COVID-19 Unpaid Quarantine Bills

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (14:28): My question is to the Minister for Health. Is it appropriate for the state government to be threatening court action over unpaid COVID-19 quarantine bills? With your leave, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr ELLIS: A constituent of mine left Australia on 20 January 2020, which I am led to believe was prior to the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, and was then unable to return home for 12 months—in January 2021. He tells me that he was informed by the authorities that he wouldn't have to pay for quarantine because he left prior to the outbreak, but he has since been hit with a $3,000 bill which he is contesting. More recently he has been threatened with court action for the recovery of that money.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:29): I thank the member for Narungga for his question representing his constituent. Obviously it was somewhat before my time, in relation to hotel quarantine arrangements that were undertaken, so I can't vouch for the particular commitments that were made by the previous government in terms of whether somebody would or would not have to pay.

As the shadow minister at the time, I don't recall commitments being made from the government that there would be people who wouldn't have to have paid that at the time, but I am certainly more than happy to look into the matter for the member for Narungga in relation to his constituent and, certainly, if there were commitments made by the previous government in relation to those fees that were attributable due to the medi-hotel quarantine arrangements that were place at the time.