After discussions with Commonwealth and ACT Health officials, the Presiding Officers have decided temporary and cautionary health and safety measures will be reintroduced to Parliament House from Sunday 5 December until further notice.
- Only staff who are considered genuinely and absolutely essential by their employer, and are unable to work remotely, are to come into the building. Where work can be undertaken from home it should be done so.
- Face masks will again be mandatory.
- No event or courtyard bookings will be taken.
APH operations
The building is closed to the public, and non-essential services in the building will also be closed. A restricted catering service will continue for those who need to work in the building.
These changes include:
- Health and Recreation Centre, courts and playing fields will close
- The Parliament Shop will close
- Chairs and tables will be removed from catering outlets
- Queen’s Terrace Café and Members and Guests Dining Room will be closed
- Take home meals are still available through In-Room Dining and the Staff Dining Room
- Meals delivered through In-Room Dining will be via contactless delivery
- All DPS operated food outlets will remain cashless
- Reusable (keep) cups will not be accepted during this period.
The health settings will continue to be monitored and any change will be communicated promptly.
Visitors to the building
Visitors to Parliament House may only be signed in for essential meetings. A pass holder who signs visitors into the building is responsible for those guests while they are in Parliament House. After the meeting, those visitors must be escorted back to a security entrance by the person who signed them in. If the visitor has a subsequent meeting with a different office, they must be signed in again at the security entrance by a representative of that other office.
Important safeguards
All building occupants are reminded to:
- Continue to follow strict COVID-safe hygiene and physical distancing requirements.
- Use the masks and sanitiser available throughout the building for your use.
- Do not attend the building if you are feeling unwell.
- Use the Check-in CBR app to register attendance where posted around the building.
- All those entering the building must check the ACT Government COVID-19 website and exposure sites updates prior to attending APH. Check regularly as the information is constantly updated
- Anybody with any symptoms consistent with COVID-19 must not enter the building. They must remain at home and follow ACT Health advice
- Entry to the building will be taken as confirmation that you fully comply with the above and have not been at an exposure site, you do not have symptoms and have complied with ACT Health orders.
ACT exposure sites
The ACT Government updates a list of exposure sites on its website each day. Please check this frequently.
If you have been to any of these locations at the dates and times specified, please follow the ACT Health advice. Testing locations in the ACT can be found here.
Further and more specific advice will be provided as it becomes available.