The Canberra Business Chamber welcomes the changes announced today to isolation rules for household contacts in the ACT. This follows announcements of changes in both NSW and Victoria yesterday.

The changes for close contact isolation rules in the ACT will help ease the pressures on local businesses, many of whom have been dealing with crippling workforce shortages for months.

Canberra Business Chamber CEO Graham Catt said: “We’ve been hearing regularly from businesses who are forced to close or reduce their operations due to staff shortages, while their healthy workers remained in isolation at home, unable to work because of isolation rules.”

“Bookings are cancelled, goods and services can’t be provided to customers, and many businesses are now months behind in filling orders.”

With around 25% of employers telling the chamber they have been impacted by staff shortages, changes to the isolation rules that align the territory with NSW and Victoria will enable more employees to stay at work, ensuring businesses can keep their doors open and keep the economy moving.

“Ensuring that as many workers as possible can safely return to the workplace is critical to relieving the labour and supply chain pressures hurting ACT businesses right now.” said Mr Catt. “And without changes to the current isolation rules, our economic recovery and our longer-term economic growth are at risk.”

The ACT will ease quarantine requirements for household contacts of people who have COVID from 11.59pm Tuesday 26 April. In NSW the requirement for close contacts of COVID cases to isolate for seven days will end at 6pm on Friday.

Media Contact:  

Graham Catt, CEO, Canberra Business Chamber T: 02 6247 4199