Victoria’s Government to Shut Down $580 Million COVID-19 Quarantine Hub

An employee is seen at the Victorian quarantine accommodation hub in Melbourne, Australia, on Feb. 19, 2022. (AAP Image/James Ross)

The government of the Australian state of Victoria will shut down the $580 million (US$376 million) quarantine hub after eight months of operation due to a fall in COVID-19 cases.

In February, the Victorian government launched the purpose-built quarantine facility in Melbourne’s outer north suburb Mickleham to accommodate international travellers and local residents.

However, it only served 2,168 quarantine patients before shutting down in the week commencing Oct. 10.

The $580 Million Quarantine Hub

The hub was built with funding from the federal government, but the Victorian government was responsible for operating the site.

On average, each quarantine patient costs Australian taxpayers over $267,000.

The Victorian government lobbied for the facility for months before receiving the green light from the former Morrison government in June 2021.

The construction cost was initially estimated to be $200 million but later revised to $580 million.

At present, other quarantine hubs in Brisbane and Perth, which were approved by the former federal government, have also been closed.

The Mickleham facility was subject to criticism when the Victorian government removed quarantine requirements for international arrivals not long after it opened the quarantine hub.

The state government then repurposed the facility to house people contracting COVID-19 but unable to self-quarantine at home.

As the number of COVID-19 cases dropped after the latest Omicron wave, Victorian Police Minister Anthony Carbines said the facility had served its purpose.

“Its closure is another step in our recovery from the pandemic,” he said.

“Australia needed these facilities before the pandemic first hit, but this important facility now exists as an insurance policy in the event of a future pandemic, or to provide accommodation in emergencies like natural disasters.”

The facility staff will have to find other jobs, with some of them continuing to work to close the site before it is handed back to the federal government on Jan. 1, 2023.

In addition, Victoria’s quarantine agency will transfer its remaining functions to the Department of Justice and Community Safety and stop operating in early 2023.

Meanwhile, the Victorian Opposition has promised to repurpose the 250 beds at the Mickleham facility to house non-acute patients to relieve the pressure on the state’s health system should it win the election in November.

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the Coalition would not leave the facility unused.

“Putting a padlock on Mickleham is just lazy,” she said.