Big hotel quarantine bills in the mail for returned travellers

Thousands of Victorians who have returned from overseas are soon to be hit with steep bills for their stint in hotel quarantine.

Thousands of Victorians forced into hotel quarantine after returning from overseas will begin receiving costly bills for their mandatory detention from this week.

In the bid to recoup millions of dollars in costs for the state’s hotel quarantine program, the Victorian government have begun issuing invoices to return travellers after a new law was passed in parliament late last year.

Victorians and their families who have returned since December 7 will be charged between $3000 and $5000 for their 14-day quarantine period within 30 days.

“Guests who have arrived since December can expect to start receiving their invoices for quarantine in the coming weeks,” a government spokesman said.

“We recognise that this has been a stressful time for returned travellers — planning their return home, going through quarantine and then settling back into everyday life.

Returned travellers arrive in a SkyBus at the Pan Pacific Hotel in South Wharf. Picture: Ian Currie

“People experiencing financial or other hardship will be able to apply for a fee waiver after they have received their invoice.”

Only travellers who booked flights after July 10 will be required to pay the fee, but anyone who passed through the hotels will receive a bill and must request a waiver.

However, the government is facing criticism for the delay in billing participants.

Opposition spokesman David Southwick said “the Victorian Liberal Nationals support a user-pays contribution to the cost of hotel quarantine, but Labor’s last minute scramble has left taxpayers exposed to further costs”.

It’s also likely Victorian authorities would face a lengthy fight to force many people to pay up, with Queensland and NSW reporting millions of dollars in unpaid bills for its quarantine fee schemes.

[e-mail]