Darwin - Provision of Supplementary Workforce for the Centre for National Resilience

Howard Springs Quarantine Facility, or commonly known, the Centre for National Resilience has been in operation since July 2020 providing quarantine services under the NT Pandemic Plan. At that time, TEHS provided the health program on site through leading the clinical care and infection control measures on site.In October 2020, AusMAT/NCCTRC commenced the Commonwealth repatriation program on site as a separate operation to domestic quarantine.In May 2021, NT Health assumed responsibility for the site and both quarantine programs providing services to up to 2,000 residents, per fortnight under the Commonwealth program and up to approximately 1,000 residents in domestic quarantine depending on the hotspot declarations at the time.Demand in the domestic side of CNR fluctuates depending on activate hotspots across Australia and presently requires additional surge workforce to support daily saliva testing due to increase in residents.There is an urgent need to engage additional clinically trained staff to assist in both domestic and repatriation areas of CNR – circa 20 Registered Nurses to meet the commonwealth repatriation program and provide greater flexibility in responding to domestic hotspot demands.