Volunteer access to COVID-19 support payments in Victoria
09 July 2020
The COVID-19 Worker Support Payment is a one-off $1,500 payment to financially support Victorian workers who have been instructed to self-isolate or quarantine at home because they have either been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have been identified as a close contact of a confirmed case.
Applications by volunteers for the COVID-19 support payment are subject to the same eligibility criteria as for employees. Applicants must:
- be 17 years old or older
- currently reside in Victoria (includes people on Temporary Protection Visas and Temporary Working Visas 457 and 482)
- be in continuing employment and likely to have worked during the period of self-isolation or quarantine at home and unable to work as a result of the requirement to self-isolate or quarantine at home
- be workers who are not receiving any income, earnings or salary maintenance from their work as a result of not being able to work during the period of self-isolation or quarantine at home
- be workers that have exhausted sick leave entitlements including any special pandemic leave, and
- not be receiving the JobKeeper payment or other forms of Australian Government income support
Subject to these criteria, if an employee volunteers outside of their work hours and, in the course of volunteering contracts COVID-19 they will be eligible for the COVID-19 Worker Support Payment if they are unable to do their paid work.
The payment is accessed through the Department of Health and Human Services. The Department’s contact tracing team directly contacts all confirmed COVID-19 cases and their close contacts. A worker (including volunteers) seeking the payment will be assessed for eligibility over the phone.
