$26.9m spent on hotel quarantine and iso despite Wellcamp opening

Tens of millions of dollars in hotel quarantine fees remained unpaid and are at risk of never being paid, with taxpayers potentially left to pick up the tab.

The state government is still forking out for hotels to be used for isolation and quarantine purposes, amid revelations taxpayers might have to cover tens of millions of dollars in unpaid hotel quarantine fees.

About $77.7m in “doubtful debts” linked to the state’s hotel quarantine system have been identified by Queensland Health, meaning the fees are at risk of not being paid – with taxpayers potentially left to pick up the tab.

About $11.5m in hotel quarantine fees have already been waived by Queensland Health, while the total amount of fees paid by quarantine guests has reached about $103m.

There is still a massive backlog though of more than 41,000 invoices – totalling an estimated $135m – that are yet to be issued to hotel quarantine guests.

The Stamford Plaza has been used as a quarantine hotel. Picture: Liam Kidston.

Queensland Health has defended the significant build-up of unissued quarantine bills, saying data has to be collated from “various system providers” before an invoice can be given out.

As of March 25, there were 68,777 invoices that had been issued to hotel quarantine guests, but roughly one in ten – or about 6740 – were considered to be significantly overdue.

This includes 3366 invoices worth about $9.6m where private debt collectors have been called in to chase unpaid fees.

The hotel quarantine system became the centre of debate in state parliament on Thursday as it was revealed taxpayers were still forking out money for hotels despite the Wellcamp quarantine facility being open since early February.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles confirmed the government had spent $26.9m on hotel quarantine and isolation services between February 5 – when Wellcamp opened – and March 31.

He said six regional hotels were still operating so Covid-vulnerable community members could isolate, while the Novotel at Brisbane Airport was being used to take quarantine guests in “emergent circumstances”.

“We have an obligation to respect the contractual notice periods of each hotel and their contract expiry dates,” Mr Miles said.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli accused the government of misleading Queenslanders, after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced in February the departure of the last person from hotel quarantine in Brisbane.

“This eye-watering amount of taxpayers’ money is being wasted at a time the Wellcamp facility remains largely unused,” Mr Crisafulli said.

Originally published as $26.9m spent on hotel quarantine and iso despite Wellcamp opening