Significant changes to the definition of COVID-19 close contacts and the isolation period for confirmed cases have been made at National Cabinet today.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced state and territory leaders have agreed to a new, nationally consistent definition of close contacts.
Mr Morrison said National Cabinet had "agreed a very practical way forward to dealing with the realities of Omicron".
"Omicron requires us to undertake a change of how we are managing the pandemic, and we need to reset how we think about the pandemic, and how we manage ourselves and the things we need to do as governments," he said.
"Omicron is a game changer."
Mr Morrison said the national plans had taken into account that some states and territories had low cases and others had large outbreaks.
He said there was a need to change the definition of a 'close contact' due to the fast rate at which Omicron was spreading.
Changes to close contact definition and isolation periods
Mr Morrison announced a new definition of close contacts will come into place from midnight tonight across five jurisdictions, including NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT.
Tasmania will introduce the definition from January 1 while the Northern Territory and Western Australia will confirm in a few days "how they will be moving to these new definitions".
"A close contact is a household contact, or household like, of a confirmed case only," he said.
"A household contact is someone who lives with a case or hasn't spent more than four hours with them in our house, accommodation or care facility setting."
Close contacts will still need to isolate for seven days from their exposure date.
An asymptomatic close contact must take a rapid test, while a close contact who is symptomatic or who returns a positive RAT test must have a PCR test.
Mr Morrison said there was no need for anyone who did not fulfil the close contact definition to line up for PCR tests.
The isolation period for confirmed cases has also changed to only seven days.
"On the sixth day, you have a rapid antigen test and if that is (negative) after seven days, you can go back into the community," he said.
The Prime Minister said further work would be done on the isolation requirements for those working in the essential health workforce, in aged care setting and hospitals.
"There are even more effective ways we can keep more people at work to support the health system," he said.
He said the AHPPC would bring back further recommendations to the National Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Rapid tests available at testing clinics
Mr Morrison said rapid antigen tests would be provided publicly at testing centres for COVID-19 positive people and close contacts to use where necessary.
"So, if you turn up at those testing centres for all of the reasons I have set out, then you will either get a rapid antigen test or a PCR test," he said
It comes after long testing lines have been seen across the nation.
"This should significantly, we hope, over the next few weeks, greatly reduce the volume people who are having these PCR tests, which means we will be able to increase the turnaround time of these tests, getting results back to those who need to take them," Mr Morrison said.
Mr Morrison said the government was also looking at providing RAT tests in other settings such as healthcare spaces.
Mr Morrison said the government was also looking at the supply of rapid tests in the private market, including pharmacies and supermarkets.
He said the government would not "all of a sudden going to go round and start providing these free to anybody and everybody".
"We will be providing them only where it is recommended to us that they need to be provided, which are in settings of close contact, for our aged care workers or in those high-risk settings," he said.
For people not included in these settings, Mr Morrison said they can buy them from supermarkets and pharmacies.
PCR tests scrapped for international arrivals
PCR testing requirements for international arrivals have been scrapped in favour of rapid antigen tests in NSW.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet spoke to 2GB after the National Cabinet meeting.
Mr Perrottet has announced international arrivals will only need to do a rapid antigen test when flying into Sydney.
"From our state's perspective, to move away from overseas travellers requiring to be PCR-tested on return, we'll move to a rapid antigen test there," he said.
"That will alleviate substantial pressure on the system."
No booster dose shortage
COVID-19 Taskforce Commander Lieutenant General Frewen said supply was not an issue with COVID-19 vaccination booster shots.
"There are currently three million doses of mRNA sitting on shelves," he said.
"Over the first two weeks of January we will deliver another six million doses of mRNA out to GPs, pharmacists and state hubs. In addition to that, there is another 16 million doses of mRNA sitting in warehouses waiting delivery."
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