• New South Wales is offering pandemic leave payments to workers who aren’t receiving any other income support.
• Eligible workers will be able to get a one off payment of $1,500 for every 14 days they have to be in quarantine or have to self isolate.
• It comes after other states including Queensland, Victoria and South Australia introduced pandemic leave schemes.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

New South Wales is offering pandemic leave payments to workers.

The state government is teaming up with the Commonwealth government to provide a one-off $1,500 payment to workers if they have been instructed to quarantine or self-isolate by NSW Health, or are caring for someone with the coronavirus. It includes people on temporary work visas.

The payment applies for each 14 day period that they have to self isolate.

However, there are some conditions for the payment: you can’t already be receiving any leave entitlements, JobKeeper payments, or other income support.

To make a claim, you can either call Services Australia or fax in a claim form.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said in a statement that introducing the pandemic leave payment will help “protect the community against undetected transmission.”

“Our priority is for people to get tested and follow all the health advice to stop the spread of the virus and keep the NSW economy moving,” she said.

“We do not want some workers to have to choose between isolating and financially supporting themselves or their dependents.”

New South Wales joins other states that have introduced a pandemic leave scheme including South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria and the ACT.

In South Australia, the leave entitlement doesn’t apply to people who have to self-isolate after returning from interstate or overseas. In August, South Australia’s minister for health and wellbeing Stephen Wade said the scheme was designed to help casual workers follow the direction to self-isolate.

“The last thing we want is for any South Australian to have to make a choice between putting food on the table and protecting the community from possible infection and a potential second wave,” he said in a statement.

“Lack of leave entitlements for workers, particularly casual workers, is considered a significant risk factor in not complying with isolation requirements.”

Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.