A strict permit system is in place for all flights arriving in NSW from Victoria and passengers undergo comprehensive police and health checks upon arrival.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said all flights are met by NSW Health staff and police officers to ensure anyone entering NSW complies with the current health orders.

“There are only limited reasons anyone from Victoria should be entering NSW and people have been turned back despite being allowed on the plane in Melbourne,” Mr Hazzard said.

“Victorian residents are not permitted into NSW at all unless they are needed for specific purposes and even then have to apply for and get a permit.

“We are constantly reviewing the situation in Victoria and will adjust the health orders as necessary to protect the people of NSW.”

Anyone who flies into NSW from Victoria must either be a NSW resident or have a relevant permit that allows entry into NSW – that can include:

• defence officials
• doctors and nurses
• critical workers in energy, mining and construction
• child protection workers
• disability workers.

All travellers are provided with a pack of two masks and hand sanitiser by the airlines.

Upon arrival into NSW all passengers from Victoria are:

• given masks if they left them on the plane
• temperature checked
• asked relevant questions about their health. and
• their permit is checked to ensure it complies with the strict permit system.

Anyone without a valid permit is referred to NSW Police and taken to the Special Health Accommodation to complete 14 days of quarantine.

Strict instructions and rules are in place for those going into ‘Home Isolation’ including:

• recommended they be collected in a private car by family or friends
• not to use public transport to get home
• to only sit in the back seat of a car with the windows open and air conditioning not on recirculation
• told to wear their face masks and observe hand hygiene recommendations, and
• called to make sure they arrive home.

NSW Health is provided the contact details of everyone who enters NSW from Victoria.

NSW Police is conducting regular compliance checks for people told to go into ‘Home Isolation’ as well as responding to reports from the community in relation to suspected breaches.

Over the weekend, NSW Police visited almost 600 homes to check that those that were meant to be self-isolating were doing so.

In addition to that, over the same period NSW Police received 374 calls to Crime Stoppers reporting suspected breaches of the health orders, the majority of which were for people suspected of not following self-isolation rules.

Self-isolation guidelines are provided to everyone when they arrive from Victoria.