The Victorian government has announced significant changes to its border entry policies with New South Wales, scrapping quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers from red zones.
The Victorian announcement came just after NSW revealed huge changes to its international border arrangements.
And with what the health minister called "transitional anomalies" likely to occur as borders open while lockdowns are in place, the changes have caused some confusion.
Here's what it all means for you.
Borders are more open for fully vaccinated people
Local government areas have been split into different categories based on a "traffic light" system since January, with 70 LGAs in NSW categorised as red zones of high COVID risk.
Currently, only Victorian residents are able to apply for a red zone permit to return to the state. Those who do are forced to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
When travelling from the less risky orange zones, interstate travellers are currently required to apply for a permit, get tested upon arrival and isolate until a negative result is returned. The ACT and the rest of NSW are currently orange zones.
From 11:59pm on October 19, all fully vaccinated people in red zones will be able to apply for a travel permit to enter Victoria, regardless of residency status.
Travellers from red zones must record a negative test result no more than 72 hours before crossing the border, and must get tested again and isolate on arrival until returning a negative result.
However, they will not be required to quarantine for 14 days.
Fully vaccinated people coming to Victoria from orange zones will no longer need to be tested or isolate.
For those who have not had both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, the old rules will continue to apply — red zone permit holders will do 14 days of home quarantine, and orange zone permit holders will need to be tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.
People will need proof of vaccination
While the requirement for quarantine will be removed, all interstate travellers to Victoria must still apply for and receive a permit from Service Victoria to enter the state.
All fully vaccinated travellers following the reduced restrictions will also be required to carry proof of their vaccination status.
People under the age of 12 who are currently ineligible for vaccination must travel under a parent or guardian's permit and must follow the same entry conditions.
For unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated travellers, the current rules regarding quarantine and testing would still apply for both them and their children under 12.
Lockdown rules still apply to travellers
Once in Victoria, the same rules and restrictions will apply to fully vaccinated travellers as they do to residents.
This includes the travel radius and the stay-at-home orders currently enforced in metropolitan Melbourne and Mildura.
For those visiting family, the complete ban on household visits still applies.
Health authorities said the rules around those with special travel exemptions to enter Victoria such as those travelling on compassionate grounds or for specialised work would also be faced with "less restrictive" conditions upon arrival in the state.
NSW's changes to international travel have implications for Victoria
Friday was a big day for border news, not least because the NSW government confirmed it was scrapping quarantine for international travellers from next month.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet suggested his international quarantine announcement would open up the state "to the world".
Just a few hours later, Prime Minister Scott Morrison clarified arrivals would initially be restricted to Australian residents and their families.
But the international quarantine changes in NSW, combined with Victoria opening its state borders, mean it is likely someone could hop off an international flight into Sydney, then be free to move around Victoria just one negative test later.
By midday on Friday, Health Minister Martin Foley said his government was "not aware of the full details" of the NSW announcement, and told reporters to "take a chill pill".
"We will go through that. We wish New South Wales, as we always do, every success, and Victoria will go about its business in the national context, understanding it's the commonwealth who control international borders, not the states.
"We already indicated strong support for the home-based quarantine trials and we will move through those trials in a safe way."
Unless the Victorian border rules are amended to exclude international travellers, it would be a significant change to the current system, which requires all international arrivals to quarantine for 14 days.
People from Sydney could travel to regional Victoria more freely than people from Melbourne
Victoria's border will relax from Wednesday, days before the state is expected to hit its 70 per cent vaccination target.
At that stage, the 15-kilometre travel radius in locked-down Melbourne and Mildura will expand to 25km.
It will not be until 80 per cent of Victorians aged 16 and older that those travel limits will lift and all of the state is on the same level of restrictions.
It means people from NSW will be able to travel to Victoria — then follow the rules when they arrive — before a person from Melbourne will be able to travel more than 25km from their home.
The state opposition labelled Victoria's new changes a "strange" policy that "clearly doesn't make sense".
"There will of course be transitional anomalies but as we get to 70 and 80 per cent, as per the roadmap, they will evaporate," Mr Foley said on Friday.
Victorians still need to quarantine after arriving in NSW
No changes have been announced for border restrictions in travelling to NSW from Victoria, and Victorians crossing the border will need to complete a NSW Entry Form and isolate for 14 days upon arrival.
The quarantine requirements for Victorians remain, despite the international travellers announcement.
The NSW government has also delayed travel from Greater Sydney to regional NSW until November 1.
As such, a fully vaccinated Sydney resident could visit regional Victoria before being allowed to visit regional NSW.
However, they would be forced to quarantine for 14 days on their return to NSW.
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2021-10-15 13:51:59Z
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