Gatherings outside will now be reduced to two people in a tougher crackdown on get-togethers in a continued effort to tackle the coronavirus.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said only two people should gather in public spaces and “other areas of gathering” but it will be up to states to enforce that limit.
The rules do not apply to members of "households". For example, one can gather with people they live with but outside of that, the limit is restricted to two.
He said the only reasons you should leave your home is for the following reasons.
Shopping for what you need such as food and essential supplies
For medical care or compassionate needs
To exercise
For work and eduction if doing so from home is not an option.
"In addition, in public areas public playgrounds, outside gyms and skateparks will be closed as from tomorrow and boot camps will be reduced to two, which doesn’t really make it a boot camp, that makes it a private session with your trainer for those who are accessing those services," Mr Morrison said.
He added that people who are 70 and over, should stay home and self-isolate for their own protection to limit their interaction with others.
When addressing the media, the Prime Minister said that it's been a “hard week” for Australia however the rate of increase has been falling.
"Towards this time last week the day daily rate of increase was up around 30 per cent and today’s increase is around nine per cent," he said.
"There are no guarantees about how that goes forward.
"We need to continue to do the things that we have committed ourselves to do to save lives and save livelihoods and I want to thank Australians for their strong support and growing support for the measures that are necessary to do just that."
Since the new rules were put in place as of midnight on Saturday, Mr Morrison said 1600 people have gone into mandatory quarantine on Sunday.
The Prime Minister also said there will be a moratorium on evictions for the next six months on the basis of financial stress. "If they are unable to meet their commitments and so there would be a moratorium on evictions for the next six-month sunder those rental arrangements," he said.
"Now there is a lot more work to be done here and my message to tenants, particularly commercial tenants, and commercial landlords, is a very straightforward one - we need you to sit down, talk to each other and work this out."
MORE TO COME.