Mega cost of largely vacant Mickleham quarantine hub revealed

Just a handful of people have stayed at the purpose-built Covid Mickleham quarantine hub since it opened, costing Victorians $13,000 per head. So what now for the facility?

Just a handful of people have stayed at the purpose-built quarantine hub in Mickleham since it opened. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

Fewer than 1900 people have stayed at Victoria’s purpose-built quarantine facility since it opened, meaning taxpayers have shelled out $13,300-a-head in operational costs alone.

The Commonwealth, which owns the $580m Centre for National Resilience in Mickelham, is now scrambling for alternative uses to quarantine, which could include short-term refugee assistance or housing for emergency services personnel tackling natural disasters.

It is understood resettlement agencies have toured the centre and believe it could be used to put up people fleeing war-torn areas, such as Ukraine, while longer-term options are sourced.

Victorian taxpayers continue to shoulder millions of dollars a month in operational costs for the centre to run as a quarantine facility, although staff numbers have been scaled back from 550 when it opened in February, to 186 today.

Some healthcare workers who can’t isolate at home are using the hub, which has advanced ventilation systems and maximises open space rather than confined quarters.

But only 412 returning overseas travellers and maritime crew members – who were cohorts the centre aimed to house at the height of the pandemic – have stayed there.

The facility is costing Victorians millions of dollars a month in operational costs. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

About $25.2m has been spent to house 1895 people at the hub since February. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

No Covid-19 quarantine requirements are now in place for overseas visitors or returned travellers.

About $25.2m has been spent housing a total of 1895 people since February, which is about $13,300 per head, but the Andrews Government maintained the Mickelham hub was an “important investment”.

“The past two years have clearly shown us the importance of being prepared for whatever the future holds and this facility remains as ever an important investment in keeping our state and our nation safe,” a spokeswoman said.

“We will work closely with the Federal Government, who owns the facility, on possible future uses following the completion of its use as the Victorian Quarantine Hub during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

A spokeswoman for federal Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said several quarantine facilities built during the pandemic crisis would “be used to respond to future crises beyond Covid-19”.

She said a licence agreement with the Victorian Government also “provides flexibility for governments to agree to non-quarantine uses for the centre”.

“The design of the centres opens up possibilities to support: health systems, future health emergencies; humanitarian efforts … or crisis accommodation in responding to natural disasters,” she said.

“The centres could also be considered for use as staging posts for emergency service workers or defence force personnel in responding to future crisis and emergencies.”