$11,000 fine and spend up to six months in prison if anyone in NSW leaves their house without a “Reasonable Excuse”

$11,000 fine and spend up to six months in prison if anyone in NSW leaves their house without a “Reasonable Excuse”

Public Health (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement) Order 2020 in NSW  was gazetteed lastnight and heavy penalties for people who not folowing the direction.

Anyone in NSW who leaves their house without a "reasonable excuse" could face an $11,000 fine and/or  spend up to six months in prison under an emergency ministerial directive gazetted overnight.

The public health order, which enacts Sunday's recommendations of the national cabinet, gives police sweeping power to enforce the latest round of restrictions designed to limit the spread of coronavirus in Australia.

The COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement Order 2020 makes it unlawful to leave your place of residence except "to obtain food or other goods and services", work and education that cannot be done from home, exercise, medical or caring reasons, and a limited number of other reasons outlined in the gazette as follows

Reasonable excuses are as follows

  1. obtaining food or other goods or services for the personal needs of the household or other household purposes (including for pets) and for vulnerable persons
  1. travelling for the purposes of work if the person cannot work from the person’s place of residence
  1. travelling for the purposes of attending childcare (including picking up or dropping another person at childcare)
  1. travelling for the purposes of facilitating attendance at a school or other educational institution if the person attending the school or institution cannot learn from the person’s place of residence
  1. exercising
  1. obtaining medical care or supplies or health supplies or fulfilling carer’s responsibilities
  1. attending a wedding or a funeral in the circumstances referred to in clause 6(2)(d) and (e) or 7(1)(h)
  1. moving to a new place of residence (including a business moving to new premises) or between different places of residence of the person or inspecting a potential new place of residence
  1. providing care or assistance (including personal care) to a vulnerable person or providing emergency assistance
  1. donating blood
  1. undertaking any legal obligations
  1. accessing public services (whether provided by Government, a private provider or a non-Government organisation), including— (a) social services, and (b) employment services, and (c) domestic violence services, and (d) mental health services, and (e) services provided to victims (including as victims of crime)
  1. for children who do not live in the same household as their parents or siblings or one of their parents or siblings—continuing existing arrangements for access to, and contact between, parents and children or siblings
  1. for a person who is a priest, minister of religion or member of a religious order— going to the person’s place of worship or providing pastoral care to another person
  1. avoiding injury or illness or to escape a risk of harm
  1. for emergencies or compassionate reasons

It also bans gatherings of more than two people in public places, unless those people are members of the same household, or the gatherings are "essential for work or education". 

Under the Public Health Act, individuals can be fined up to $11,000 or sent to prison for six months - or both - for breaching these ministerial directives. They can also be fined another $5500 for each day the offence continues.

Corporations that fail to comply are liable for a $55,000 initial fine and $27,500 for each day the offence continues.

A total of 16 "excuses" for leaving the home are contained in Schedule 1 of the order, including to attend weddings and funerals, which are limited to five and 10 people respectively. Other "excuses" include moving house, donating blood, undertaking legal obligations and accessing public services such as Centrelink and domestic violence services.

Contact between parents and children or siblings who do not live together will also be regarded as a reasonable excuse.

Folowing is the link to Public Health (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement) Order 2020 in NSW .

https://gazette.legislation.nsw.gov.au/so/download.w3p?id=Gazette_2020_2020-65.pdf