Due to the evolving COVID-19 situation in NSW, the ACT Government is updating travel directions for people travelling to the ACT from affected areas of NSW from 4pm today, Wednesday 23 June.

People should not be travelling between Greater Sydney and the ACT at this time.

From 4pm today, the ACT Government will introduce a new ‘stay-at-home’ requirement for anyone who leaves the following seven Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Greater Sydney – City of Sydney, Waverley, Randwick, Canada Bay, Inner West, Bayside and Woollahra – and enters the ACT.

In addition, anyone who has been in the broader Greater Sydney, Central Coast, Nepean Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour regions of NSW (including the LGAs above) in the past 14 days, will need to complete an online declaration form on the COVID-19 website. This form will be available from 6pm tonight, 23 June. This is to ensure ACT Health is able to contact people if travel directions need to be escalated in the coming days.

At this time, these requirements will remain in place for at least one week, until 11.59pm Wednesday 30 June.

If you must travel for essential reasons, you must abide by all public health directions in place in NSW and the ACT. This includes changing travel plans and adhering to public health instructions upon your return.

ACT Health advises it is continuing to monitor the situation very closely and will put in place further directions if required in order to keep the community safe. Regular updates on the evolving situation will be provided.

Stay-at-home requirements

ACT Health advises if you are an ACT resident and are leaving the affected LGAs on or after 4pm today and entering the ACT you need to:

• Complete an online declaration form within 24 hours prior to arriving in the ACT or within 24 hours from the commencement of the new stay at home requirements.
• Travel directly to the residence where you will spend the stay-at-home period. You should only leave the residence for an approved essential purpose. The stay-at-home requirement will be in place until at least 11.59pm on 30 June 2021.
• Everyone aged 12 years and over must wear a mask if leaving their premises for any of these essential purposes.  Mask wearing is not required if undertaking vigorous exercise outdoors.

Non-ACT residents who are in these LGAs will not be able to enter the ACT without an approved exemption. Exemptions will only granted for extraordinary circumstances, and even if an exemption is approved, you will still be required to follow the stay-at-home order in the ACT.

Further information on these requirements will be available on the COVID-19 website by 6pm tonight.

Exposure Locations

People in the ACT who have been in New South Wales in the last 14 days should continue to check the COVID-19 Areas of Concern information on the ACT COVID-19 website to see if they have been in any exposure locations.

If you have been in an exposure location, you must follow the relevant health directions.

With the Bondi cluster continuing to grow, exposure locations in Greater Sydney are being updated as soon as the information becomes available, so people need to re-check this information regularly and take the health directions seriously.

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