between 20 April and 30 June 2020 2020–21, between 1 July and 24 September 2020 (Australian and New Zealand citizens and permanent residents only). This is even if the total amount you request to be released, or the actual amount released by your fund, is less than $10,000. For example, if you request $8,000, you cannot make another application to request the additional $2,000. If you want to apply for COVID-19 early release of super in the 2020–21 financial year, you need to submit an application in that financial year, even if you have submitted an application in 2019–20. The application form on myGov will display all your superannuation accounts, as reported to us by your funds. You can request the release of your super from up to five super accounts. For example, if you want to receive a total of $10,000 you can request $5,000 from one fund and a second $5,000 from another fund. This must be done within one application form. If you're a member of a self-managed super fund (SMSF) and your super account is missing from your list of available funds in myGov, phone us on 13 10 20 and we'll help with your application.
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COVID-19 early release of super Before you apply ATO-held super and rollovers ATO-held super cannot be accessed directly from the ATO for a COVID-19 early release. If you wish to access super money we currently hold for you, you will need to transfer it to your super fund before you can apply for COVID-19 early release of super. You can transfer ATO-held super to an eligible fund in our online services through myGov. You will need to wait for the transferred super to reach your nominated fund before you apply for COVID-19 early release. If you want to apply for COVID-19 early release and consolidate your super into one fund, this cannot be done at the same time. You should either: wait until the rollover to your super fund is complete before you apply for COVID-19 early release of super, or wait until your application for COVID-19 early release of super has been approved and paid into your bank account, before you consolidate any accounts See also: Online services to create a myGov account and link it to the ATO. Keeping track of your super to check your super balances. ATO-held super
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COVID-19 early release of super Before you apply Before you start the application process, you should: set up your myGov accountExternal Link and link it to the ATO have your Australian bank account information available – you will need this to complete your application and only Australian bank accounts are accepted check your super balance – your actual account balance may be higher or lower than that shown in ATO online or in the early release application form. There are four ways you can check your super balance: Check your total superannuation balance in ATO online services. There will be an 'as at' or 'effective' date for the balance. In a lot of cases, it will be 30 June 2019 as funds are only required to report to us once a year. This means your account balance may have changed since it was last reported to us, and may be higher or lower than shown on ATO online or in the early release application form. If you have access to your super fund's online member portal, you can log on and check your current account balance there. It might be a good time to establish a login to your fund portal if you haven’t already. Check the last statement that your fund issued to you. This might be by paper or email. Call your fund, but understand that they have had a large increase in members calling and there could be delays in having your call answered If your fund is a state-administered fund, or you're a member of an exempt public sector super scheme (EPSSS), you will need to confirm whether they're allowed to release super due to COVID-19, before you submit an application.
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COVID-19 early release of super Submit an application Current super balance We encourage you to check your fund's online portal to confirm your current accurate balance. Your current super balance may be lower or higher than what is shown in the application form. The amount shown in the form is the amount last reported to us and your fund does not need to report your current balance to us. You can apply for an amount higher than the balance shown in the application form (up to $10,000), provided your current balance is sufficient. This includes if a 'nil' amount is showing in the application form. For example, if you've confirmed your fund balance is $8,000, but the amount showing in ATO online is $0.00 you can still apply for a release up to $8,000. If you apply for an amount greater than your current balance, your fund will release the amount currently available (up to $10,000). For example, if you request $8,000, but your current balance is only $7500 your fund will release $7500.
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COVID-19 early release of super Eligibility Eligibility: Citizens and permanent residents of Australia and New Zealand Temporary residents Assessing your eligibility Citizens and permanent residents of Australia and New Zealand To be eligible for early release of super, a citizen or permanent resident of Australia and New Zealand must be in one of the following circumstances: You are unemployed. You are eligible to receive one of the following jobseeker payment youth allowance for jobseekers (unless you are undertaking full-time study or are a new apprentice) parenting payment (which includes the single and partnered payments) special benefit farm household allowance. On or after 1 January 2020 either you were made redundant your working hours were reduced by 20% or more (including to zero) you were a sole trader and your business was suspended or there was a reduction in turnover of 20% or more. Temporary residents To be eligible for early release of super in 2019–20, temporary residents must be in one of the following circumstances: You hold a student visa that you have held for 12 months or more and you are unable to meet immediate living expenses. You are a temporary skilled work visa holder and still employed but unable to meet immediate living expenses. You are a temporary resident visa holder (excluding student or skilled worker visas) and you cannot meet immediate living expenses. Assessing your eligibility You do not need to attach evidence to support your application. However, you should keep records and documents to confirm your eligibility as we may ask you for this information. It is important that you assess your eligibility accurately. We are administering this measure on behalf of all Australians and will manage the eligibility criteria with strict guidelines to ensure we can support those financially affected by COVID-19. There are penalties for making false and misleading statements. You can't access your super early for a dependant. If your dependant is financially affected by COVD-19, they must apply themselves. You can only submit one application for COVID-19 early release of super per financial year. You are still able to apply for COVID-19 early release of super if you have previously accessed your super early in other circumstances.
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COVID-19 early release of super Submit an application Application tips To make the application process as smooth as possible, please check all your information is correct before you submit your application, including: your contact details the amount you request – your current balance through your fund’s online portal to ensure your request is based on the latest available balance. your Australian bank account details – only Australian bank accounts are accepted. You can only submit one application for COVID-19 early release of super per financial year. You can't access your super early for a dependant. If your dependant is financially affected by COVD-19, they must apply themselves. An application can't be withdrawn or cancelled once it has been submitted. If you no longer want the release of your super, you will need to contact your fund. If the bank account you provided on your application form is incorrect, contact your super fund urgently to correct it. If you notice another error in your application after you have submitted it, you need to contact us as soon as possible to see if we can fix the error. Next step: Apply nowExternal Link
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COVID-19 early release of super Be aware of scams and schemes Early access of your super is a free government service to help and support you during the impacts of COVID-19. Be aware of scams and schemes asking you to pay to release your super. We’re concerned about scams or schemes where people: impersonate the ATO, or a trusted organisation like your super fund, to steal your money or personal identifying information approach you and charge you for services that are free, like gaining early access to your superannuation. If you receive a phone call, text message or email offering to help you release your super early, do not : provide your personal information click on any links (we never include hyperlinks to a login page) share your myGov login details with anyone, under any circumstances, including your tax agent. You can phone us on 1800 008 540 to confirm if a contact you received is genuine. Stolen or misused identity If you are concerned that someone has accessed your super without your permission, you should check: your myGov and ATO Online account and make sure your contact details are still correct your superannuation account to make sure that your account details are also correct, and that there have been no unauthorised transactions. If you think that someone has stolen or misused your identity, contact: your super fund immediately if you identify unauthorised transactions or updates to your account, and our Client Identity Support Centre on 1800 467 033 (between 8.00am and 6.00pm, Monday-Friday) to help you establish your tax identity. See also: Illegal early release of super Protecting your information Your identity security - get help Verify or report a scam
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COVID-19 early release of super Implications of accessing your super early Accessing your super early will affect your super balance and may affect your future retirement income. Withdrawing superannuation may also affect your: income protection insurance life / total permanent disability insurance cover Insurance may not be available on accounts that have a low balance. You should consider whether you need to seek financial advice before submitting your application for early release of super. Services Australia’s Financial Information Service OfficersExternal Link can give you free, confidential financial information See also: Keeping track of your super Inactive low balance super accounts COVID-19 accessing your superExternal Link – MoneySmart
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COVID-19: Cyber security tips when working from home Cyber security tips Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) Here are nine things you can do in your new working environment to protect your work and your household’s cyber security. Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections are a popular method to connect portable devices to a work network. VPNs secure your web browsing and remote network access. Sometimes organisations specify that you use a VPN on work devices. If this is the case, you should familiarise yourself with your organisation’s VPN requirements, policies and procedures. For more information on VPNs see advice from the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security: Using Virtual Private Networks.
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COVID-19: Cyber security tips when working from home Cyber security tips Use strong and unique passphrases Here are nine things you can do in your new working environment to protect your work and your household’s cyber security. Passwords are passé! Strong passphrases are your first line of defence. Enable a strong and unique passphrase on portable devices such as laptops, mobile phones and tablets. Use a different passphrase for each website and app, particularly those that store your credit card details or personal information. To use the same username (such as an email address) and passphrase for multiple accounts means that if one is compromised, they are all at risk. For more ACSC information, see 'Passphrases' in the: Small Business Cyber Security Guide.
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COVID-19: Cyber security tips when working from home Cyber security tips Update your software and operating systems Here are nine things you can do in your new working environment to protect your work and your household’s cyber security. It is important to allow automatic updates on your devices and systems like your computers, laptops, tablets and mobile phones. Often, software updates (for operating systems and applications, for example) are developed to address security issues. Updates also often include new security features that protect your data and device. For more ACSC information on updating operating systems and software, see: Step-by-Step Guide – Turning on Automatic Updates (For Windows 10) Step-by-Step Guide – Turning on Automatic Updates (For iMac & Macbook, and iPhone & iPad).
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COVID-19: Cyber security tips when working from home Cyber security tips Avoid using portable storage devices Here are nine things you can do in your new working environment to protect your work and your household’s cyber security. When transporting work from the office or shop to home, portable storage devices like USB drives and cards are easily misplaced and, if access isn’t properly controlled, can harm your computer systems with malware. If possible, transfer files in more secure ways, such as your organisation's cloud storage or collaboration solutions. When using USBs and external drives, make sure they are protected with encryption and passphrases. For more ACSC information on portable storage cyber security, see: Quick Wins for Your Portable Devices.
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COVID-19: Cyber security tips when working from home Cyber security tips Use trusted sources for information Here are nine things you can do in your new working environment to protect your work and your household’s cyber security. Cybercriminals and other malicious actors use popular and trending topics such as COVID-19 to spread disinformation or scam people. Impersonating, cloning or creating websites to look genuine is one way to do this (see 'Beware of scams' above). Producing and sharing false information on social media is another. Be sure to only use trusted and verified information from government and research institution’s websites. Think critically about the sources of information that you use, and balance all evidence before believing what people share. For the latest COVID-19 information, see: Australian Government COVID-19 website.
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COVID-19: Cyber security tips when working from home Cyber security tips Secure your devices when not in use Here are nine things you can do in your new working environment to protect your work and your household’s cyber security. It’s much easier to access your information if other people have access to your devices. Do not leave your device unattended and lock your computer when not in use, even if it's only for a short period of time. You should also carefully consider who has access to your devices. Don’t lend laptops to children or other members of the household using your work profile or account. They could unintentionally share or delete important information, or introduce malicious software to your device. If you do share your computers or devices with family or your household, have separate profiles so that each person logs in with a unique username and passphrase. For more ACSC information on good cyber security behaviours, see: Stay Smart Online - Protecting Your Computer From Online Threats.
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COVID-19: Cyber security tips when working from home Cyber security tips Implement multi-factor authentication Here are nine things you can do in your new working environment to protect your work and your household’s cyber security. Multi-factor authentication is one of the most effective controls you can implement to prevent unauthorised access to computers, applications and online services. Using multiple layers of authentication makes it much harder to access your systems. Criminals might manage to steal one type of proof of identity (for example, your PIN) but it is very difficult to steal the correct combination of several proofs for any given account. Multi-factor authentication can use a combination of: something the user knows (a passphrase, PIN or an answer to a secret question) something the user physically possesses (such as a card, token or security key) something the user inherently possesses (such as a fingerprint or retina pattern). If your device supports biometric identification (such as a fingerprint scan) it provides an additional level of security, as well as a convenient way to unlock the device after you have logged in with your passphrase. For more ACSC information on how to implement multi-factor authentication for specific services, see: Step-by-Step Guides – Turning on Two-Factor Authentication Stay Smart Online – Two-Factor Authentication.
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COVID-19: Cyber security tips when working from home Cyber security tips Use trusted Wi-Fi Here are nine things you can do in your new working environment to protect your work and your household’s cyber security. Using free wireless internet may be tempting; it can also put your information at risk. Free Wi-Fi by its very nature is insecure and can expose your browsing activity to cybercriminals. Cybercriminals have also been known to set up rogue Wi-Fi hotspots with names that look legitimate and can intercept communications, steal your banking credentials, account passwords, and other valuable information. Use trusted connections when working from home, such as your home internet or mobile internet service from your telecommunications provider. For more ACSC information on the steps you can take to secure your Wi-Fi, see: Stay Smart Online - Wi-Fi and Internet Connections.
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COVID-19: Cyber security tips when working from home Cyber security tips Beware of scams Here are nine things you can do in your new working environment to protect your work and your household’s cyber security. Cybercriminals see a crisis as an opportunity. Major change brings disruption, and businesses transitioning to working from home arrangements can be an attractive target. Be aware that the COVID-19 pandemic will be used by cybercriminals to try to scam people out of their money, data and to gain access to systems. While working from home you should: Exercise critical thinking and vigilance when you receive phone calls, messages and emails. Exercise caution in opening messages, attachments, or clicking on links from unknown senders. Be wary of any requests for personal details, passwords or bank details, particularly if the message conveys a sense of urgency. If in any doubt of the communicator's identity, delay any immediate action. Re-establish communication later using contact methods that you have sourced yourself. For more ACSC information on how to identify and protect yourself from scams see: Threat Update: COVID-19 Malicious Cyber Activity Detecting Socially Engineered Messages.
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Citizenship Applying for citizenship Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, all face-to-face citizenship appointments have been placed on hold. The Department will recommence in-person interviews and citizenship tests when it is safe to do so. New applications for Australian citizenship are still able to be accepted during this period. Processing continues on all applications for Australian citizenship that have already been lodged with the Department.
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Citizenship Citizenship ceremonies Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, in-person citizenship ceremonies have been placed on hold. To continue to enable conferees to become Australian citizens, the Department is undertaking online ceremonies through video link as an alternative to traditional in-person ceremonies. These online ceremonies will continue to be offered as a temporary replacement to traditional in-person ceremonies until the social distancing restrictions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic ease. These ceremonies will be with the presiding officer and generally a single conferee, or a household group if they reside at the same location. Ceremonies performed via video link include integrity measures, such as confirming identity. The Department is contacting conferees with full details of the process. There is no need to contact the Department or your local council about your ceremony. In-person citizenship ceremonies will re-commence when it is safe to do so. Generally, conferees have 12 months from their notice of approval to attend a ceremony and make the pledge of commitment, however, during the COVID-19 period, citizenship approval will not be cancelled if a conferee cannot attend a ceremony within this 12 month period. For more information, see the Minister’s statement on Australian citizenship processing
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Cleaning to prevent the spread of COVID-19 What should I use for routine cleaning? Hard surfaces In most circumstances, cleaning with detergent and water is sufficient. Soft or porous surfaces For soft or porous surfaces like fabric or leather, seek advice from the manufacturer of the item to be cleaned about which products can be safely used. Detergent can generally be used to clean fabric surfaces. If more thorough cleaning is needed, fabric surfaces may be steam cleaned. Leather will have special cleaning requirements. If soft or porous surfaces require regular cleaning, such as seats in offices, or in vehicles, it may be more effective to use a removable washable cover or a disposable cover and replace these as regularly as you would clean the surfaces.
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Cleaning to prevent the spread of COVID-19 Using disinfectants safely Follow all manufacturer’s instructions and read the label and the Safety Data Sheet (SDS). For information on how to read labels and SDS, see the Safe Work Australia SDS page. Do not use different types of disinfectants together. Store your disinfectants safely and securely, out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources. Mix your disinfectants in a well-ventilated area. Some concentrated products recommend the use of a local exhaust ventilation system. For spraying or misting products, spray directly into the cleaning cloth to dampen the cloth for use. Take care not to generate a mist. PPE to use when diluting and using disinfectants includes: gloves, elbow-length if available, and eye protection (safety glasses, not prescription glasses).
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Cleaning to prevent the spread of COVID-19 How should I clean if someone at my workplace is suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19? If a person who has been at your workplace is suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19, you must thoroughly clean and disinfect all areas of suspected contamination. Clean and disinfect all areas (for example, offices, bathrooms and common areas) that were used by the suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19. Close off the affected area before cleaning and disinfection. Open outside doors and windows if possible to increase air circulation and then commence cleaning and disinfection. clean and disinfect hard surfaces using either: a physical clean using detergent and water followed by a clean with 1,000 ppm bleach solution (2-step clean), for example, household bleach or hospital-grade bleach solutions that are readily available from retail stores. Bleach solutions should be made fresh daily. a physical clean using a combined detergent and 1,000 ppm bleach solution (2-in-1 clean) made up daily from a concentrated solution (refer to the Department of Health website for more information on achieving the correct bleach solution). Once cleaning and disinfection is complete, place disposable cloths, PPE and covers in a plastic rubbish bag, place it inside another rubbish bag (double- bagging) and dispose of the bag in the general waste. There is no need to close down an entire workplace, while cleaning and disinfection takes place, particularly if the person infected, or suspected to be infected, has only visited parts of the workplace. However the cleaning and disinfection must occur before any workers return to affected areas. Whether you need to suspend operations in your workplace will depend on factors such as the size of the workplace, nature of work, number of people, and suspected areas of contamination in your workplace. Those cleaning an area of suspected contamination need to be equipped with appropriate Personal protective equipment (PPE). This includes disposable gloves and safety eyewear to protect against chemical splashes. If there is visible contamination with respiratory secretions or other body fluids in the area, the cleaning staff should also wear a disposable apron. If the person with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 is in the area to be cleaned (e.g. a hotel room), put on a surgical mask and ask the person to step outside if possible. Clean your hands using soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or where this is not possible, hand sanitiser of with at least 60% ethanol or 70% isopropanol as the active ingredient] before putting on and after removing PPE. Cleaning equipment including mop heads and cloths should be laundered using hot water and completely dried before re-use. Cleaning equipment such as buckets should be emptied and cleaned with a new batch of disinfectant and allowed to dry completely before re-use. If your workplace handles food, you should follow the additional advice of Food Standards Australia New Zealand.
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Cleaning to prevent the spread of COVID-19 Cleaning and disinfection Cleaning and disinfecting are two different processes: Cleaning means physically removing germs, dirt and organic matter from surfaces. Disinfecting means using chemicals to kill germs on surfaces. It’s important to clean before disinfecting because organic matter and dirt can reduce the ability of disinfectants to kill germs. A combination of cleaning and disinfection will be most effective in removing the COVID-19 virus. Cleaning reduces the soil load on the surface, allowing the disinfectant to work and kill the COVID-19 virus. Disinfectant may not kill the virus if the surface has not been cleaned with a detergent first.
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Cleaning to prevent the spread of COVID-19 How do I clean? Use the following steps to clean an environment: Wear gloves when cleaning. Gloves should be discarded after each clean. If it is necessary to use reusable gloves, gloves should only be used for COVID-19 related cleaning and should not be used for other purposes or shared between workers. Wash reusable gloves with detergent and water after use and leave to dry. Clean hands immediately after removing gloves using soap and water or hand sanitiser. Thoroughly clean surfaces using detergent and water. Always clean from the cleanest surfaces to the dirtiest surfaces. This stops the transfer of germs to cleaner surfaces and allows you to physically remove and dispose of the largest possible amount of germs. If you need to use a disinfectant, clean the surface first using detergent then apply a disinfectant or use a combined detergent and disinfectant (see next section). A disinfectant will not kill germs if the surface has not been cleaned first. Apply disinfectant to surfaces using disposable paper towel or a disposable cloth. If non-disposable cloths are used, ensure they are laundered and dried before reusing. Allow the disinfectant to remain on the surface for the period of time required to kill the virus (contact time) as specified by the manufacturer. If no time is specified, leave for 10 minutes.
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Cleaning to prevent the spread of COVID-19 What should I use to disinfect? Hard surfaces Disinfectants that are suitable for use on hard surfaces (that is, surfaces where any spilt liquid pools, and does not soak in) include: alcohol in a concentration of at least 70%, chlorine bleach in a concentration of 1000 parts per million, oxygen bleach, or wipes and sprays that contain quaternary ammonium compounds. These chemicals will be labelled as ‘disinfectant’ on the packaging and must be diluted or used following the instructions on the packaging to be effective. Soft or porous surfaces Disinfectant is not suitable on fabric surfaces as it only works with extended contact time with the surface.
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Cleaning to prevent the spread of COVID-19 Disposal or cleaning of materials and PPE Reusable, washable cloths, PPE and covers should be washed in a regular cycle wash using the warmest possible setting with normal washing detergent. Avoid shaking out the items before placing in the washing machine. Wear disposable gloves to handle used cloths, PPE and covers. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after removing the gloves. Regularly wash the hamper in which used PPE is stored while it is waiting to be laundered. If the hamper is not washable, use a disposable lining, and replace regularly. Reusable, non-washable PPE such as eye protection, should be wiped clean with a detergent solution first, then wiped over with a disinfectant, and left to air dry. Smearing or residues might result, and this can be cleaned off by using more detergent solution and rinsing clean only after the disinfectant has dried.
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Cleaning to prevent the spread of COVID-19 Cleaning and disinfection Routine cleaning Workplaces should clean surfaces at least daily. Special attention should be given to frequently touched surfaces (e.g. tabletops, door handles, light switches, desks, toilets, taps, TV remotes, kitchen surfaces and cupboard handles). Ideally, once clean, surfaces should also be disinfected regularly. Alternatively, you may be able to do a 2-in-1 clean and disinfection by using a combined detergent and disinfectant. Surfaces and fittings should be cleaned more frequently when: visibly soiled used repeatedly by a number of people (e.g. trolleys, checkouts, EFTPOS machines), and after any spillage. For routine cleaning, disinfectants are usually only necessary if a surface has been contaminated with potentially infectious material. For this reason, when and how often a workplace should undertake disinfection as part of routine cleaning will depend on the likelihood of contaminated material being present at the workplace. For example, in a busy retail environment with many customers and others entering a workplace each day, more frequent disinfection is recommended to prevent the spread of COVID-19. By contrast, for a small work crew operating the same item of plant each day with little interaction with other people, routine disinfection in addition to daily cleaning may not be reasonably practicable.
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Coming to Australia All others Additional exemptions as determined by the Commissioner The Commissioner of the Australian Border Force (ABF) may consider an additional exemption in relation to the travel restrictions currently in place for: foreign nationals travelling at the invitation of the Australian Commonwealth Government for the purpose of assisting in the COVID-19 response or whose entry would be in the national interest critical medical services, including air ambulance and delivery of supplies, that regularly arrive into Australia from international ports people with critical skills (for example, medical specialists, engineers, marine pilots and crews) by exception diplomats accredited to Australia and currently resident in Australia, and their immediate family ​case-by-case exceptions for humanitarian or compassionate reasons. Exemptions must be granted prior to travelling to Australia. The request for an exemption through Commissioner’s Discretion must be accompanied by: passenger details : name, DOB, visa type and number, passport number, Australian residential address, Australian telephone number) case information : why this case should be considered for Commissioner discretion/exemption supporting statement : the request should be accompanied by a statement and evidence of how the individual meets one of the grounds for an exemption or excise of the Commissioner’s discretion listed above. It is important that all travellers provide evidence that they meet one of the exemptions above before travelling. Depending on your reason for requesting exemption, evidence must be provided and could include: proof of ID marriage certificates birth certificates death certificates proof of relationship (for example, shared tenancy agreement, joint bank account etc.) visa status letter from a doctor or hospital indicating why the travel is necessary letter from an employer indicating why the travel is necessary or the work undertaken is critical letter from a related business or company any other proof you may have to support your claims. All evidence supporting a travel exemption claim needs to be officially translated into English. ****
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Coming to Australia I am an Australian citizen or permanent resident All travellers arriving in Australia must undertake a mandatory 14-day quarantine at designated facilities (for example, a hotel), in their port of arrival. You can travel to Australia if you are an Australian citizen, a permanent resident, an immediate family member of an Australian citizen or permanent resident or are a New Zealand citizen usually resident in Australia. If you are an immediate family member holding a temporary visa you will need to provide us with evidence of your relationship. Australian citizen Australian citizens can enter Australia and, in exceptional circumstances, will be permitted to enter without a valid Australian passport. If you don’t have a valid passport, please advise airline staff that you are an Australian citizen and do not require a visa to enter Australia (even if you are a dual national). The airline will contact the Australian Border Force to verify your citizenship. It is important you get to the airport early in case of any delays. Departure from the country you are in is subject to the rules and decisions of authorities in that country.​ Permanent resident A permanent resident is someone who holds a permanent visa in Australia, including a Resident Return visa. Permanent residents must also undertake a mandatory 14-day quarantine in designated facilities (for example, a hotel) in their port of arrival once they enter Australia. New Zealand citizens usually resident in Australia New Zealand citizens who normally reside in Australia (with a subclass 444 visa or other permanent or provisional visa) can come to Australia. You must carry proof of residency (driver's licence or documents that show your residency). Present it at check-in. You must undertake a mandatory 14-day quarantine at designated facilities (for example, a hotel), in your port of arrival.​ Important: New Zealand citizens and permanent residents not living in Australia can only transit through Australia to return to New Zealand. Refer to Transiting Australia.
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Coming to Australia All others Apply online for an exemption or provide further information Apply online Travellers who have a compassionate or compelling reason to travel to Australia can also use this form to apply for an exemption.
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Coming to Australia I want to apply for a visa You should reconsider your need to apply for an Australian visa at this time and check this page regularly for updates on travel restrictions and visa processing. Visa processing arrangements The Department is prioritising processing visa applications for those travellers in the exempt categories to support urgent travel. We encourage applicants to apply online wherever possible, as these applications will be processed faster than those lodged on paper. You will not be able to apply for an ETA online while the travel restrictions are in place. Disruption of services Some services relating to the visa application process may be impacted by COVID-19 and a range of services we rely on are increasingly unavailable. This includes overseas panel doctors (see below), English language testing facilities, biometric collection and paper application lodgement centres. While these services are unavailable, many applicants cannot meet visa requirements. Applicants will be given additional time to complete checks and provide the requested information. Visa medical appointments Clients should be aware of disruptions to visa medical services, due to COVID-19. My Health Declarations is temporarily suspended. The Health Requirement including the health examinations for your intended visa will be determined once your visa application has been lodged. Our visa processing officers are aware of the disruptions. We will take the extended timeframes into account when considering your visa application. You do not need to contact us if your visa medical appointment has been rescheduled. If you have not yet lodged a visa application or have not been requested to undertake an immigration medical examination, there is no need to contact a visa medical services clinic in Australia or an overseas panel clinic at this time. Student visas You do not need a visa if you are overseas and studying online with an Australian education provider. Education providers can issue a new Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) and enrol students to study online.
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Coming to Australia All others Travellers who have a compassionate or compelling reason to travel to Australia will need to have an exemption from the Australian Border Force Commissioner. All travellers arriving in Australia must undertake a mandatory 14-day quarantine at designated facilities (for example, a hotel), in their port of arrival.​ Travel restrictions are subject to change. Some exemptions are in place. Please check back regularly.
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Coming to Australia I am immediate family of an Australian citizen or permanent resident You are only considered to be an immediate family member if you are: a spouse a de facto partner a dependent child/ren a legal guardian. All travellers arriving in Australia must undertake a mandatory 14-day quarantine at designated facilities (for example, a hotel), in their port of arrival. You may need to provide information to the Department before travelling to Australia. Guardians A guardian, in relation to a child, is a person who has responsibility for the long-term welfare of the child and has all the powers, rights and duties that are vested by law or custom in the guardian of the child, other than: the right to have the daily care and control of the child; and the right and responsibility to make decisions concerning the daily care and control of the child. If you don’t have a visa You can't come to Australia until you have a visa. Apply for a visa and include proof (such as your marriage certificate, your birth certificate or birth certificate for your children). If you have a temporary visa (except for Partner and Child visa holders) Use the enquiry form below to provide further information to the Department. You should attach proof (such as your marriage certificate, evidence of your de-facto relationship such as shared finances or property, your birth certificate or birth certificate for your children). Do not travel until we advise that you can. Partner (subclasses 100, 309, 801, 820) and Child (subclasses 101, 102, 445) visa holders can come to Australia. You do not need to request an exemption. Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa holders can’t come to Australia at the moment. Apply online for an exemption or provide further information Apply online Travellers who have a compassionate or compelling reason to travel to Australia can also use this form to apply for an exemption.
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Travel plans in the coming months? If you have future travel planned or are considering going overseas, cancel or postpone these plans. A ban is in place. The risks to your health and that of others is too great.
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Getting home Planning your trip home If you wish to return to Australia, and there are still commercial flights available, take them as soon as possible. While we know it can be frustrating or expensive, the window of opportunity is closing. Travel regulations are changing at short notice. If you’ve decided to return to Australia: check your route carefully and stay in touch with your airline or travel agent follow official announcements from your transit airports and governing authorities contact the nearest embassy or consulate of the countries you’re transiting through if you have any queries about their entry or exit requirements To stay up-to-date with our latest advice, subscribe to our travel advisories and news.
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Getting home No flights out? If you wish to return to Australia, and there are still commercial flights available, take them as soon as possible. While we know it can be frustrating or expensive, the window of opportunity is closing. Many travellers are having difficulty getting home because of flight cancellations or movement restrictions. If you’re one of them, we know it’s a stressful and difficult time. Where commercial flights are not available, we’re working with the airline industry and other governments to help Australians find ways to get home. This includes a special partnership with Qantas and Virgin Australia and facilitated flights from several destinations. See further details on the COVID-19 – Helping Australians to return home page. Over the past few weeks, we’ve also worked with cruise operators and other governments to bring home thousands of Australian passengers from cruise ships. Check the website of your nearest Australian embassy or high commission and follow them closely on social media for updates about flights back to Australia. Some embassies and high commissions are providing the option for Australians to register for direct communication, including in some places to receive updates on potential unscheduled commercial flights.
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Staying where you are In some cases, you may need to make arrangements to stay where you are for a longer period, until your departure can be arranged or border closures are lifted. We understand this is a very challenging situation. Our ambassadors, high commissioners and consular officials are doing all they can to assist those most in need. The scale and complexity of this crisis is greater than anything we have faced before. With the global shutdown of borders and transit hubs, it won’t be possible for every Australian traveller to get home until the travel restrictions are lifted. In some cases, particularly if you’re living and working overseas long- term, you may have the support, accommodation and income you need to remain where you are through this period. If, for whatever reason, you’re staying somewhere longer than you planned: follow the advice of local authorities subscribe to news and the travel advice for your location follow your local Australian embassy or high commission on social media; and register with them if they have called for it make arrangements for an extended stay take care to minimise your risk of exposure to COVID-19 Read more: COVID-19 - what to do when you can't get home COVID-19 - advice for Australians living, working or studying overseas
Australiatest81
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Travelling to Australia by yacht or small craft If you’re planning to sail your yacht or small craft back to Australia, carefully consider the risks to your personal health and safety and that of your crew members from COVID-19 and related restrictions. Due to border closures and other restrictions, you may not have access to ports and supplies en route. It’s not the responsibility of the Australian government to negotiate access or facilitate your journey. At this time, we recommend you either moor your boat and stay where you are, or if you wish to come home and flights are available, store your boat and fly back to Australia. See our Travelling by boat page for further information.
Australiatest82
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Consular services Our ability to provide our usual consular services in many places is limited during this time. In some countries, our embassy buildings are closed to the public or offering limited consultations by appointment only. This is due to tight restrictions on local services and movement, including of our embassy staff. While we can’t always get out and about in the way we normally would, rest assured our staff are hard at work behind the scenes. We’re focused on sharing the most up-to-date local advice and information for Australians, providing consular and passport services in situations of genuine need and working with other governments on the international effort to combat COVID-19. The Foreign Minister decided on 26 March to direct the departure to Australia of all remaining dependants and non-essential staff from a number of Australian embassies and high commissions in countries where there is significant pressure on local health systems and reducing transport links. This will not affect the provision of services to Australians in these locations.
Australiatest83
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and remote communities People most at risk Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are at greater risk of coronavirus if they: are aged 50 years and over with chronic medical conditions have a weakened immune system are aged 70 years and over
Australiatest84
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and remote communities Where you can get help Call your local Health Service, or ask someone you trust in the community to call, if you feel unwell. Map of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and medical services Use this interactive map to find an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Health Service near you. National Coronavirus Helpline Call this line if you are seeking information on coronavirus (COVID-19) or help with the COVIDSafe app. The line operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 1800 020 080 View contact National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) is the national authority on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care. See their website for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander–focused news, information, links and contacts. https://www.naccho.org.au/ View contact National Indigenous Australians Agency The National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) is committed to improving the lives of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Visit their website for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander–focused news, information, links and contacts. https://www.niaa.gov.au/ View contact
Australiatest85
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and remote communities Keeping in touch with your community Staying connected with family, friends and your community is important. Some ways you can do this are: calling people for a yarn on the phone talking about the community and checking if they are OK talking about the virus and how to stop the spread connecting to family and friends on social media sharing your tips on social media #KeepOurMobSafe
Australiatest86
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and remote communities Why remote communities are at risk Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people living in remote communities are at greater risk from COVID-19. This is because: there are higher rates of other health issues in these communities it can be harder to access health care people in the community are very mobile and travel often people often rely more on outreach services in remote places People who live in remote communities are a priority of the Australian Government and the COVID-19 National Emergency Response Plan. We all need to work together to keep people safe and stop the spread of the virus.
Australiatest87
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and remote communities Protect your mob and stop the spread You can help stop the spread by: keeping your hands clean — wash your hands with soap and water (where possible) for at least 20 seconds. Do this after you cough or sneeze, go to the toilet, and before you make any food coughing or sneezing into the inside of your elbow, not your hands putting your tissues in the bin after you use them and washing your hands after not touching your face cleaning surfaces often, such as door handles, kitchen and bathroom benchtops not hugging or shaking hands with people keeping away from people and family in the community if you are sick with a fever, cough or sore throat or are having trouble breathing — and seeking medical help Other ways you can protect your community and Elders include: not travelling to places in your community, or other communities, unless you have to staying at home and away from other people as much as you can. If you are around people, try to stay 2 big steps away from them. keep taking any medicines you use — this way you’ll stay as healthy as possible not sharing cups or water bottles not smoking or sharing smokes with other people getting a flu shot to protect yourself and your family from the flu too downloading the COVIDSafe app Read more about how to protect yourself and others. Read our advice on staying healthy during COVID-19 restrictions. Download the COVIDSafe app The COVIDSafe app makes it quicker to let people know if they have been exposed to coronavirus. When enough people download this app, governments can ease restrictions and things can get back to normal sooner. The app won’t know your location. Your privacy is protected by the COVIDSafe privacy policy. Once the coronavirus outbreak is over you can delete the app from your phone. Any information the app collected will be destroyed. You don’t have to download the app, but downloading it will help protect your family and your community. The more people who download the app, the quicker we can fight the virus. COVIDSafe app The COVIDSafe app speeds up contacting people exposed to coronavirus (COVID-19). This helps us support and protect you, your friends and family. Please read the content on this page before downloading.
Australiatest88
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for older people Medical appointments and medicines You can access bulk-billed appointments with your doctor, nurse or mental health professional via phone or videoconference. If you would like to arrange a telehealth appointment, contact your doctor. Accessing medicines while staying at home Your doctor may be able to arrange to have your prescriptions sent to your pharmacy directly so you can stay at home. For more information on whether you can access this service please call your pharmacy and speak to them about the best way to arrange this.
Australiatest89
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for older people People most at risk Your risk of serious illness from coronavirus increases if you are: aged 70 years or over aged 65 years or over and have a chronic medical condition an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person aged 50 years and over who has a chronic medical condition immune suppressed There is currently no cure or vaccine for coronavirus, or immunity in the community, so you need to protect yourself.
Australiatest90
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for older people Wellbeing support The Older Persons COVID-19 Support Line Senior Australians, their families and carers can call the Older Persons COVID-19 Support Line if they: would like to talk with someone about the COVID-19 restrictions and the impact on them are feeling lonely or are worried about a loved one are caring for someone and need some information or a listening ear need help or advice about changing the aged care services they are currently receiving need help to access new care services or essential supplies such as shopping are concerned about a friend or family member living with dementia Older Persons COVID-19 Support Line The Older Persons COVID-19 Support Line provides information and support to senior Australians, their families and carers. Call Monday to Friday, except public holidays, from 8.30am to 6pm. 1800 171 866 View contact Community Visitors Scheme The Community Visitors Scheme arranges volunteer visits to older people to provide ongoing friendship and companionship. Visits are available to anyone receiving government-subsidised residential aged care or Home Care Packages. During the coronavirus pandemic, we are focusing on phone and virtual friendships while physical distancing measures and visiting restrictions are in place. Read about the program and how to register.
Australiatest91
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for older people Symptoms Symptoms include (but are not limited to) fever, a dry cough, a sore throat and difficulty breathing. If you develop mild symptoms of COVID-19: isolate yourself from others at home and use a separate bathroom, if available use a surgical mask when around other people. If you don’t have a mask, practise good sneeze/cough hygiene practise good hand hygiene call a doctor and tell them about your symptoms and whether you have had contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 If you have serious symptoms such as difficulty breathing: call 000, ask for an ambulance and notify the officers if you have been in contact with anyone with COVID-19
Australiatest92
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for older people Protecting yourself As we move towards a COVIDSafe Australia, it is important for people at greater risk of serious illness if they get COVID-19 to take extra steps to protect themselves. You should maintain good hygiene and take care when interacting with other people. These are the best defences for you and your family against coronavirus. This includes: covering your coughs and sneezes with your elbow or a tissue disposing of used tissues immediately into a rubbish bin and washing your hands washing your hands often with soap and water, including before and after eating and after going to the toilet, and when you have been out to shops or other places using alcohol-based hand sanitisers (60% alcohol), where available cleaning and disinfecting surfaces you have touched staying 1.5 metres away — 2 arms’ length — from other people. This is an example of physical distancing continuing to stay at home and avoid contact with others continuing to avoid non-essential travel considering having the chemist deliver your medicines considering having your groceries and essential items delivered to your home downloading the COVIDSafe app to your smartphone for the times you do need to go out — the Older Persons COVID-19 Support Line can help you with this Read our fact sheet about the support available to you if you are isolated and finding it difficult to access food and basic household items.
Australiatest93
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for older people Assistance with food and meals Many Commonwealth funded providers, such as Meals on Wheels, can assist you with access to regular food supplies and prepared meals. If you are in urgent need of support, you can call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 and they can refer you directly to these services in your local area. If you are not registered with My Aged Care and you are 65 years or over, you can call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422. My Aged Care will ask you some questions to help you register. Services can be set up quickly for up to 6 weeks without the need for an assessment. If you are already receiving aged care services, you can also arrange this directly with your provider. Prioritised online grocery ordering We have worked with a number of grocery suppliers, including Coles and Woolworths, on priority access to their online and telephone shopping service for older and vulnerable people. If you are registered with My Aged Care, you can provide your My Aged Care ID number to access priority delivery. If you are not registered with My Aged Care and you are 65 years or over, you can call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422. My Aged Care will ask you some questions to help you register.
Australiatest94
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for people in aged care facilities Residents As we move towards a COVIDSafe Australia and physical distancing measures are eased around the country, special restrictions will remain in place for aged care facilities to protect older Australians. Residential aged care facilities will continue to restrict visits in line with the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee advice for residential aged care facilities. They will also continue to postpone large group visits, gatherings, and external excursions. Aged care facilities will help residents stay connected with family and friends by phone and video calls. If you develop symptoms of COVID-19, you will be kept separate from other people and will not be able to see visitors. Health care and residential care workers will continue to provide support and care for you while you are isolated. If you need to leave your room, such as for medical care, you will be given a surgical mask. Health care workers will provide masks to you. Residents who are well do not need to wear a mask. Residents admitted from other health facilities Active screening for symptoms of COVID-19 in residents being admitted or re- admitted from other health facilities and community settings should be conducted. No new residents with COVID-19 compatible symptoms are permitted to enter the facility. Appropriate infection prevention practices should be implemented for residents returning from treatment or care at other facilities.
Australiatest95
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for people in aged care facilities Visitors Some people cannot visit a residential aged care facility: Visitors who have returned from overseas in the last 14 days Visitors who have been in contact with someone confirmed to have COVID-19 in the last 14 days Visitors with a fever or symptoms of a respiratory illness Children 16 years and under, except in special circumstances, for example, where the aged care resident is in palliative care From 1 May 2020, you must have your influenza vaccination in order to visit an aged care facility. Visits should be short and conducted in the resident’s room, outside, or in a specific designated area (not a communal space). Each resident may have no more than 2 visitors at one time per day, including doctors. These may be immediate social supports (family members, close friends) or professional service or advocacy. If you can’t visit a resident in aged care as often as you would like to there are other ways to keep in touch and stay connected. You can keep in touch by: phone calls video calls social communication apps sending a postcard sharing photos, artwork, or short home videos This will limit your exposure to COVID-19 and your chances of accidentally spreading it to older people in your life. If you regularly visit someone living with a cognitive impairment, consider other ways to maintain social contact to help reassure people who may feel anxious about possible changes to their day to day life. You can also contact the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500. All visitors need to: provide details on their current health status to staff of the residential aged care facility be willing to undergo fever screening process prior to entry, where appropriate wash their hands before entering and leaving a resident’s room stay 1.5 metres away from residents where possible stay away when unwell
Australiatest96
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for people in aged care facilities Managers and staff See our: advice on providing aged care services during COVID-19 resources for aged care services The Australian Government has announced that residential aged care facilities should take extra precautions to keep residents safe from COVID-19. Both individuals and management need to take responsibility for the health of visitors and staff at facilities to protect our most vulnerable community members. Aged care facilities will: closely monitor the health of staff, including fever screening, where appropriate screen new and returning residents before entry put up signs and explain the steps they are taking to protect residents’ health Staff should be made aware of early signs and symptoms of COVID-19. Any staff with fever or symptoms of acute respiratory infection (for example, cough, sore throat, runny nose, shortness of breath) should be excluded from the workplace and tested for COVID-19. Staff must report their symptoms to the residential aged care facility. Sick leave policies must enable employees to stay home, if they have any — even very mild —symptoms of respiratory infection. To make more workers available, the Government is relaxing international student visa work conditions for aged care facilities and home care providers. This will allow international student nurses and other aged care workers to work more than 40 hours a fortnight. There are currently around 20,000 international student nurses studying in Australia.
Australiatest97
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for people in aged care facilities Preventing the spread of coronavirus Practising good hand and sneeze/cough hygiene is the best defence against most viruses. You should: wash your hands frequently with soap and water, including before and after eating, and after going to the toilet cough or sneeze into your elbow, dispose of tissues straight away, and wash your hands avoid contact with others by ‘physical distancing’ – stay more than 1.5 metres away from people whenever possible
Australiatest98
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for people with chronic health conditions Conditions that increase the risk of serious illness from COVID-19 Anyone could develop serious or severe illness from COVID-19, but those with chronic health conditions or weakened immune systems are at greater risk. If you are working and you have a chronic condition or your immune system is compromised, talk to your employer or workplace about having a risk assessment. Chronic conditions that put you at greater risk These conditions increase your risk if you are aged over 65, or if you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person aged over 50: chronic renal failure coronary heart disease congestive cardiac failure chronic lung disease such as severe asthma, cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis, suppurative lung disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or chronic emphysema poorly controlled diabetes poorly controlled hypertension Immune system conditions that put you at greater risk You are at increased risk at any age if your immune system is significantly weakened: due to haematologic neoplasms such as leukaemias, lymphomas and myelodysplastic syndromes post-transplant, if you have had a solid organ transplant and are on immunosuppressive therapy post-transplant, if you have had a haematopoietic stem cell transplant in the last 24 months or are on treatment for graft versus host disease (GVHD) by primary or acquired immunodeficiency including HIV infection by having chemotherapy or radiotherapy Medical treatments that put you at greater risk You are also at increased risk if you take any biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (bDMARD) or any of the following immunosuppressive drugs: azathioprine, more than 3mg per kg per day 6-mercaptopurine, more than 1.5mg per kg per day methotrexate, more than 0.4mg per kg per week high-dose corticosteroids (20mg or more of prednisone per day or equivalent) for 14 days or more tacrolimus cyclosporine cyclophosphamide mycophenolate any combination of these or other DMARDs Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are used to treat inflammatory forms of arthritis. They suppress the immune system and this slows the development of the arthritis. Some DMARDS have a broad effect on the immune system while the biological DMARDS target specific parts of the immune system.
Australiatest99
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for people with chronic health conditions Protecting yourself It’s vital to do everything you can to protect yourself and others from coronavirus: maintaining good hygiene physical distancing avoiding public gatherings isolation Make sure you continue to go to any usual or scheduled appointments with your doctor. See how to access health services and medications during COVID-19 restrictions. If you are at greater risk due to a chronic condition or weakened immune system, you should also: stay at home, including working from home if possible avoid non-essential travel avoid contact with others speak to your chemist about having medication delivered to you make use of telehealth services for routine or non-urgent medical help consider getting groceries and other essentials delivered
End of preview. Expand in Data Studio
YAML Metadata Warning: The task_categories "multiple-choice-qa" is not in the official list: text-classification, token-classification, table-question-answering, question-answering, zero-shot-classification, translation, summarization, feature-extraction, text-generation, fill-mask, sentence-similarity, text-to-speech, text-to-audio, automatic-speech-recognition, audio-to-audio, audio-classification, audio-text-to-text, voice-activity-detection, depth-estimation, image-classification, object-detection, image-segmentation, text-to-image, image-to-text, image-to-image, image-to-video, unconditional-image-generation, video-classification, reinforcement-learning, robotics, tabular-classification, tabular-regression, tabular-to-text, table-to-text, multiple-choice, text-ranking, text-retrieval, time-series-forecasting, text-to-video, image-text-to-text, visual-question-answering, document-question-answering, zero-shot-image-classification, graph-ml, mask-generation, zero-shot-object-detection, text-to-3d, image-to-3d, image-feature-extraction, video-text-to-text, keypoint-detection, visual-document-retrieval, any-to-any, video-to-video, other
YAML Metadata Warning: The task_ids "question-answering" is not in the official list: acceptability-classification, entity-linking-classification, fact-checking, intent-classification, language-identification, multi-class-classification, multi-label-classification, multi-input-text-classification, natural-language-inference, semantic-similarity-classification, sentiment-classification, topic-classification, semantic-similarity-scoring, sentiment-scoring, sentiment-analysis, hate-speech-detection, text-scoring, named-entity-recognition, part-of-speech, parsing, lemmatization, word-sense-disambiguation, coreference-resolution, extractive-qa, open-domain-qa, closed-domain-qa, news-articles-summarization, news-articles-headline-generation, dialogue-modeling, dialogue-generation, conversational, language-modeling, text-simplification, explanation-generation, abstractive-qa, open-domain-abstractive-qa, closed-domain-qa, open-book-qa, closed-book-qa, text2text-generation, slot-filling, masked-language-modeling, keyword-spotting, speaker-identification, audio-intent-classification, audio-emotion-recognition, audio-language-identification, multi-label-image-classification, multi-class-image-classification, face-detection, vehicle-detection, instance-segmentation, semantic-segmentation, panoptic-segmentation, image-captioning, image-inpainting, image-colorization, super-resolution, grasping, task-planning, tabular-multi-class-classification, tabular-multi-label-classification, tabular-single-column-regression, rdf-to-text, multiple-choice-qa, multiple-choice-coreference-resolution, document-retrieval, utterance-retrieval, entity-linking-retrieval, fact-checking-retrieval, univariate-time-series-forecasting, multivariate-time-series-forecasting, visual-question-answering, document-question-answering, pose-estimation

FeedbackQARetrieval

An MTEB dataset
Massive Text Embedding Benchmark

Using Interactive Feedback to Improve the Accuracy and Explainability of Question Answering Systems Post-Deployment

Task category t2t
Domains Web, Government, Medical, Written
Reference https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.03025

Source datasets:

How to evaluate on this task

You can evaluate an embedding model on this dataset using the following code:

import mteb

task = mteb.get_task("FeedbackQARetrieval")
evaluator = mteb.MTEB([task])

model = mteb.get_model(YOUR_MODEL)
evaluator.run(model)

To learn more about how to run models on mteb task check out the GitHub repository.

Citation

If you use this dataset, please cite the dataset as well as mteb, as this dataset likely includes additional processing as a part of the MMTEB Contribution.


@inproceedings{li-etal-2022-using,
  address = {Dublin, Ireland},
  author = {Li, Zichao  and
Sharma, Prakhar  and
Lu, Xing Han  and
Cheung, Jackie  and
Reddy, Siva},
  booktitle = {Findings of the Association for Computational Linguistics: ACL 2022},
  doi = {10.18653/v1/2022.findings-acl.75},
  editor = {Muresan, Smaranda  and
Nakov, Preslav  and
Villavicencio, Aline},
  month = may,
  pages = {926--937},
  publisher = {Association for Computational Linguistics},
  title = {Using Interactive Feedback to Improve the Accuracy and Explainability of Question Answering Systems Post-Deployment},
  url = {https://aclanthology.org/2022.findings-acl.75},
  year = {2022},
}


@article{enevoldsen2025mmtebmassivemultilingualtext,
  title={MMTEB: Massive Multilingual Text Embedding Benchmark},
  author={Kenneth Enevoldsen and Isaac Chung and Imene Kerboua and Márton Kardos and Ashwin Mathur and David Stap and Jay Gala and Wissam Siblini and Dominik Krzemiński and Genta Indra Winata and Saba Sturua and Saiteja Utpala and Mathieu Ciancone and Marion Schaeffer and Gabriel Sequeira and Diganta Misra and Shreeya Dhakal and Jonathan Rystrøm and Roman Solomatin and Ömer Çağatan and Akash Kundu and Martin Bernstorff and Shitao Xiao and Akshita Sukhlecha and Bhavish Pahwa and Rafał Poświata and Kranthi Kiran GV and Shawon Ashraf and Daniel Auras and Björn Plüster and Jan Philipp Harries and Loïc Magne and Isabelle Mohr and Mariya Hendriksen and Dawei Zhu and Hippolyte Gisserot-Boukhlef and Tom Aarsen and Jan Kostkan and Konrad Wojtasik and Taemin Lee and Marek Šuppa and Crystina Zhang and Roberta Rocca and Mohammed Hamdy and Andrianos Michail and John Yang and Manuel Faysse and Aleksei Vatolin and Nandan Thakur and Manan Dey and Dipam Vasani and Pranjal Chitale and Simone Tedeschi and Nguyen Tai and Artem Snegirev and Michael Günther and Mengzhou Xia and Weijia Shi and Xing Han Lù and Jordan Clive and Gayatri Krishnakumar and Anna Maksimova and Silvan Wehrli and Maria Tikhonova and Henil Panchal and Aleksandr Abramov and Malte Ostendorff and Zheng Liu and Simon Clematide and Lester James Miranda and Alena Fenogenova and Guangyu Song and Ruqiya Bin Safi and Wen-Ding Li and Alessia Borghini and Federico Cassano and Hongjin Su and Jimmy Lin and Howard Yen and Lasse Hansen and Sara Hooker and Chenghao Xiao and Vaibhav Adlakha and Orion Weller and Siva Reddy and Niklas Muennighoff},
  publisher = {arXiv},
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2502.13595},
  year={2025},
  url={https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.13595},
  doi = {10.48550/arXiv.2502.13595},
}

@article{muennighoff2022mteb,
  author = {Muennighoff, Niklas and Tazi, Nouamane and Magne, Loïc and Reimers, Nils},
  title = {MTEB: Massive Text Embedding Benchmark},
  publisher = {arXiv},
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2210.07316},
  year = {2022}
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.07316},
  doi = {10.48550/ARXIV.2210.07316},
}

Dataset Statistics

Dataset Statistics

The following code contains the descriptive statistics from the task. These can also be obtained using:

import mteb

task = mteb.get_task("FeedbackQARetrieval")

desc_stats = task.metadata.descriptive_stats
{
    "test": {
        "num_samples": 4356,
        "number_of_characters": 2920589,
        "documents_text_statistics": {
            "total_text_length": 2776504,
            "min_text_length": 117,
            "average_text_length": 1174.4940778341793,
            "max_text_length": 15868,
            "unique_texts": 2364
        },
        "documents_image_statistics": null,
        "queries_text_statistics": {
            "total_text_length": 144085,
            "min_text_length": 17,
            "average_text_length": 72.33182730923694,
            "max_text_length": 206,
            "unique_texts": 1991
        },
        "queries_image_statistics": null,
        "relevant_docs_statistics": {
            "num_relevant_docs": 1992,
            "min_relevant_docs_per_query": 1,
            "average_relevant_docs_per_query": 1.0,
            "max_relevant_docs_per_query": 1,
            "unique_relevant_docs": 1230
        },
        "top_ranked_statistics": null
    }
}

This dataset card was automatically generated using MTEB

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