Federal govt should build facility for officials returning to Canberra: ACT govt

A group of vaccinated federal government officials are completing 14 days quarantine at apartments on Liversidge Street which Rachel Stephen-Smith said was a "very appropriate quarantine facility".

Ms Stephen-Smith reiterated however, that the federal government should build, and manage, its own fit-for-purpose centre as more flights carrying federal officials are expected in the coming months.

"We are working with them to come to some ongoing arrangement, ... we think that that ongoing arrangement should be that the Commonwealth should build a dedicated quarantine facility and fit-for-purpose that they would then be in charge of, and we will obviously support quarantine within that facility," Ms Stephen-Smith said.

Many government officials are able to complete home quarantine, as the Prime Minister notably did at the The Lodge on return from the G7 summit.

For those that can't, an alternative is needed.

"It is very difficult when we're trying to find hotels that are willing to do quarantine at short notice, or then work with a ... different facility," Ms Stephen-Smith said.

"That is a lot of work for our staff, it does create risk, because we're having to set up different places, there's no routine."

The Health Minister said the territory government was working with the Commonwealth to determine how big each group of travellers would be and whether the operation would need to change in the future.

Ms Stephen-Smith said the ANU apartments housing the latest group were better than Davey Lodge as they had kitchen facilities, balconies and opening windows.

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"it is a very appropriate facility for quarantine," she said.

"Our staff have been out there, setting out making sure that all the infection prevention and control measures are in place."

About 40 people stayed at the university's Davey Lodge last month, after returning from the G7 summit.

The ANU had lauded the Davey Lodge quarantine operation as a "workable and safe" model for future use.

Davey Lodge will instead be retained for returned students who need to isolate, including domestic students caught up in COVID-19 outbreaks in Sydney and Melbourne.

ANU has pushed for international student arrivals to be able to quarantine on campus, but ACT Health has previously deemed the accommodation unsuitable.

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