All travellers coming into Australia will need to self-isolate for 14 days, as the Morrison government escalates its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cruise ships will also be banned from docking in Australia for at least 30 days, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said after a meeting of the new National Cabinet on Sunday.
Mr Morrison said the new measures - which come into effect from midnight on Sunday - would help "flatten the curve" and slow the spread of the virus.
There are now 250 cases of the virus in Australia.
Deputy chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly said compared to this time a week ago, the virus was spreading quickly, with increasing community transmission.
"The next proportional step to take [is] to decrease those travel-related illnesses," Dr Kelly said.
It would be an offence under state and territory law to break self-isolation within two weeks of entering the country, with Australians encouraged to police each other.
"The states and territories wisely are not going to create event police or social distancing police or things of that nature. That would not be a wise use of police resources around the country but legislation would mean that if a person did fail to observe the 14 days self isolation or if an event was organised it would be contrary - once those provisions are put in place - to state law," Mr Morrison said.
"If your mate has been to Bali and they come back and they turn up at work and they are sitting next to you, they will be committing an offence, so I think it's up to all of us that we are in ensuring it is in place."
It comes after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a similar mandatory quarantine for people entering the country.
Australia will also extend its "social distancing" measures to combat the rapidly-spreading virus.
"No more handshakes. That is a new thing we've moved to, something I will be practising," Mr Morrison said.
Federal cabinet will meet via videoconference, instead of all the members being in one place, while politicians will curb travel.
A question mark still hangs over whether federal parliament will sit Monday week.
Mr Morrison said he was in discussions with Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, as well as Speaker Tony Smith and Senate President Scott Ryan about what would happen.
The ban on events with more than 500 people coming into effect on Monday will still proceed, with further restrictions on the cards.
However Mr Morrison said there were no plans to lockdown schools, universities or public transport at this stage.
Mr Morrison said the international medical advice was that it was counterintuitive to close schools as it meant children were in increased contact with members of the broader community, and it also prevented critical workers such as nurses or doctors from being able to attend work as they had to care for their children.
"[Closing schools] could make the situation worse, not better," Mr Morrison said.
We have removed our paywall from our stories about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation and we need to make sure our readers are as informed as possible. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe - sign up here