Message from the Chair, Sue Ash AO
The Quarantine Advisory Panel (Panel) was established to support the State’s COVID-19 pandemic response by providing strategic oversight of Western Australia’s (WA) quarantine arrangements.
Throughout their term the Panel focused on identifying key risks, gaps, and mitigation strategies in the WA quarantine system. The intent was not to duplicate previous work but to provide assurance and advice for the purpose of improving the quarantine system.
The Panel provided assurance on aspects of the current quarantine system, advice on the User Journey based on commissioned research and responded to requests for advice from the Hazard Management Agency’s Chief Executive Officer.
Whilst the Panel made several recommendations for improvement of the quarantine system, members acknowledged the overall success of the State’s quarantine programme relied on and can largely be attributed to the hard work of all agencies involved in managing WA’s COVID-19 response.
By April 2022 and given the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the changing role of quarantine, it was determined that the Panel had fulfilled their function under the current Terms of Reference.
Should state quarantine arrangements require an oversight body in the future, the Panel may be reconstituted at the discretion of the Minister for Health.
Assurance
This project is a targeted, risk-based assessment of WA’s Quarantine System. An end user journey map will be developed to clearly identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of WA’s quarantine system building on previous work conducted by the Department of Health managed State Health Incident Coordination Centre.
WA Quarantine System Traveller Journey Maps
In September 2021, the Quarantine Advisory Panel initiated a project to understand and map the experiences of users directed to quarantine in Western Australia with the aim to identify possible gaps in the state’s first line of defence against COVID-19.
The project engaged with individuals who had travelled through WA’s quarantine system and included only those with first-hand experience of the WA quarantine system since the emergence of the COVID-19 Delta variant for the period August through November 2021.
In November and December 2021 a series of workshops were facilitated with travellers to detail their journey based on their lived experience. Operational and executive level stakeholders across all agencies and departments involved in the quarantine system were engaged and given the opportunity to discuss the findings and identify improvement opportunities.
The User Journey Maps and the experiences of travellers will continue to inform Quarantine Advisory Panel advice and recommendations for continuous improvement of the WA quarantine systems.
Interim Recommendations - January 2022
The Quarantine Advisory Panel (Panel) submitted interim recommendations to the WA Department of Health for work undertaken to the end of December.
In October the Panel developed Assurance Principles to guide the assurance process as it relates to potential risks in Western Australia’s quarantine system. As part of the assurance work the Panel reviewed operational documents relating to hotel quarantine focussing on reporting mechanisms to ensure continuous quality improvement across the quarantine system .
The Panel received the User Journey Mapping Report in December and found this a valuable piece of work which may be utilised in all future work of the Panel.
Interim Recommendations - September 2021
The Quarantine Advisory Panel (Panel) submitted interim recommendations to the WA Department of Health for work undertaken to the end of September.
Recommendations focused on concerns raised by the State Health Incident Coordination Centre relating to the management of unaccompanied minors in quarantine. The Panel will continue to look at system improvements in order to provide further advice that will support the safety and protection of minors whilst in hotel quarantine.
In October, a User Journey Mapping exercise will be conducted to fully understand the traveller’s quarantine experience. The outcome of this work will support the ongoing assurance process and highlight opportunities for improvement.
