Household contacts of COVID-19 cases will no longer need to isolate for seven days in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT in a raft of changes made to ease public health restrictions.
The states and the country's capital made the announcements of the eased COVID-19 rules throughout the week as they remain on track to normalise residents living with the virus.
Here's what you should know about the new rules, when they'll come into force and why the changes have been enacted now.
Which rules have changed?
In NSW
Household contacts of a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 will no longer need to stay at home and isolate for seven days.
Instead, they will have to undertake daily rapid antigen tests (RATs), wear masks indoors and outdoors, and work from home where possible.
Household contacts will not be allowed to enter high-risk environments, including hospitals, correctional centres, disability and aged care settings.
They must also notify their employers of their status as a household contact.
Previously, if a person was a household contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19, they would be required to isolate for seven days, unless they held an exemption as a critical worker.
In Victoria
Rules similar to the ones in NSW are set in place for household contacts in Victoria, but instead, they will be required to undertake at least five RATs (rather than daily) in the seven-day period. And, while still recommended, it is no longer a requirement to undertake a PCR test if you are asymptomatic.
Residents no longer need to provide proof of double-vaccination to enter a venue, nor will they be required to check-in via the QR code.
Masks do not have to be worn at primary schools, including early childhood centres, hospitality venues and retail shopping centres.
They will still need to be worn at airports, on public transport and at aged care and correctional centre facilities.
In Queensland
Household contacts in Queensland do not need to isolate for seven days, but only if they are asymptomatic.
They must also receive a negative RAT result every two days.
Similar to the rules in NSW and Victoria, they must wear masks both indoors and outdoors, avoid high-risk settings, work from home where possible and notify their employer of their close-contact status.
Unvaccinated international travellers no longer need to undergo hotel quarantine in all three states.
In Queensland, they must return a negative RAT result 24 hours prior to arriving in the state.
In South Australia
Like Victoria, household contacts can leave their homes, so long as they receive negative five RATs within the seven days.
South Australians who are household contacts must wear masks indoors and outdoors and are barred from entering high-risk settings.
They are also encouraged to avoid gatherings and to stay away from people who are vulnerable.
If symptoms develop, they must undertake a PCR test and isolate until they receive their result.
In the ACT
The rules set in place in the ACT are similar to the other four states, but there is a key difference.
Household contacts in the ACT only need to undertake COVID-19 tests if they cannot avoid working or studying from home, and there is a mutual agreement between the person and the institution to work or study in their space.
In this scenario, a person is required to return a negative result 24 hours prior to leaving home, and continue undertaking tests every two days henceforth.
A person must also undertake a test if they are attending a gathering that is "unavoidable".
Unvaccinated travellers no longer need to undergo hotel quarantine in the ACT, but are highly encouraged to conduct a RAT 24 hours before their arrival.
When do the new rules come into force?
In NSW, the requirement of close contacts to isolate for seven days eased at 6pm, Friday 22 April.
From 30 April, hotel quarantine will no longer be mandated for returning unvaccinated travellers entering the state.
Victoria's restrictions will ease from 11:59pm on Friday.
ACT will loosen its COVID-19 rules from 11:59pm on Tuesday 26 April.
In Queensland, the restrictions will relax from 6pm on Thursday 28 April.
And South Australia's new rules will be enforced from 12:01am on Saturday 30 April.
Why now?
Victoria's Health Minister Martin Foley says the state was in a position to ease the restrictions as it passed the peak of its second Omicron wave.
"That's why we're in the position of being able to take some important steps over the coming days," he told reporters on Wednesday.
Queensland's health minister Yvette D'Ath warned infection rates will spike as restrictions are eased but that it is time to move forward by living with the virus.
"We are moving from a situation where these measures are controlled by public health directives and now leaving it to individuals and employers to look at this from a workplace health and safety measure," she said on Friday.
Although it was not the end of the pandemic, "it is a great day for our state", NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said.
"It is also a day to reflect on what we have come through ... let's just focus on success for a moment," he said.
The eased rules also come as business leaders have been pushing for restrictions to be scrapped as staff shortages continue to cripple many industries that are yet to recover from the pandemic.
ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the eased restrictions will be a welcome relief for businesses and schools who have faced a challenging time dealing with worker shortages.
“These changes to quarantine requirements will provide relief to many workplaces and businesses that have been under pressure due to workforce shortages," she said on Thursday.
“The ACT Government recognises that we need to balance the additional risks of COVID transmission if household contacts are not quarantining with the impact of quarantine on workplaces, individuals and families.”
Meanwhile, South Australia has made a concerted decision to delay its loosened restrictions a week later than its counterparts.
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said the change would provide considerable relief to the business sector, even though it might result in case numbers "slightly ticking up".
"We can do this because our hospital system is managing to cope in difficult circumstances," he said.
"The change to close contact arrangements has been a thoughtful and considered judgement.
"Which is why we're going to buy that additional week to ensure that the case numbers continue to operate at the appropriate levels and our hospital system is coping."
Is COVID-19 gone, then?
Not quite. There are still , but state officials feel confident that these restrictions are being eased in a safe way.
But clinical epidemiologist Nancy Baxter says does not eventuate with these new relaxed rules.
"We need to protect people from those households contacts if we're allowing them to leave home without isolation," she told ABC TV on Wednesday.
She warned that a quarter-to-half of people who have a household contact with COVID-19 will likely contract the virus.
"You'd want them to do RATs, you'd want them in masks and not just in any mask, in a high-quality mask like a P2 or N95."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the changes reflect the fact that Australia "has come through this pandemic strongly".
"I welcome the fact that in New South Wales and Victoria they are getting back to normal - hallelujah," he said on Wednesday.
"We have been waiting a long time for these sorts of things and the rest of the states I'm sure will continue down that path."
With AAP.
