In mid-December 2020, the Government announced the introduction of a new financial support package for COVID-19 affected employers and self-employed persons, known as the COVID-19 Short-term Absence Payment.
This will help businesses pay their employees who are unable to work from home while awaiting test results and will protect others from possible COVID-19 transmission.
The payment became available to eligible workers on 9 February 2021.
This payment is designed for:
- Employees and self-employed persons who are required to stay home while they await COVID-19 test results, will miss at least one shift of work, and are unable to work from home.
- Parents or caregivers who are required to stay home while they await COVID-19 test results for a dependent, will miss at least one shift of work, and are unable to work from home.
- Household members or secondary contacts, of someone who is a close contact of a person with COVID-19, and where the worker has been advised to stay home while they wait for the close contact’s test results. They must also be unable to work from home and will miss at least one shift of work in doing so.
The one-off payment of $350 is available at all Alert Levels for each eligible worker (employee or self-employed person). The payment can only be applied for once in any 30-day period, or if a health professional has required the worker to re-test in a shorter period.
If the results show the affected person tested positive for COVID-19, then they may be eligible for the Leave Support Scheme.
For further information, please refer to our COVID-19 Short-term Absence Payment FAQs.