Sorry but I can't agree with some of the posts above. As I mentioned I won't go into the specifics of a particular operation but if an Australian based crew member is exposed to the virus whilst outside the country they pose exactly the same risk as an exposed non-Australian based crew member in terms of bringing the virus into Australia. How they are handled when they arrive alters how far and wide the virus may spread.
What did happen is the Australian could leave the airport and self isolate at home (possibly exposing other people), the foreign based individual went to a crew hotel to self isolate (low risk if they follow the established rules). If the Australian based person returned as a passenger to NSW then they went into mandatory hotel quarantine (very low risk).
So with the latest changes (latest published information is dated the 17th), if you re-enter as a passenger (having been an operating crew member outbound) you go to hotel quarantine, foreign based you go to hotel quarantine, but if you are Australian based and operate back into Australia you can self isolate at home. It seems odd that the individual that positioned home is treated differently to the one that operated. Australian based crew are just as likely to bend/break the rules as foreign based crew
Given all the rumors (and that is all they are at this stage) that the "Avalon Cluster" was started by a returned crew member it seems inconsistent that aircrew are handled differently depending on their operating capacity and country of residence.
BTW, can anybody determine if a resident of the Northern Beaches can now go to Melbourne to do a sim?