SA Council of Social Service calls on Steven Marshall to provide free rapid antigen test to vulnerable locals

The state’s peak body for community services has slammed high prices for Covid test kits. Should they be free? Take our poll.

Vulnerable South Australians should not be forced to choose between feeding their families and keeping themselves safe from Covid, the state’s peak body for community services has warned.

SA Council of Social Service executive director Ross Womersley said providing free rapid antigen (RAT) tests needed to be a priority for the state government to prevent price gouging from retailers and private sellers.

His statement follows reports of single tests selling for as much as $25 on social media, as opposed to the standard retail price of $10 each, and up to $90 for a five-test kit at an SA-based retailer.

“I think it’s absolutely required that (tests are free),” Mr Womersley said. “We need a free regime of RATs so that those (low income) people can … put food on the table or buy other medicines that are incredibly important.”

His warning comes after Premier Steven Marshall ruled out providing free tests.

Mr Marshall on Thursday said an estimated 780,000 test kits were in the state’s system with another seven million on the way. However, none would be made available free to the public.

“We currently have 780,000 rapid antigen tests in stock and we need those,” Mr Marshall said.

“We use them on a regular basis to make sure that we can fully utilise them in our health settings, our high-risk settings when they are needed and we need to keep that buffer in place.”

On Friday he did not answer questions on rapid tests, pointing to his previous comments. The refusal to provide free RATs has also been scrutinised by the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

Union president Michelle O’Neil urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to follow in the footsteps of other countries in making the tests free.

Ms O’Neil said free tests ensured “your income or postcode doesn’t determine whether you have access to a test and whether you’re safe.”

But Mr Morrison said it was “important” that retail stores had the “certainty” the government would not be providing tests free to “anybody and everybody”.

Rapid antigen test kits sold out within 24 hours of arriving at SA supermarket chain Drakes this week.

“Most stores got stock delivered on Thursday evening and the rest (on Friday) morning and I know that a lot of the stores in the south (and west) of the city have already sold out.” a spokeswoman said on Friday.

The Victorian government has ordered 34 million rapid tests but it remains unclear exactly how it plans to deliver them, though it says it will be on an as-needs basis.