The borders between Victoria and NSW opened today, with fully vaccinated travellers able to cross between the two states from 11:59pm on Thursday night.
Both state governments are pushing ahead with “normalising living with the virus”.
But while NSW and Victoria celebrates, Western Australia has confirmed its borders would remain shut until 2022.
All local government areas in the ACT and NSW are now considered “green zones”, meaning that travellers and workers entering Victoria from these jurisdictions face no testing or quarantine requirements.
It is the first time in more than six months that Victoria has considered all LGAs across Australia as green zones under its traffic light system.
But, people arriving in Victoria will still be required to obtain a permit from Service Victoria before arriving in the state to confirm they are not COVID-positive or subject to an isolation requirement.
Anyone who is not fully vaccinated is still subject to strict travel restrictions set by each state, with Victorians aged older than 16 who are unvaccinated barred entry to NSW for recreation.
In a joint statement on Thursday night, the NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, and the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, said that strong vaccination coverage in each state and falling case numbers had meant they could continue “normalising living with the virus”.
“This milestone has only been made possible because people across NSW and Victoria have rolled up their sleeves and led the nation on the road back to normality thanks to our high vaccination rates,” Mr Perrottet said.
But it’s not the same story for Australians wanting to visit Western Australia.
Today, Premier Mark McGowan announced that Western Australia’s borders will remain shut until 90 per cent of its population above 12 years old, are vaccinated.
Mr McGowan said he believes the target would be achieved in late January or early February and a specific transition day where domestic and international travellers would be allowed in, would be announced after an 80 per cent double dose vaccination was reached.
“This puts us in the best possible position to transition with minimal impact on our health, our economy, and our way of life,” Mr McGowan said.
“We have done so well. We do not want to fall at the last hurdle.”
Currently, 80 per cent of the over 12 population have had one dose, while 64 per cent are fully vaccinated.
While travel will be permitted once the state hits 90 per cent, all domestic arrivals would be required to complete a G2G pass.
For interstate arrivals:
- Travellers would need to be double-vaccinated
- Return a negative PCR test 72 hours prior to departure
- Undertake a COVID test within 48 hours of entry
For overseas arrivals:
- Return a negative PCR test 72 hours prior to departure
- Undertake a COVID-19 test within 48 hours of entry
- Double vaccinated international travellers will not be required to quarantine
- International travellers who are NOT double vaccinated will be required to complete 14 days quarantine in a ‘designated facility’
