Contradicting a claim by the Prime Minister, most federal ministers and public servants exposed to COVID-19 or travelling with symptoms cannot freely access rapid antigen tests through their department, inquiries by The Canberra Times have found.
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A fanciful story of Scott Morrison popping into a chemist to buy a rapid test, just like other Australians, was walked back under scrutiny and replaced with an explanation that the Prime Ministers' department supplied his tests.
"There are tests that the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet have available, and they make them available ... I'm an employee in this building, like everybody else," Mr Morrison said earlier this month.
"They're provided by the department and I'd be no different to any other minister or anyone in those circumstances."
That's not the case for most cabinet ministers, including Health Minister Greg Hunt, whose department was responsible for ordering the national stockpile and has been accused of diverting international orders placed by Australian industries for their workers.
The dividing line between whether staff could access free rapid tests depended not on personal health risk factors nor impact on critical work for the nation.
A survey by this newspaper found only the PM's and Defence departments were providing rapid tests to staff, including ministers, stressing that they were "not routinely used". Others must join the off-work hunt like the rest of Australians in order to comply with their employer's requirements if a close contact or have symptoms.
Defence further qualified that self-test kits for personnel "are prioritised according to operational and clinical requirements to support Defence capability." ADF have been on the pandemic front lines since March 2020 as part of Operation COVID-19 Assist, and have their own PCR testing service.
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Other federal employers with front line roles in the pandemic, such as Home Affairs, Border Force and Services Australia, have implemented protocols to protect worker safety but are not yet providing self-test kits to staff, including their portfolio ministers.
"Our staff are advised to stay at home if they are not feeling well and to follow relevant state and territory health orders. Managers continue to closely monitor the health and wellbeing of staff," Services Australia's spokesman and general manager Hank Jongen said.
Rapid self-tests have become the de facto standard as backlogs make PCR testing unfeasible for most situations, including travel.
Ministers and other MPs returning to Canberra for the resumption of parliament next month will, mostly, have to find their own kit to produce a negative test result.
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