COVID-19 Update

The Property Council wishes to update its members on the current COVID-19 situation in Queensland. 

Mask Mandate

From 1am Sunday, January 2 masks are required in all circumstances, apart from homes:  

• In workplaces (unless it is unsafe to do so) 
• Pubs, clubs and cafes (except when seated) 
• Indoors stadiums and sports arenas (except when seated) 
• Libraries  
• Hairdressers and nail salons 
• Waiting rooms at a medical centre  

Masks were already required in the below settings: 

• In supermarkets and shops 
• Public transport and rideshare 
• Airports and on planes 
• Cinemas and theatres 

Work from Home 

As per the Queensland Government’s recommendation, the Property Council’s Queensland Division has temporarily returned to a work from home model. We are optimistic this arrangement will only remain in place for a short period of time. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the Advocacy Team via email or telephone (07 3225 3000) if you have any queries.  

Activating the CBD will remain a focus for the Property Council in 2022, and we look forward to returning to our office and sharing details of a new campaign once there is greater certainty regarding the latest outbreak of COVID-19.   

School year delayed 

The Queensland Premier has announced the delay to the start of the 2022 school year with students now returning to the classroom on Monday 7 February 2022. Year 11 and 12 will return to learning online from Monday 31 January and the school year will conclude on Friday 16 December.  Schools will be open from Monday 24 January for children of essential workers. 

This new return to school date applies to all Queensland primary schools, secondary schools, including Catholic and independent, as well state delivered and sessional kindies.  

Close contact definition and testing requirements  

A close contact is now defined as a household member or household-like contact of a diagnosed person (spent more than four hours with a person in a house or other place of accommodation).  

The testing requirements are below:  

• All close contacts still must get tested on Day 6 of their quarantine period and if they develop COVID-19 symptoms. 
• A close contact’s quarantine period is now defined as: 
• starting when they are informed or become aware they are a close contact of a diagnosed person 
• ending at the end of 7 days from the date the diagnosed person took the initial test that returned a positive result (provided the close contact has no symptoms and a test on Day 6 of their quarantine returns a negative result) 
• Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) are now accepted for testing requirements and a PCR test is not required to confirm negative or positive results. 

Critically essential workers 

A close contact who is a critically essential worker can leave quarantine to go to their workplace provided the critically essential worker and their employer meet the requirements for critically essential workers. 

A list of critical industries and critically essential roles can be found here.   

The Property Council has requested the Queensland Government formally provide critical industry status to the building and construction industry, in the context of managing COVID-19 close contacts.

Update on international arrivals

The State Government has announced that fully vaccinated international travellers will be able to enter Queensland without quarantining from 1am, Saturday, January 22. 

Vaccinated travellers will be required to take a rapid antigen test (RAT) within 24 hours of their arrival. Unvaccinated travellers are still required to complete 14 days quarantine in a government nominated facility. 

Currently 88.8% of eligible Queenslanders are fully vaccinated.

The Property Council welcomes the announcement as a key step in providing confidence for businesses that rely on the foot traffic that international visitors generate.

While the Property Council will continue to update members on the evolving situation, we encourage members to please check the Queensland Health website as well.