From 11.59am on Tuesday 7 July 2020 – ALL borders between New South Wales and Victoria will be officially closed, for an undetermined period, following announcements made yesterday afternoon by both NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, and the Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews.
Anyone travelling to NSW from Victoria’s hotspot postcodes are already banned from entering NSW, however, from 11.59pm AEST last night, Monday 6 July 2020, that ban was extended to anyone travelling into NSW from Greater Melbourne.
The ban on travelling to NSW from ALL of Victoria commences at 11.59pm AEST tonight.
The ACT will also close its borders to Victoria. Anyone travelling from anywhere in Victoria to the ACT will be denied entry unless granted exemption by either the NSW or ACT governments.
Only permit holders, emergency services workers, freight drivers and returning travellers will be able to cross into New South Wales from Victoria.
- Permits will be issued to people who live and/or work in the Albury-Wodonga community who can demonstrate that they must travel to and/or from Albury (NSW) and Wodonga (VIC) to undertake employment. Service NSW will manage these permits.
- Other exemptions may apply, including demonstrated need to cross the NSW/VIC border for health and other essential reasons. Service NSW will manage these applications for exemption.
Service NSW will have online applications available for travel exemptions today.
The border closure announcement follows agreement between both Premiers and Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, after consultation with the NSW Chief Health Officer, Kerry Chant, as Victoria implements strategies to manage a concerning daily rate of new COVID-19 infections, and ‘hotspot’ outbreaks.
“The Victorian increase in community transmission has been particularly worrying,” Dr Chant said.
“This is a warning for NSW that the pandemic is not over.”
NSW Health Minister, Brad Hazzard, said the measures were necessary to protect NSW residents.
“We must remain flexible throughout this ongoing pandemic and adjust our strategies as the threat grows and recedes.
“This is not the first spike and it is unlikely to be the last.”
What does this mean for travellers between the two states?
Advice for ALL residents of NSW and VIC who had planned to travel between those states
NSW residents returning to NSW from ANYWHERE in Victoria, from 11.59am AEST 7 July 2020, will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.
ALL travellers from Victoria, attempting to cross into NSW, will be stopped at the border.
There will be heavy penalties and fines for anyone who provides false information and/or does not abide by the self-isolation instruction on returning to NSW from Victoria.
BY ROAD
Each of the 55 ground crossings — including four major highways, 33 bridges and two waterways – between NSW and VIC, will be manned by over 400 NSW police, deployed to set up barriers and check motorists entering NSW from Victoria.
BY AIR
Following the announcement yesterday, both Qantas and Jetstar have announced that they will reduce flights between Melbourne and Sydney, and operate limited flights for essential travel only during the border closure period. Virgin Australia will review its flights between the states and waive any fees for changing flights on bookings made between now and 30 September 2020.
Passengers with flights booked on these airlines are urged to contact the airline direct.
Police and health officials will also be on standby to question travellers who return via air.
BY RAIL
NSW TrainLink rail services will temporarily cease operating into Victoria from 7 July 2020, due to the closure of the NSW/VIC border.
Police and health officials will also be on standby to question travellers who return via rail.
