An update has been made to the public activity restrictions in South Australia.
The Emergency Management (Cross Border Travel No 12) (COVID-19) Direction 2020 has been revoked and replaced by the Emergency Management (Cross Border Travel No 13) (COVID-19) Direction 2020. This new Direction comes into effect as of 0001 Friday 28 August 2020.
The new Direction provides an update to the restrictions currently in place for people arriving from low community transmission zones and essential travellers as Cross Border Travellers and Emergency Service Workers.
Low Community Transmission Zone Arrivals
The low community transmission zone (Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia) has now been expanded to include those people who have travelled by air from a low community transmission zone and transit through either Sydney or Canberra Airport.
This means that providing a traveller does not leave the airport terminal and has only been in either Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia or South Australia 14 days prior to arrival they are not required to submit to the COVID-19 testing and self-quarantine requirements.
Cross Border Community Member Essential Travellers
A person will now be eligible for Cross Border Community status if they reside within 40km of the South Australia/Victorian border or within 50km of the South Australia/New South Wales border.
- For South Australian/Victorian community members they must not travel more than 40km into SA or VIC from their point of entry into the relevant state. If the person travels more than 40km into Victoria they will not be permitted to re-enter South Australia.
- For South Australian/New South Wales community members they must not travel more than 50km into SA or NSW from their point of entry into the relevant state. If the person travels more than 50km into New South Wales they will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days when re-entering South Australia.
Entry as a Cross Border Community member is only permitted for the purposes of; employment, education; providing care and support to another person, receiving care and support to another person, obtaining food, petrol or other fuel or medical care or supplies.
Note- Cross Border Community Members who have had their essential traveller status revoked or who currently hold a ‘paper based’ exemption which was in place prior to the implementation of the online Cross Border Form will be required to re-apply via the online system- https://www.police.sa.gov.au/online-services/cross-border-travel-application
Emergency Services Worker Essential Travellers
Emergency Services Workers who wish to enter South Australia must only do so if they are approved by SA Health or who are on duty and are required in the conduct of those duties to travel into South Australia to attend, or respond to, an emergency.
An emergency is defined as an event that causes, or threatens to cause:
- the death of, or injury or other damage to the health of, any person;
- the destruction of, or damage to, any property;
- a disruption to essential services or to services usually enjoyed by the community;
- or harm to the environment, or to flora or fauna.
Where the Emergency Services Worker is attending a health facility or hospital in South Australia they must inform the facility of their arrival prior to arriving at the facility.
It is acknowledged that many restrictions still apply, but they are critical in dealing with the spread of COVID-19.
All existing directions, frequently asked questions and other information can be found here: https://www.covid-19.sa.gov.au/emergency-declarations
For further information please call the SA COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787 between the hours of 9am to 5pm 7 days per week or go to the SA Health website at www.sahealth.sa.gov.au or www.sa.gov.au/covid-19
