Health Minister Greg Hunt has invoked biosecurity laws to stop medical masks and gowns being sold at exorbitant mark-ups or sent offshore.
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Mr Hunt has used emergency powers to crack down on price-gouging on items like face masks, gloves, gowns and hand sanitiser, aid reports of foreign-owned companies stockpiling goods in Australia to be sent overseas.
Those who sell these goods at a mark-up of 120 per cent or more face fines of $63,000 or five years in jail if they do not surrender the goods to law enforcement, according to regulation that came into effect on Monday. Surrendered goods will go into the national stockpile.
It came after a recommendation from Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy and the secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Mike Pezzullo.
"There is growing public concern that protective gear and disinfectants are not reaching those with the greatest need, as a small number of individuals continue to purchase these goods in large quantities from retailers with the intention of re-selling them at extortionate prices or sending them offshore," the explanatory statement says.
"This practice prevents these goods from reaching the individuals who need them the most, including essential service providers such as front-line health professionals and law enforcement, whose services are vital to preventing or controlling the spread of COVID-19 and who frequently deal with individuals who carry a high risk of transmitting the virus."
The measures are not designed to affect normal consumer buying of goods, commercial imports and exports, or other bulk sales.
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It comes as medical staff across the country ration personal protective equipment as Australia grapples with a global shortage due to the coronavirus pandemic. Doctors have even resorted to sewing their own personal protective equipment, while others have used snorkel sets and visors.
The national cabinet last week ordered many elective surgeries to be cancelled, in part to preserve PPE, while private hospitals will now be required to make essential equipment like masks and gowns fully available to public hospitals and the Commonwealth under a deal struck on Tuesday.
The Nine newspapers reported staff from the Chinese government-backed property giant Greenland Group were instructed to put their normal work on hold in January and February to source bulk supplies of items like masks, gloves and thermometers to ship back to China. The purchases and shipping were legal at the time.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last week warned it would step up its focus on price gouging, although it technically was not against the law.
"While price gouging is generally not illegal, if a business makes misleading claims about the reason for price increases, it will be breaching the Australian Consumer Law. It is also possible that extreme price gouging for essential products may amount to unconscionable conduct," the ACCC said.
Meanwhile South Australian food packaging manufacturer Detmold Group is the latest company to switch gear and start mass-producing face masks, after the federal government issued a call-to-arms to industry to start manufacturing medical personal protective equipment in Australia.
The company will hire extra 160 staff to produce 145 million masks - 100 million for the national stockpile and and 45 million for South Australia.
- For information on COVID-19, please go to the ACT Health website or the federal Health Department's website.
- You can also call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080
- If you have serious symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, call Triple Zero (000)
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