We've probably all had a moment in the last few months where we've asked ourselves...am I allowed to do this? The primary consideration might have been an ethical one – who might be harmed by, or benefit from, my decision? The modern day trolley dilemma at a time when most of us aren't actually going near trolleys (germs, ew). But there was also no doubt a questioning of the legal consequence. Will my act be legal?

The answer wasn't always easy. One minute being told you aren't allowed to visit your partner in another house then 'oh wait no it is ok' because it is providing care and assistance to a vulnerable person (for the record we think in most cases that would have been a stretch). We still don't know whether those people who've dared to walk their dog without donning active wear are flagrant law flouters. Time will tell.

And now it has changed again...so what am I allowed to do from 1 May 2020?

There's still no limit on how many people can attend a gathering in a private home. NSW never brought that in (Victoria did), it relied on it being practically impossible as it was not a reasonable excuse to leave your own home.

However, from 1 May it is a reasonable excuse to leave your own home to go to the house of any other person. Technically it is still to provide that person with care or support, but as mentioned above, the similarly worded 'care and assistance to a vulnerable person' was confirmed to have a very broad application.

Here's our take:

  • Let's say Joe goes to visit Carole's house. That's allowed. Antle, who doesn't live with Joe, also goes to visit Carole's house while Joe is there. That's also allowed.
  • Carole's husband, Howard, is also at Carole's house. So there's now effectively a gathering of 4 people. That is allowed both because there's no restriction on private gatherings and also because Howard is a member of Carole's household so exempt from the count.
  • If Antle has a child under 18 that child is allowed to go with him to Carole's house, irrespective of Joe also being there. You can't rely on the laws as a reason to leave the kids at home while visiting a friend (sorry).
  • It is also ok for Carole to have other people at her home, during this gathering, if those people have a reasonable excuse to be there. Volunteer workers in her exotic cat sanctuary, for example.

We're getting a decent increase in liberty by these amendments. Let's respect them to keep the curve flat and further relax the restrictions.

But now the immediate crisis seems to have passed, let's also make sure we properly critique what just happened. The laws and the fines issued under them should be scrutinised. They were not without problems and we're sure that more issues will emerge; see here and here. It is only by reviewing and learning from this experience that we'll improve and protect those most vulnerable to our laws.

We do not disclaim anything about this article. We're quite proud of it really.