A Victorian public servant who helped set up the state's quarantine hotels says police wanted private security contractors to be the "first line of security" in the program.
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Claire Febey, an executive director with the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, appeared at Victoria's hotel quarantine inquiry on Thursday.
She said the department was told on March 27 it would be in charge of the entire operation and that she would take the lead.
Ms Febey was present at a pivotal meeting at the State Control Centre that same day, along with Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp and Victoria Police Commander Mick Grainger.
In her statement tendered to Victoria's hotel quarantine inquiry on Thursday, Ms Febey said police decided private security companies would be contracted to guard returned overseas travellers.
"I understand the preference of Victoria Police, or the Chief Commissioner, is that private security be the first line of security, and the police to respond as required. Is that your understanding, Mick?" Mr Crisp said, according to a part transcript of the meeting.
"Absolutely that's our preference," Mr Grainger replied.
Katrina Currie from the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions was given about 24 hours to employ private security for the program and contracted three firms - Wilson, Unified Security and MSS Security.
She told the inquiry her team looked for both "large and good employers" who paid award wages.
"I didn't think that they would use subcontractors. Part of the reason I was asking about award conditions was making sure that they were directly employing them," Ms Currie said.
In her handwritten notes, tendered to the inquiry, Ms Currie wrote about subcontractors and "preserving subcontract network".
Ms Febey believed police needed to be present at the hotels at all times.
"It was my view that Victoria Police should be present onsite at hotels 24/7, and that perimeter or proximate patrol was not adequate," Ms Febey wrote in her statement.
She said she escalated her concerns but was informed it was "sufficient for Victoria Police to be called through 000" if there was an emergency.
"I continued to press the issue, but gained no traction," Ms Febey said.
She also spoke of the confusion surrounding who was in charge of the program.
On March 28, it was decided the Department of Health and Human Services would take over as the lead agency of the hotel quarantine program.
Victoria began taking returned travellers on March 29.
Ms Febey told the inquiry her department wanted all staff involved in the program to wear a mask and gloves, but the DHHS wanted to conserve the use of personal protective equipment.
The use of PPE has been flagged as a key issue by the inquiry.
The inquiry heard on Monday from a security guard who caught COVID-19 while working at the Rydges on Swanston in May.
He said he was told by a supervisor there was a shortage of PPE and to wear the same mask and gloves for the entire shift.
The Rydges on Swanston is the source of 90 per cent of Victoria's second wave of coronavirus, which has killed hundreds.
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Australian Associated Press
