National cabinet: Australia to provide free RAT tests to six million people

The Prime Minister has said Australia has “no choice but to ride the Omicron” as he announced millions more people would get free rapid tests.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced rapid antigen tests will be free for more than 6 million Australians, while also warning there would be heavy penalties for price gouging.

Premiers and chief ministers met with Mr Morrison on Wednesday to discuss the testing problems that have plagued Australia since Covid-19 cases began to soar.

A range of measures were agreed to at national cabinet, including scrapping a requirement for close contacts to confirm a positive rapid antigen result with a PCR test and dropping testing rules for international travellers and truckies.

Rapid antigen tests will be made free to concession card holders over a three-month period, with these people able to collect up to 10 kits from pharmacies.

They can get five free tests per month.

However, symptomatic people are still being urged to go to testing clinics to avoid further spreading of the virus.

“Universal free access to tests was not agreed to by any of the states and territories today,” Mr Morrison said.

“What was agreed, though, was a model to provide concessional access for tests over a three-month period.

“There will be a maximum of 10 tests that will be provided on a concessional basis over those three months.”

Mr Morrison said the free tests would be supplied to people who were on a commonwealth seniors health card, a health care card, a low income health care card, a pensioner concession card, a DVA Gold Card or a DVA white card.

“Over 6.6 million Australians fall into those categories,” Mr Morrison said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a major change to stop price gouging. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

“We hope to have that in place over the next fortnight. It may be able to be done more quickly than that and we are working with the Pharmacy Guild to put that in place as soon as we can.”

Mr Morrison said that it would work as a rebate system with similar checks to what is in place for high-level paracetamol.

“If you are in any of those groups that I outlined, you go to the chemist, they will give you one and they will take the details, they will obviously get your concession card details … and there will be a rebate system that works back to the pharmacy,” he said.

In a major crackdown on price gouging, Mr Morrison also said that rapid antigen tests would be included under the Biosecurity Act.

This means a retailer will face jail time if they sell the tests for more than 120 per cent of what they paid for it.

For example, it would be a breach if the pharmacy pays $10 for a test, then sells it for $22.01.

“And that carries a penalty of $66,000 and up to five years jail,” Mr Morrison said.

He also announced close contacts who returned a positive rapid antigen test result would no longer have to get a PCR test to confirm they are infected.

The seven-day rolling test requirement for truck drivers will also be scrapped, while international arrivals will also no longer need to get a second test to ease pressure on the system.

“They will have a rapid antigen test on arrival,” Mr Morrison said.

“If that is negative, then they will not be required to have a further test, remembering that 99 per cent of those who are turning up at our airports are double vaccinated.

“And we’re not seeing large numbers cases come through international arrivals.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the changes to rapid antigen test support on Wednesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

Mr Morrison conceded Australia had “no choice but to ride the wave” of Omicron, as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson planned to do.

“What is the alternative? What we must do is press on, and the UK is in a different situation to Australia, and Australia is better placed than almost any other country in the world,” he said.

The Prime Minister had previously declared he would not make the tests free, so as to not undercut the private market.

People who are not close contacts or symptomatic will still have to buy the tests themselves if they are not a concession card holder.

“And by making that policy very, very clear, then that means the private market — whether it’s in the big warehouse pharmacies or the other pharmacies or the supermarkets — they can now go and stock their shelves with confidence that they won’t be undercut by the government,” he told the Today Show on Monday.

WHAT’S CHANGING

– Up to 10 RATs will be made free to concession card holders over three months.

– Close contacts will no longer be required to get a PCR test to confirm they’ve tested positive via a RAT.

– Truckies will no longer have to undergo mandatory Covid testing every seven days.

– International arrivals will no longer have to get a second Covid test after landing in Australia if the RAT comes back negative. There have been different rules depending on the jurisdiction.