Harsh penalties on Aussies returning from India ‘invoked under Biosecurity Act’

The decision to impose harsh penalties on Australians who breach the travel ban from India was not made by the government but activated under the Biosecurity Act, according to Liberal Senator Jane Hume. Anyone who has spent time in India within 14 days of their intended arrival date in Australia could face a $66,000 fine and a five-year jail term for breaking the travel ban. “That’s a function of the Biosecurity Act which is what was invoked by the chief medical officer’s advice,” Ms Hume said. “This is not what anybody wants, we want to see Australians returned home but we want to see it done safely. We know that we could see our quarantine facilities becoming overwhelmed by cases from India. “We saw that 57 per cent of positive cases were from returned travellers from India, up from only 10 per cent the week before and that was really what prompted this.”

The decision to impose harsh penalties on Australians who breach the travel ban from India was not made by the government but activated under the Biosecurity Act, according to Liberal Senator Jane Hume.

Anyone who has spent time in India within 14 days of their intended arrival date in Australia could face a $66,000 fine and a five-year jail term for breaking the travel ban.

“That’s a function of the Biosecurity Act which is what was invoked by the chief medical officer’s advice,” Ms Hume said.

“This is not what anybody wants, we want to see Australians returned home but we want to see it done safely. We know that we could see our quarantine facilities becoming overwhelmed by cases from India.

“We saw that 57 per cent of positive cases were from returned travellers from India, up from only 10 per cent the week before and that was really what prompted this.”

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