After an absolute marathon overnight session at Victoria's Upper House, politicians have voted to extend the State of Emergency by six months.
Premier Daniel Andrews initially wanted the power to push the declaration to 12 months, however halved it to compromise with his detractors.
It wasn't until 2am this morning that MPs were able to come to an agreement and the law passed the Legislative Council without amendment by 20 votes to 19.
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The bill was helped by Greens MP Samantha Ratnam, who came back to Parliament while on maternity leave to vote in favour.
She said before the vote: "Obviously, I wasn't intending to be here this week because I'm still on maternity leave but I felt like this decision that we have before us in the Parliament was just too important for the health and wellbeing of Victorians.
"The Greens have always backed the public health-led response to the pandemic."
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Health Minister Jenny Mikakos added Parliament: "This is about saving lives. We know this is difficult for the community...but ultimately we've seen the toll overseas where these restrictions were not put in place, or not put in place quickly enough."
The powers will allow Victoria to continue implementing health directives from the Chief Health Officer in relation to tackling the pandemic.
It doesn't relate to the Stage 3 or 4 restrictions that have been established in Melbourne and across Victoria.
Premier Andrews likened it to an insurance policy.
"We hope we don't have to make a claim against it," he said. "The extension just brings us into line - in fact, still has us, I think, in a preferred position to many states.
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"Other states are able to extend and extend and extend further. They don't have any limits. We - under these arrangements - will simply continue the existing set of tools, if you like - the practical tools that we can draw on - based on the best of medical advice."
The Premier is under pressure to ensure the Stage 4 restrictions are rolled back by the middle of the month, which is when they were flagged to end. Victoria has been recording daily coronavirus case rises of around 70 to 80 people over the past few days, which is a far cry away from the days of 400-700 new infections.
The future of Melbourne's restrictions will depend on the coming weeks and whether there is sufficient evidence to suggest the state has seen the worst of the second wave.
Premier Andrews said on Twitter: "Getting back to normal won't ever be an option if we can't protect what we've already achieved. These changes are about saving lives and keeping Victorians safe - nothing more, nothing less."
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The Premier will make an announcement this Sunday on what the future of the restrictions will be.
Featured Image Credit: PA