Communities and Justice

Get tested

Testing is one of the tools in our armour against COVID-19 to help stop the spread and ensure anyone with COVID-19 gets access to the right treatment.

Learn more about how COVID-19 testing works, which COVID-19 test is right for you and how you can register a positive COVID-19 result from a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).

Free rapid antigen tests to support vulnerable communities

To help with early detection and treatment of COVID-19, free rapid antigen tests (RATs) are available in NSW for priority cohorts.

DCJ Staff access to RAT kits

DCJ has made RAT kits available for all staff. For more information on how to access these go to the Rapid Antigen Test kits for DCJ staff page on the DCJ Intranet (staff login required).

Service providers access to RAT kits

The Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) is supplying free rapid antigen test (RATs) kits to ensure eligible services providers can support the needs of our priority client groups and their carers, as well as their own staff.

The priority groups include:

  • 24-hour residential services for homelessness, out-of-home care and youth justice rehabilitation
  • children and young people in out-of-home care, their carers and birth parents
  • vulnerable children and families at risk in child protection, and domestic and family violence
  • social housing tenants supported by community housing provider
  • case management for people receiving homelessness, community corrections and youth justice services
  • Aboriginal communities
  • people with disability including individuals who are immunocompromised and thier carers.
  • eligible Commonwealth Concession Card holders in NSW:
    • Pensioner Concession card
    • Commonwealth Seniors Health Care card
    • Health Care Card (including Low Income Health Care card); or
    • Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold, White or Orange cards.

Eligibility

To be eligible, your organisation must provide services to any of the priority client groups listed above.

In addition, your organisation must either:

  1. be contracted by DCJ to provide those services, or
  2. if not contracted by DCJ, be a non-government organisation or charity that provides services to people with disability, and be registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC).

How to order the RATs

You can order a number of boxes of RATs at any time, using our online order form.

We encourage providers not to wait until they run out of RATs before ordering again.

The RATs are free and will be delivered at no cost to the address you nominate when ordering.

Why is DCJ providing these for free?

The NSW Government is committed to protecting the community and providing RATs to those in need.

This initiative ensures organisations are able to maintain their services early detection and treatment of COVID-19.

You can read more in Minister Maclaren-Jones media release.

Last updated:

25 Jan 2023