Canberra, Nov 24 (IANS): Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt on Wednesday confirmed that interstate travel'ers will not have to pay for their mandatory Covid-19 tests.
Hunt said on Wednesday that federal and state and territory governments will continue to fund polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on a 50-50 basis, reports Xinhua news agency.
It comes after the Queensland government declared that travellers would be required to pay A$150 ($108) for a mandatory PCR test within 72 hours of arrival when the state reopens its borders to the pandemic-hit Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria state and New South Wales state in December.
Hunt told Nine Network television that the state government has "wavered" on the funding agreement after significant backlash.
"We haven't changed anything," he said.