NSW-Victoria border closure: do I need an entry permit and are there exemptions?
New South Wales temporarily closed its border with Victoria starting from 12.01am Wednesday 8 July in response to Melbourne’s coronavirus outbreak. The closure, announced at a press conference by Victorian premier Daniel Andrews on Monday, is being enforced by NSW police.
In the days leading up to the announcement, Victoria had recorded 108 new cases on Saturday, 74 on Sunday and 127 on Monday – the highest daily total Victoria has seen since the pandemic began.
On 2 July, a stay-at-home order was placed on 36 suburbs from 10 postcodes in coronavirus hotspots across metropolitan Melbourne, and on 4 July some 3,000 public housing residents living in nine tower block estates were placed into “hard lockdown” to try and contain community transmission.
Here is everything we know about the NSW-Victoria border closure, as of Wednesday 8 July.
When are the borders closing?
Since 30 June, police and health officials have already been stationed across NSW borders, preventing anyone from the 36 Melbourne “hotspot” suburbs from travelling into the state.
From 12.01am on Tuesday 7 July, those restrictions expanded to prevent anyone from Melbourne crossing into NSW.
From 12.01am on Wednesday 8 July, no one is allowed to travel across from Victoria into NSW.
Why is the border closing now, and not back in March when we first saw coronavirus cases in Victoria?
The main reason, we are told, is because the majority of coronavirus cases cropping up in Melbourne at the moment are the result of community transmission.
At the start of the pandemic, most cases in Australia were overseas travellers in quarantine or people who had been in direct contact with those travellers.
As NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters this week, what we are seeing in Victoria at the moment “is unprecedented in Australia”.
“That is why the decision of the NSW government is unprecedented. We have not seen anything like this,” she said.
As of midnight, Tuesday 7 July, those from Victoria wanting to cross into the ACT need to self-quarantine to reduce the likelihood of Covid-19 spreading to the Canberra region.
Who is allowed to cross the border?
There is a permit system to allow those who need to travel across the NSW-Victoria border for work.
Emergency service or law enforcement workers do not need a permit to cross the border. Neither do people crossing the border to access medical or hospital services, to attend court or to meet legal obligations, or anyone seeking to escape injury or harm.
Other than those exceptions, everyone, both adults and children, need a permit to cross the border. Permits are valid for 14-days, and individual permits specify whether the holder is required to self-isolate upon arrival in NSW.
People are not eligible for a permit to cross the border if they are subject to lockdown conditions in Victoria which prevent them from travelling. That means for the next six weeks at least, residents of greater Melbourne will not be eligible except in extreme circumstances.
People who can apply for a permit are: NSW residents returning home; people who live in cross-border communities; a member or parliament or staff for an MP; consular officials; seasonal workers; boarding school or university students who attend school in NSW, or a parent or guardian accompanying a student; or a carer for someone living in NSW.
People providing “critical services” are also eligible for a permit. That is listed as freight and logistics, maintenance and repair of critical infrastructure, medical or hospital care, mining, agriculture, construction, engineering, manufacturing, and commonwealth defence and security services.
The final category of people eligible for a permit are those transiting through NSW on their way to their home state; entering for child access or care arrangements; and applying on compassionate grounds such as visiting a terminally ill person.
It was the decision of NSW to close the borders. The NSW government are only be stopping people from coming into the state. This means that Victorians currently in NSW are able to travel back home.
How do I apply for a valid exemption?
Applications to cross into NSW from Victoria came online late onTuesday 7 July via the Services NSW website.
The NSW police commissioner, Mick Fuller, warned that it is going to be “difficult, not impossible, but difficult” to apply for a valid exemption in the first 72 hours.
This is because the government anticipated delays as it tried to work out who has essential reasons to cross the border.
Fuller said 44,000 permits were applied for, and approved, overnight on Tuesday.
Even if you receive an exemption to travel to NSW from a hotspot, you may have to self-isolate in NSW for two weeks. Police will be checking in regularly on travellers in quarantine.
What if I live close to the border and travel across frequently?
If you live on the border and need to travel interstate for work or to receive essential healthcare, you can apply for a permit via the Services NSW website.
Services NSW has not yet publicly defined what it considers to be a “border community”. Police on Tuesday suggested it would be those living in local governments that directly abut the border, but many who live further back from the border are required to regularly cross for work.
Berejiklian said that for the first 48 to 72 hours there could be long delays to cross the border.
“We appreciate that for communities like Wodonga, for freight going in and out of Eden and other places, there will be exemptions, permits available, and Services NSW will be able to do that online and make it as easy as possible for people who live in those communities,” she said.
How is the border closure being policed?
Fuller told reporters on Monday morning that law enforcement would be stationed at all five primary road crossings, 33 bridges, two waterway crossings, and multiple smaller roads on the NSW and Victoria border.
NSW police are patrolling the border. Fuller said 650 police officers and 100 members of the Australian defence force headed to the border on Tuesday, with the ADF contingent to increase to 350 by the weekend.
Fuller said NSW police would be using drones and other aerial surveillance technology to monitor the border 24/7, in an effort to prevent people from swimming across the river or walking through undetected.
NSW police were unable to respond to the Guardian’s questions about how drones and aerial surveillance technology would be used to police border closures.
Those who infringe public health orders face fines of up to $11,000 and six months’ jail. There is also a $1,000 on-the-spot fine for people who provide false information to police.
Fuller said he had asked the health minister for additional powers around on-the-spot fines, especially for those who mislead NSW in their permit application.
What if I already have a flight booked to Melbourne during this lockdown?
Berejiklian said some flights and train services would continue running between NSW and Victoria, but only for those with valid permits and who are returning to their home state.
A Virgin Australia Group spokesman told the Guardian the airline was reviewing its flight schedule for services between Sydney and Melbourne.
“We’ll contact passengers directly if there’s any change to their flight,” he said.
The spokesman said Virgin Australia was waiving applicable change fees for bookings to Melbourne made between 21 April and 30 September for any passengers who can no longer travel, or who want to change their booking.
The Guardian has contacted Qantas for comment.
Will other states need to close their borders, or keep their borders closed, to Victorians?
Several states and territories had
planned to reopen their borders for the first time since the pandemic broke.
Queensland recently announced it would open its borders from 1o July, South Australia from 20 July and the Northern Territory from 17 July. However, these plans came with a caveat: they would only proceed if cases around the country remained low.
The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, said on Monday the next two weeks would be telling for prospective opening of borders.
“What happens then, in terms of the steps the Victorian government has taken, to make sure we can try to stop the rise in the number of cases with contact tracing and testing, we can continue to take the steps necessary. That will be critical,” he said.