This order amends the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Order 2021 (the principal order) and makes related amendments to other COVID-19 orders. This order comes into force at 11.59 pm on 3 February 2022.

The principal order is amended to—

• extend the application of the face covering rule at Red; and

• strengthen the minimum requirements for the face covering that a person must wear to comply with the face covering rule, if it applies to them.

As amended, the principal order now applies the face covering rule at Red to—

• persons who are between 8 and 12 years of age, or who are younger than 8 years of age but are students in year 4 or above, but only when they are on school transport services or public transport services (clause 17(1) and (2)). Currently, the face covering rule applies to persons who are younger than 12 years of age only if they are students at a registered school and while they are indoors at an education entity: see clause 74 of the principal order as applied in Part 2 of Schedule 7 of that order:

• everyone at the premises of food and drink businesses or services or close-proximity businesses or services, rather than just workers at those businesses or services, as is currently the case (clause 17(3) and (4)):

• everyone at a permitted gathering, rather than just workers at permitted gatherings, as is currently the case (clause 17(5)), unless the permitted gathering is held—

  • at a private dwellinghouse; or

  • in a defined space or premises of a workplace that has been hired for the exclusive use of the gathering by a person (with some exceptions):

• persons who carry out work to which a vaccine mandate applies (clause 17(6)) (see the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order 2021 and the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Specified Work Vaccinations) Order 2021).

Face coverings must now, at a minimum, cover a person’s nose and mouth and be secured to their head by ear loops or a head loop (clause 5). An active COVID-19 response schedule may specify that a different type of face covering is required to comply with the face covering rule. At Red, a person must wear a medical-grade face covering when they are carrying out work to which a vaccine mandate applies, including in education entities (clause 17(6) and (8)).

Clauses 13 and 14 amend clauses 103 and 104 of the principal order. Those clauses exempt certain classes of person from the order as a whole. As amended, those clauses no longer exempt a person from complying with the face covering rule while carrying out work to which a vaccine mandate applies.

Parts 2 to 4 of this order amend the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border) Order 2021, the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border) Order (No 2) 2020, and the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Isolation and Quarantine) Order 2020. Those orders also require people to wear face coverings in certain places or circumstances. The definitions of face covering in those orders are updated to align them with the definition of face covering in the principal order (see clause 11 of the principal order as amended by clause 5 of this order).

The principal order is amended to—

• permit an event (a specified EOTC event) to be held in a defined space without a fixed capacity cap if—

  • the person in control of the event is providing education outside the classroom services in the defined space; and

  • the defined space is used exclusively for the purpose of education outside the classroom services for the duration of the event; and

  • everyone at the event is either a student participating in the event or CVC compliant (see new clause 54A as inserted by clause 10); and

• permit a regulated business or service that is an education outside the classroom service to operate, in a defined space where a specified EOTC event is held, in accordance with new clause 54A instead of the rules that would otherwise apply to it as a regulated business or service (see new clauses 25(2A) and 74A of the principal order as inserted by clauses 7 and 12).

Clauses 15, 16, and 17(7) and (9) amend Schedules 5 to 7 to provide that the amendments relating to education outside the classroom services apply at Red, Orange, and Green.

This order must be approved by resolution of the House of Representatives before the expiry of the period described in section 16(2) of the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020. If this does not happen, the order is revoked on the expiry of that period.