Private security will be allowed on-site to guard a vacant Melbourne quarantine hotel after a break-in and other incidents in recent weeks.
Victoria's dedicated hotel quarantine agency on Wednesday confirmed the Pullman on Swanston had been granted an exemption to hire private security guards while offline and unused.
The temporary exemption will expire when the state's pause on incoming international flights is lifted and the quarantine hotel - one of nine in the program - resumes accepting returned travellers.
It follows two men breaking into the Pullman during the early hours of February 28, stealing phone chargers and cases before fleeing the scene.
A reception attendant was left shaken but uninjured and no guests were on site at the time, with the hotel closed since February 25.
While police and defence force personnel are reassigned to other duties, the private security guards will be stationed in the hotel foyer overnight.
They are barred from entering any COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria staffing areas or hotel floors unless there is a security incident.
The request was made by the Pullman to ensure its remaining staff are safe and the site is secure, a CQV spokeswoman said in a statement.
In June, Victoria's hotel quarantine program was suspended and an inquiry was called after security guards and hotel staff at the Rydges on Swanston and Stamford Plaza contracted COVID-19.
The outbreaks sparked the state's second wave, which resulted in more than 18,000 infections and 800 deaths.
Premier Daniel Andrews pledged no private security guards would be used when relaunching the new-look program in early December.
Meanwhile, Victoria recorded its 12th consecutive day without a locally acquired infection on Wednesday, with just six active cases remaining in the state.
