The decision to increase crowd capacity at the Australian Open wasn't based on health advice, according to Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton.
He said the decision to lift crowd numbers at the Open, previously capped at 50 per cent when it began and to 80 per cent for the finals, was made by Health Minister Martin Foley alone.
Professor Sutton faced a barrage of questions in the first public hearing of the Pandemic Declaration Accountability and Oversight Committee on Monday.
The committee was created as part of the controversial pandemic laws that passed parliament last year, shifting power for health measures to the government and away from Prof Sutton.
The first 10 minutes of the two-hour long hearing was spent debating why Prof Sutton had dialled into the meeting instead of attending in person.
Once it was underway, Prof Sutton confirmed he didn't provide a recommendation for or against increasing the Australian Open crowd.
He said the decision was instead made by the Health Minister, who was explicitly entitled under the Pandemic Bill to make broad decisions without health advice.
This account is in direct contradiction to a tweet sent by Minister for Events Martin Pakula celebrating the increase in crowd capacity that said:
"Breaking my self imposed Twitter hiatus (which I will return to - it's blissful) to advise that the Chief Health Officer has agreed to increase the ticketed capacity of the Australian Open to 65% for the remainder of the tournament."
Prof Sutton said while he did have some input, he did not provide official advice in relation to the cancellation of elective surgery or putting IVF on hold either, because it was not his job.
His job was instead to discuss public health issues and manage COVID-19 within Victoria.
He said he had also not been requested to provide advice about a mandate requiring Victorians to receive a third dose of the vaccine.
Premier Daniel Andrews has regularly raised his belief that national regulator ATAGI would soon announce that three doses would be required to be fully vaccinated.
As a result of the ever-changing situation within the pandemic, Prof Sutton said the health team reviewed recommendations regularly.
He said they were currently reviewing the QR-code check-in process and expected a result by mid-February.
While check-in data wasn't currently being used at every site, the Chief Health Officer said it was particularly helpful to trace super spreader events.
He said he did not see the work from home recommendation being lifted any time soon.
AAP has contacted the State Government for comment.
