Hotel quarantine experience when returning to Australia

[Myrna]

Will let you know after our release. However we are not in a hurry to receive it, as we have a huge land tax bill from revenue nsw to be paid in one months time

Anyone know how long it takes NSW to issue an invoice after you get released? My next possible trip out I will get out of HQ about six weeks before the project closes and 14 weeks delay to invoice, which was Qld last time, won't work.

cheers skip

@PineappleSkip - We received an invoice from Revenue NSW by email this morning (two days after our prison hotel escape) - $4,000 for the 2 of us to be paid by 6th August 2021 This on top our huge NSW land tax bill also payable at the same time will surely "bankrupt" us

 

[kpc]

@PineappleSkip - We received an invoice from Revenue NSW by email this morning (two days after our prison hotel escape) - $4,000 for the 2 of us to be paid by 6th August 2021

That was quick! The government must be desperate for $$! Hope you are enjoying your (sort of) freedom!

 

[jakeseven7]

@PineappleSkip - We received an invoice from Revenue NSW by email this morning (two days after our prison hotel escape) - $4,000 for the 2 of us to be paid by 6th August 2021 This on top our huge NSW land tax bill also payable at the same time will surely "bankrupt" us

Go on a payment plan for HQ you just have to ask for it

 

[cove]

I think WA charge $3,520 for 14 days incarceration but it may be times two for two prisoners. Anyway no one has been paying so it will be months before the debt collectors call.....
Land tax is not recoverable from tenants but can be tax deductible.

 

[Myrna]

I think WA charge $3,520 for 14 days incarceration but it may be times two for two prisoners. Anyway no one has been paying so it will be months before the debt collectors call.....
Land tax is not recoverable from tenants but can be tax deductible.

Funny thing was the invoice for prison quarantine showed $3,000 against my name and $1,000 against hubby's name We are too scare waiting for debt collectors, so either we pay up or ask for a waiver from revenue nsw (our chance is probably nil and zilch).
A friend drove us to their GP today for day 16 swab test required by quarantine. So, we did not have to go to a test centre and wait for hours.

 

[Seat0B]

Hey @Myrna glad you’re settling in! Maybe you could start a thread about your repatriation experiences and what you notice about being home after so long way. I’d be really interested to tag along and I’m sure others could add too. Might become a valuable resource for ex-expats .

 

[Myrna]

Hey @Myrna glad you’re settling in! Maybe you could start a thread about your repatriation experiences and what you notice about being home after so long way. I’d be really interested to tag along and I’m sure others could add too. Might become a valuable resource for ex-expats .

How long is a piece of string ... cove and kpc have some knowledge of our current home situation - we need to take back space in our home after being away for nearly 10 years . Have been really busy with re-establishing our lives back in Sydney (and pay a lot of taxes into the NSW government coffers). The current lockdown has been a hurdle in getting some things done but we are thankful to be home and a wonderful network of friends who have continued to give us support and help. We walked around the neighbourhood today and things still looked the same as they were 10 years ago - still some same neighbours we have known for over 20 years. We chatted to one two doors away today - his son is stuck in NY.
I read an opinion article in the Guardian from a paediatrician who has managed to return with her husband and 2 young children from the US, and a trip report in Flyertalk forum by a couple from Anchorage (Alaska) who are now in quarantine (and they "won the hotel lottery" to stay in a suite at the Four Points Sheraton in Sydney ) I am very happy for these couples but feel for the many who are still stranded overseas. May post from time to time if anything interesting comes up.

 

[QF WP]

Just had a client arrive back in BNE from UK a couple of days ago. Here's her experience so far:

"I've finally managed to make it to Brisbane and am in quarantine for 14 days (now day 4) at Sofitel Brisbane. It is certainly well organised - Police, Qld Health on the ground floor for any assistance.

The flight over with Malaysian Airlines was excellent. The chaos at Sydney airport was another matter. Nobody wanted to know me. International said there was no (72 hrs) required in Sydney as I was going to Brisbane but could not stay in the airport. Went to Qantas departures to try and find out something but there was nobody there. I decided to find a hotel close to the domestic terminal for the night - another drama. Ibis said I had to book online!!! I was there but still had to book online. A nice gentleman who happened to overhear the conversation, booked on his mobile for me and so I was able to book a room.

Arriving the next morning in Brisbane was another chance to explain to the Police how I arrived in Brisbane without problem. Anyway they booked me in at the Sofitel and had a huge 57 seater bus to myself for the trip from the airport to the city.

There were a few dramas here too but all is sorted now and I'm following my plan of catching up on o/s things in London, emailing friends here and in the UK, exercising and chatting to friends .

Rosie [her cat] arrives from Melbourne this afternoon and Diane (her friend) is kindly picking her up for me because all the plans I'd made to be independent were thwarted. As I cannot have Rosie with me she will go to a cattery owned by a friend of Diane's, until I am freed from quarantine on the 30th, when I shall be happy to cuddle my lovely little girl and apologise to her for all her stress and trials"

Sounds a little like @oz_ally's experience...

 

[Must...Fly!]

So if one had just walked out of BNE airport no one would be any the wiser and your client would be ~$2,500 better off? Surely 2 weeks in a hotel in Sydney enjoying freedom would cost less or much the same.

At least, that's all I got from the story, to be honest.

 

[QF WP]

She didn't give me details about when her MAS flight arrived, so hard to tell whether it was at night (and only opportunity was to overnight in SYD due to no more SYD/BNE flights that night) - but that's my presumption.

I think she was expecting to quarantine in SYD, but seems that with the continuous changes, nobody knows anything. But honestly, she was from BNE and I think she's happy to be home -she emigrated back to England just prior to COVID and it crushed her resolve to stay - she is a single retiree with only a couple of cousins scattered across UK.

 

[QF WP]

Just surprised my client by calling her at Sofitel. Spent 45 mins on the phone. As I thought, she arrived in SYD at 10pm (Wednesday last week), so no opportunity to catch flight to BNE that night. Arrived here Thursday morning and had her first PCR test on Day 2 (so I expect her next will be Day 5).

At least she's on level 21 with a view west (over Turbot Street & Roma Street Parklands, over to Mt Cootha on a clear day). The one negative is the afternoon sun. She said her meals were surprisingly good, happy not to be cooking!

 

[oz_ally]

could not stay in the airport.

It was the cat that made you think of me most wasn't it

Interesting - she said she "could not stay at the airport" do you know if she literally was not allowed to stay or couldn't stay due to personal (health or other??) reasons. I still haven't received my bill from my quarantine. I am still confused about a few things. Similar to your client there was nobody meeting us off the plane at Melbourne like everywhere else; it was late arvo, landside shops were shut - I HAD to go landside because my suitcase was only sent to Melb and not all the way to ROK (as it normally would have been before my flights were changed) - due to the 24 hour stopover. I wasn't sure if I was able to stay all night in the airport. After getting home from quarantine I contacted Melbourne Airport to ask that question and got a stock standard reply that didn't answer my question. Yes in hindsight I could have done a lot of things differently but the whole thing was just so confusing. Anyway just waiting on that bill and hoping I can at least qualify to pay in instalments.

 

[QF WP]

It was the cat that made you think of me most wasn't it

Interesting - she said she "could not stay at the airport" do you know if she literally was not allowed to stay or couldn't stay due to personal (health or other??) reasons. I still haven't received my bill from my quarantine. I am still confused about a few things. Similar to your client there was nobody meeting us off the plane at Melbourne like everywhere else; it was late arvo, landside shops were shut - I HAD to go landside because my suitcase was only sent to Melb and not all the way to ROK (as it normally would have been before my flights were changed) - due to the 24 hour stopover. I wasn't sure if I was able to stay all night in the airport. After getting home from quarantine I contacted Melbourne Airport to ask that question and got a stock standard reply that didn't answer my question. Yes in hindsight I could have done a lot of things differently but the whole thing was just so confusing. Anyway just waiting on that bill and hoping I can at least qualify to pay in instalments.

That was one of the reasons

She’s a 75 y.o lady and wasn’t about to kip down in the airport - not sure that they are allowing that to happens in COVID times. I don’t know whether she had a connecting flight that she missed or had the booked flight the next morning. Regardless, she needed to stay and sleep in a bed.

Told her I’d ring again on Thursday so she has some regular contact with the outside world. She’s organizing a new Australian mobile, so once she’s out of quarantine she’ll need to call me so I can add her new number. She’s renting a unit in Kangaroo Point for 3 months, while her Barrister sorts out the sale of her unit in London. She needs those funds to buy again here.