Covid Qld: More than $40m in hotel quarantine bills still unpaid

Over a year since Queensland’s borders were reopened, the state government is chasing down an eye-watering amount owed to taxpayers.

Hotel Grand Chancellor was one of Brisbane’s quarantine hotels.

The state government is still chasing down tens of millions of dollars in unpaid hotel quarantine fees that are owed to taxpayers more than a year after Queensland’s borders were reopened.

The Courier-Mail can reveal more than 14,800 hotel quarantine invoices are deemed overdue for payment – totalling a massive $42.25m, or about 16 per cent of all invoices that were issued.

This includes 3366 invoices worth $9.5m that have been referred to debt collectors because they are considered significantly overdue.

The overdue fees are enough to buy 400 ambulance transport vehicles or a new satellite hospital – and are almost enough to cover this year’s $49m budget for new and replacement police vehicles.

Queensland Health has also now waived $41.6m in fees from 13,735 bills after more than 23,000 hotel quarantine visitors applied for the state government to help cover the cost of their hotel stay.

A Queensland Health spokeswoman said the department was pursuing quarantine fees in a bid to limit the burden on taxpayers and to recoup the costs of providing accommodation, linen, laundry and meals.

“Queensland Health understands that this is a challenging time for many people and that is why multiple payment options have been made available,” she said.

“There are provisions for individuals to apply for a waiver of quarantine fees including financial hardship and vulnerability.

“All applications for quarantine fee waivers undergo a robust internal process and are considered on a case-by-case basis.”

In total, 87,362 hotel quarantine invoices worth $255.3m were issued during the pandemic.

More than 57,000 invoices have now been fully paid, partially paid, or are on a payment plan – coming to a total value of $157.38m.

The state government reopened Queensland’s borders on December 13 last year after the state reached the 80 per cent vaccination milestone.

As of 1 July 2021, the cost of hotel quarantine for a single adult was $3,220, while for a couple the cost was set at $4,130 for the 14 night stay.

A room for two adults and two children cost about $5,000 for the fortnight.

According to the Queensland Health website, the fee waiver application process closed on August 31 this year.

However, applications can still be made if there are extenuating circumstances that prevented someone from applying for a fee waiver prior to August 31.

Originally published as Covid Qld: More than $40m in hotel quarantine bills still unpaid