rtritudr

I can totally understand. I've been through hotel quarantine myself recently and it's definitely not something that is enjoyable. I only had to do it by myself so I can only imagine what it'd be like if I had my whole family with me.

https://www.medibank.com.au/health-support/hospital-assist/article/in-an-emergency/ In many cases, a private hospital emergency department may be quieter, and you may not have to wait as long. However, going to a private emergency department may result in out-of-pocket costs.

I think the break-down is mostly to help those who can reimburse the expense through their employers. For everyone else who is on their own dime, treat it as one whole number.

I think it's a given that many bills are not being paid at all. That's why the NSW government wants the Queensland government to foot part of its hotel bill as many of the guests in NSW are actually Queensland residents. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-25/qld-premier-refuses-to-pay-nsw-hotel-quarantine-bill/13191442 NSW Treasurer labels Queensland Premier 'selfish' over refusal to pay COVID-19 hotel quarantine bill

Perhaps everyone thought it was a scam

If you check the system every morning you may be able to find vacant spots due to cancellations. I was able to get one within two days instead of two months.

https://www.studyassist.gov.au/help-loans/commonwealth-supported-places-csps#:~:text=A Commonwealth supported place (CSP,entire cost of your study. The residency requirements for a Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) are: an Australian citizen, who be resident in Australia for at least one unit of study contributing to their course of study a New Zealand citizen, who will be resident in Australia for the duration of their unit(s) of study a permanent visa holder, who will be resident in Australia for the duration of their unit(s) of study. So as an Australian citizen you could even go overseas during your study and not lose the subsidy.

According to the US CDC, China is rated Level 1 (COVID-19 Low), the same rating as Australia and New Zealand: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/map-and-travel-notices.html

Even China is allowing temporary work visa holders to return: https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjbxw/t1817370.shtml

The whole world is being flooded with cheap cash due to the pandemic. This compounded with the low-interest policies that have been in place throughout the world since 2008 means that lots of money are trying to find a place to go and property is one of the biggest markets capable of taking all this cash. It's not the only one of course. The share market is reaching new highs too.

There is a back door open via New Zealand: https://www.smh.com.au/national/i-ve-escaped-aussies-use-kiwi-bubble-as-back-door-to-defy-travel-ban-20210422-p57lne.html ‘I’ve escaped!’: Aussies use Kiwi bubble as back door to defy travel ban

The recommended minimum separation for Pfizer is 21 days, not 90. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/pfizer/downloads/prep-and-admin-summary.pdf

Generally no. For example, even when NSW was a hot spot from Queensland's point of view, you didn't have to quarantine twice upon entering Queensland provided that you travelled directly from the quarantine hotel to the airport. Of course, in a pandemic nothing is certain so there is no guarantee that in the event of a future outbreak things won't change.

Your case is reflective of the environment early on in the hotel quarantine process (June 2020). Things have changed a lot since then and it is extremely unlikely for anyone to be granted leave to quarantine in SA after landing in Melbourne even if they were in your situation.

HSBC still offers the same service and the transfers are instant. But it's fee-free only if you hold Premier status (or above).

Citibank selling their Australian operations doesn't necessarily mean that the accounts will be closed. In fact, if anything the accounts will be the most valuable part of Citibank Australia for them to sell. So just sit tight and watch the space. You won't have to do anything unless the new owners decide to change the way the debit card/bank account works.

Sounds like a bargain. Knocking down a house worth 1.6M and then putting up a duplex like that would easily go for over 2M in Sydney.

Email addresses are not case sensitive. Therefore you cannot judge whether the email is genuine based on differing capitalisations alone. However, even genuine email addresses can be forged so please exercise caution as you would normally. If you have doubts about an email's veracity, try to make contact with the sender to verify.

Not necessarily. Australia requires travellers from many countries to apply for a transit visa even if they're just transiting airside to New Zealand without ever passing through immigration.

Because until Australia is fully vaccinated, it takes just a single person to start an outbreak. Remember that the Melbourne second wave started with a single case, as shown by genomic data. Most of Australia's death toll was caused by that one single outbreak.

Queensland is unique in that they have a policy in place where every positive case is put into a hospital, regardless of symptoms or severity. This obviously increases the risk of transmission within hospitals. However, even if you do this there is still a risk of transmission in quarantine hotels prior to the patients being diagnosed and transferred to a hospital. The Brisbane Hotel Grand Chancellor is a case in point.

It's easy to put people into hotels. It's not so easy to make sure that the virus doesn't leak out of those hotels.

Because hotel quarantine capacity is extremely limited. The alternative of home quarantine is a difficult sell with the public. Just look at Japan which has used home quarantine for its own citizens throughout the pandemic. Now they have multiple variants of concern circulating in the country, powering its fourth wave.

There is no rule requiring 2 years of residence in Australia prior to the children's birth, the only requirement is for two years of residence in Australia prior to the children applying for their own Australian citizenship. Even that can be overridden in special circumstances (e.g., if the children are stateless).

You need to spend a total of two years in Australia as a lawful citizen before your children are eligible to apply for citizenship.