Coronavirus changes in Queensland
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- Update: Friday September 25 – no more restricted areas
- Update: Friday September 4 – claiming the costs of hand sanitiser
- Update: Saturday August 22 – PPE and accommodation services
- Other helpful resources
- Other links
Update: Friday September 25 – no more restricted areas
As of 1 am September 25 there are no more restricted Local Government Areas in Queensland.
There are still some rules that apply to everyone in Queensland.
You still have to do your best to keep at least 1.5 metres away (two big steps) from people you don’t live with.
You should still keep up good hand hygiene. And avoid hugs, kisses and handshakes.
You can’t have more than 30 people in total at your home, or in groups of more than 30 outside of your home.
You can travel and sleepover anywhere in Queensland for as long as you want for any reason.
Special visitor rules apply for aged care facilities, hospitals and disability accommodation providers.
Read more
👉 Going out, travel, recreation and gathering in Queensland
👉 Disability Accommodation Services
👉 Protecting aged care residents
Update: Friday September 4 – claiming the costs of hand sanitiser
The NDIS have updated the info about claiming hand sanitiser on the coronavirus section of their website today.
It used to say
“Hand sanitiser continues to be a personal expense.”
Now it says
“Generally, the ordinary use of hand sanitiser is a personal expense.
However, if you receive close personal support and find that you are using more hand sanitiser than you would under normal circumstances, you can use your NDIS plan to cover the cost of extra hand sanitiser.
You can use the Low Cost Disability-Related Health Consumables line item in your core supports budget to purchase hand sanitiser, as you would for PPE like gloves and face masks.
Funding the extra cost of hand sanitiser is a temporary change during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates if the situation changes in other states and territories.”
You can read more on the NDIS website on the
👉 Latest advice from NDIS page
Saturday August 22 – PPE and accommodation services
The Minister for the NDIS Stuart Robert has announced today that disability providers providing services in restricted areas of Queensland can now invoice the NDIA directly for the cost of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
PPE is really important stuff like masks, face shields and gloves.
Participants who live in restricted areas can also use their NDIS funds to pay for PPE for themselves.
The restricted local government areas are:
✅ City of Brisbane
✅ City of Ipswich
✅ Logan City
✅ Scenic Rim Region
✅ Somerset Region
✅ Lockyer Valley Region
✅ Moreton Bay Region
✅ Redland City
Queensland participants can also ask for extra funding for short term accommodation if they have to isolate themselves. And for deep cleaning of their home if they have tested positive.
So basically the same arrangements that have already been in place for participants and providers in Victoria and New South Wales have now been extended to parts of Queensland.
There are also new rules for everyone living in these restricted areas.
➡️ The number of visitors you can have in your home is now limited to 10 people
➡️ Visits to disability accommodation services are now limited to people who are essential
➡️ Everyone working or visiting accommodation services must now wear a mask
➡️ And if you have been in a hotspot in the last 14 days you won’t be allowed to work or visit anyone living in an accommodation service.
👉 You can read more on the NDIS website
👉 You can read about the new rules for restricted areas here
👉 You can find the full list of restricted areas here
Other helpful resources
There are a bunch of helpful resources out there about how to wear masks. A lot of these have come from Victoria but we will update this section as new resources from Queensland come out.
The Department of Health have some fact sheets for people with disability and workers:
- Guide to personal protective equipment (PPE) for disability care providers
- Information for Disability Support Providers and Workers
There is a great video from Australia’s Chief Nursing and Midwifery officer about how support workers should use and wear PPE
The Department of Health has an infographic which explains when you need to wear a mask and how to put it on
It has also been translated into lots of different languages
The Victorian government’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has lots of information about when and why you should wear a mask. It includes a couple of videos.
And the DHHS page on COVID-19 for people with disability now includes a handful of factsheets and Easy Read documents.
And the Australian government has produced some material in Easy Read.
Deaf Victoria have made some advocacy graphics for the Deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing community, to help make your communication preferences known when someone is wearing a mask. Find the full range of graphics on the Deaf Victoria website here.
And finally the good folks at Ideas have pulled lots of info together all in one place
This might also be a good time for support workers to refresh themselves about PPE and infection control. There is a free online module from the Department of Health. You have to create a log in, but once you have done that you are good to go. And anyone can do it – people with disability, family members, support workers.
And don’t forget Ideas are the organisation behind the Disability Information Helpline. Remember this hotline is just for people with disability and their families to help with all things Coronavirus.
They can help you with any question you might have. If you are feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to start they will do all the hard work for you and get you the info and help you need. Just give them a call.
The hotline number is 1800 643 787
It is open Monday to Friday 8 am to 8 pm (AEST) and Saturday and Sunday 9 am to 7 pm (AEST).
You can read more on the Ideas website.
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