Federal government should give businesses free rapid tests to ‘keep the economy open’: Employer groups

Business groups want the federal government to foot the bill for rapid antigen tests for workers, saying many companies are unable to afford the additional expense following months of restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia are pushing the federal government to secure more tests and distribute them among struggling businesses as the virus spreads nationally.

Businesses want the federal government to pay for rapid antigen tests for staff.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday that testing is largely a state and territory responsibility. The Commonwealth government has secured about four million rapid tests with another six million arriving soon. Funds have been put aside for more tests, including to add to the national stockpile.

“Vaccines are what the Commonwealth traditionally provides, whether that’s flus or various other forms of vaccines, that’s a system that we currently run. When it comes to other health equipment that is needed at a state level, that’s done by states and territories,” he said. Concessional access to tests for those who cannot afford them, such as pensioners, is under consideration in partnership with the states and territories.

ACCI chief executive Andrew McKellar said free and accessible rapid testing would help detect cases earlier, limit the spread of the virus, avoid the strain on in-person PCR testing facilities and keep the economy open.

“[The federal] government must provide free and accessible rapid testing to businesses as an additional line of defence to give the certainty and confidence businesses desperately need, while ensuring that their staff and customers are safe in the workplace.”

He said businesses were waiting days for expensive PCR test results to find out whether their workplaces were safe and they needed more tools available to avoid snap closures and limit the risk to employees, customers and the broader community.

“When businesses are only just beginning to recover from the devastation of the pandemic, many will be unable to cover the additional costs of rapid testing,” Mr McKellar said. “As such, the federal government must immediately move to provide free and accessible rapid tests to help stop the spread of the virus in the workplace.”

Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia chief executive Alexi Boyd has also been calling for the federal government to provide rapid antigen tests to businesses, saying daily testing of a workforce can cost thousands of dollars and the tests can be difficult to find.

Without them, she said, businesses faced more individual snap lockdowns with small businesses more likely to struggle as they have fewer employees to rely on should others be forced into isolation.

“It is disappointing to see the federal government [not providing these tests]. There’s no single solution to this, we need to have a multi-faceted approach.

“Rapid antigen testing stops the worker from getting on public transport and getting to my workplace,” she said.

“Small businesses have stepped up. We cannot simply turn off the support,” she said, encouraging a tailored approach to help hardest-hit areas and provide targeted assistance.

Business Council of Australia executive director Jessica Wilson said the nation was in a “new phase” of its COVID-19 response, living alongside the virus and managing the risks. The BCA, which represents the interests of many large businesses, has not proposed the federal government pay for the costs of rapid antigen tests. Corporate customers have been buying many tests at a time from pharmacies for staff testing amid shortages.

“To keep our economic recovery on track we have to stay the course on reopening. That means using every tool we can to keep businesses operating, borders open and supply chains working, including using rapid antigen testing,” Ms Wilson said.