Under the Constitution is quarantine an Australian Government power?

Three levels of government in Australia.

Parliamentary Education Office (peo.gov.au)

Three levels of government in Australia.

Parliamentary Education Office (peo.gov.au)

Description

This diagram illustrates the three levels of government—the law-making bodies in Australia with three maps of Australia: Local councils (located around Australia in each local council division); State/territory parliaments (located in the capital cities of each of the 6 states and 2 territories); and federal Parliament (located in Canberra, the nation's capital).

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Thank you for your question. The federal, state and territory governments work together to keep Australians safe by providing quarantine at our international borders and within Australia during public health emergencies.

Section 51(ix) of the Australian Constitution gives the Australian Parliament the exclusive – sole – power over quarantine as it relates to the movement of people, animals and goods in and out of Australia. This power is related to the external affairs power (section 51(xxix)).

The states and territories also have powers to quarantine people within their state or territory. They can do this as part of their powers to manage public health and deal with emergencies.