Victoria introduces new traffic light system for interstate travel
Victoria will introduce a new "traffic light" system for border crossings meaning people trapped in regional NSW will be able to return to the state from 6pm on Monday night.
The system will be used to categorise the COVID-19 risk of each state and territory and from 6pm on Monday night, anyone who wants to travel to Victoria will need to apply for a permit from the Services Victoria website.
Premier Daniel Andrews says Victorians in regional NSW will be able to return home.Credit:Darrian Traynor
"It will be based on the colour code, the virus status of where you have been, the virus status of where you're coming from," Premier Daniel Andrews said.
He warned there would be a $5000 fine for anyone who turned up in Victoria without a valid permit.
"If you have not bothered to apply for one {or} you were rejected and turn up ,then you face that $5000 fine," Mr Andrews said.
Those who are currently in Greater Brisbane will not be able to return yet, but Victorians in regional NSW will be allowed back.
"I'm pleased to say that regional NSW from 5.59pm tonight will become orange, will move out of red zone and people from Victoria who want to travel home from those areas … you will be able to do so," Mr Andrews said on Monday. "Greater Sydney remains red and we will update that daily."
Mr Andrews said the Victorian public health team was "not yet comfortable" to have people from Brisbane coming back to Victoria but that the situation would be monitored.
"In terms of Brisbane, whilst the restrictions that have been imposed in greater Brisbane, come off at 6pm tonight the public health team is still not 100 per cent confident that we could have people from Brisbane returning to Victoria, so we will again monitor that each day," he said.
"There's still many close contacts that have not been tested. That's a relatively new outbreak we're very pleased, of course for our friends in Queensland.
"With such positive results over the course of the weekend, many tests, and no additional cases, but the public health team …is not yet comfortable to have people from the greater Brisbane area coming back to Melbourne or travelling to Melbourne regardless of where they might live again that'll be updated daily."
Mr Andrews said a further update on restrictions from Sydney and Brisbane will come later this week.
He said he would not hesitate to bring in border restrictions for future outbreaks and warned Victorians that they needed to factor in the chance that COVID-19 cases may cause travel restrictions until there is widespread rollout of a vaccine.
"If I get public health advice to lock out another part of the country from potential people from that part of the country travelling to Victoria, I will not hesitate to do that," he said.
"The stakes are very high here we have built something that is precious and it needs to be safeguarded."
Mr Andrews said Victorians who are planning to travel interstate in the coming months should factor in a plan for if they get stranded.
"When you are when you are making a judgment about whether you're going to travel to other parts of the country you have to at least give some thought to the notion that there could be an outbreak and your plans may well be impacted by that," he said.
"That has got to be part of your thinking. Because this is not normal. We are in a global pandemic where there is no vaccine yet."
Victorians who have been in home quarantine after returning from regional NSW will also be allowed step beyond their front doors from 6pm tonight.
"For those individuals who've been in regional New South Wales … yes, they will be free to leave quarantine," Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said.
Professor Sutton said health authorities were looking at something similar for anyone who may have ended up in quarantine after arriving in Victoria from Brisbane, but they would require a negative result first.
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