'The payment will remain available for as long as mandatory isolation periods are applied'
Australia's National Cabinet has extended the Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment (PLDP) beyond September 30, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
"First Ministers agreed to extend the Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment at current rates beyond the 30th of September," Albanese told reporters.
The Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment is a lump sum granted to individuals when they can't work or earn an income because they have to self-isolate due to COVID-19. The payment was restored by the Albanese government in July and was originally supposed to end on September 30. This extension, however, will continue for as long as mandatory isolation remains, according to the prime minister.
"The payment will remain available for as long as mandatory isolation periods are applied by all states and territories," said Albanese. "The principle essentially agreed to by all First Ministers is that while the government requires mandated isolation, the government has a responsibility to provide support during that period. We remain obviously of the view that if people are sick, whether from COVID or from other health issues, they should not be at work, and that is important."
However, Albanese underscored that the government would cap the number of PLDP claims an individual can make in a six-month period to just three.
"We will make some changes, three payments over a period of six months would be the maximum, unless there has to be quite extraordinary circumstances of why that's the case," he said.
The federal and state governments will continue the 50:50 cost-sharing arrangements for the payment, according to the prime minister.
Employers react to extension
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) welcomed the decision of the National Cabinet to extend the pandemic leave arrangements.
"Paid pandemic leave needs to stay in place as long as working people are being asked to isolate and take time away from work to control the spread of the virus," said ACTU assistant secretary Liam O'Brien. “The third of our working population who do not have access to paid sick leave cannot be expected to go without pay to keep the rest of the community safe."
He did, however, go on to criticize the reduction in payments – something he said will still leave some working people "worse off."
"We should not be pulling back supports from working people who are doing the right thing to stop the spread of the virus," he said.
