Businesses call for ban on Covid home tests to be overturned

Businesses are demanding the federal government lift a ‘crazy’ ban on Australian-made home Covid tests that are 96 per cent accurate and give a result within 15 minutes.

Businesses desperate to reopen are demanding the federal government remove a “crazy” ban on Australian-made home Covid tests that are widely used overseas.

Brisbane start-up Ellume’s DIY tests give results in 15 minutes and are being sold in pharmacies across the US as part of a $312 million order from the Biden White House.

Trucking boss Paul Freestone is paying $160 a time for his drivers to get tested — with results sometimes taking up to four days.

But the rapid antigen kits, which are approved by the American Food and Drug Administration and are up to 96 per cent accurate, cannot be sold here because home-use tests have been banned by the Therapeutic Goods Administration since 2010.

Exceptions have previously been made to this TGA requirement, for HIV in 2014 and for other diseases including flu in 2019, and shutdown-shattered industries say Health Minister Greg Hunt needs to do the same for Covid tests.

“Something like this could alleviate the need for closing down businesses,” Falls Creek Chamber of Commerce secretary Steve Bond said.

“One would one would ­imagine that the United States would have done as thorough testing as we would do to get sign off.”

Ellume Health CEO Sean Parsons at his Brisbane warehouse. Picture: Glenn Hunt

Mr Bond said he had shuttered his ski lodge and restaurant and stood down eight full-time staff because of Covid restrictions.

Transport boss Paul Freestone is paying a Victorian pathology lab $160 a test for each driver in his 100-truck fleet that services NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

“I support the need for testing but the system is becoming very, very frustrating,” he said.

Some of his drivers were losing necessary sleep time queuing for tests which could take four days to gets results.

“At the end of the day, the most important thing here, not only for our industry, but for Australia, is that we can open,” Mr Freestone said.

“With something like this, you can imagine our drivers can pull up before the borders and do the test, or pull up and have the officers do the test while they’re waiting.

“We could be opening up and we can have open public transport systems, we can open our markets up.

“It’s crazy — who would not want to take it up?”

Ellume founder Sean Parsons said the ban was the only barrier to selling in Australia.

“I don’t have line of sight as to why the federal government isn’t looking to make these changes,” he said of a potential TGA exemption.

The Department of Health said: “Testing for COVID-19 should only be conducted in an accredited pathology laboratories.”