COVID-19: How long can the lock-down orders be enforced?
April 30, 2020
Opening not too far in the future, but how long can lock-down actually last?
The current public health orders issued under the Public Health Act 2010
(NSW) including the social distancing rule and the public gathering rule are currently in force until mid June 2020. This is an estimated time frame, which was provided at the time the orders were issued in order to give the community a rough estimate of when the orders will cease.
As we know, the Australian situation continues to develop rapidly and therefore, it is important that the New South Wales Government continues to re-assess whether the orders need to be amended. The Prime Minister has in his address on 29 April 2020 indicated that he believes that the road back to pre-covid rules are "not too far away".
Under the legislation, orders are made to last approximately three months, however, are subject to changes and continuation. The NSW government can choose to continue the orders or to set an end date. We hope that that date comes soon.
