Following a National Cabinet meeting today, the Prime Minister has said current social distancing measures are expected to remain in place for at least four weeks while more extensive surveillance testing regimes, smarter tracing capabilities and faster localised responses are developed. While National Cabinet has also agreed on seven principles in relation to schools, the PM says states and territories are ultimately responsible for setting the rules. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed that students will begin to return to classrooms in the third week of term two.

Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, The Hon James Allsop AO, has issued a memorandum reminding legal practitioners that the same formal etiquette and protocol required in a physical Court is expected in Virtual Court proceedings. The National Practitioners/Litigants Guide to Virtual Hearings and Microsoft Teams is available on the Court’s website.

The Residential Tenancies Amendment (COVID-19) Regulation 2020 commenced on 15 April 2020. The new measures include an interim 60-day stop on landlords issuing termination notices or applying for NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal eviction orders due to rental arrears, where tenants are financially disadvantaged by COVID-19.

The Family Law Division of Legal Aid NSW has developed a COVID-19 Telephone Mediation Scheme to help clients navigate family law arrangements through the pandemic. The scheme helps parents find practical solutions to travel restrictions and unavailability of supervisors. The process is streamlined with quick turn-around times. Clients can access the scheme through the family law in-house practice by contacting Law Access or through family law panel practitioners. It is funded as an Early Resolution Assistance (ERA) service which is available to a broader range of clients due to a more generous means test.

The new JobKeeper Payment has passed through Parliament and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is helping businesses access the scheme. The ATO will administer the program. Employers can check their eligibility then enrol with the ATO to receive JobKeeper payments. Employers will receive a monthly payment for each eligible employee who was paid by the business during the previous month. Employers need to take steps now to be eligible for the first round of payments, which will be paid from the first week of May 2020. Read more here.

The Federal Government is investing $3.3 million to establish a rapid COVID-19 Remote Point of Care Testing Program for remote and rural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, which will cut testing times to around 45 minutes. There will be 83 testing sites in place across Indigenous communities most at risk. The sites are being selected in partnership with key stakeholders including services and state and territory authorities. Sites will be confirmed over coming weeks with the aim to finalise rollout by mid-May.

Australia's unemployment rate increased to 5.2 per cent in March according to information released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. 20,300 people lost work through the month, pushing up the jobless rate by 0.1 percentage point. The March data describes the labour market in Australia before the major restrictions were put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19. Read more here. The Federal Government says while the ABS figures are beginning to reflect the negative impact that COVID-19 is having on the labour market, it is important to note that Australia entered the crisis from a position of economic strength and record employment. Details here. 

University of Sydney researchers have combined NSW Health and ABS data to create an interactive dashboard that provides a wealth of coronavirus information, including COVID-19 hotspots and areas of the state where no cases have been recorded.

Being in isolation, working remotely and adapting to COVID-19 restrictions is challenging. Access to mental health and wellbeing support and resources is available via our dedicated COVID-19 page.