NSW DPI: Update COVID-19

 

Registering Travel within NSW 

In response to the evolving COVID-19 outbreak, the NSW Government is introducing additional protections for our community.  
 
If you live or work in a local government area of concern, or need to travel outside of Greater Sydney, you may need to register your travel. 
 
Under the Public Health Order, Greater Sydney includes the Blue Mountains and Wollongong but no longer includes Shellharbour and the Central Coast. If you are travelling to Shellharbour or the Central Coast for any of the reasons listed below, you will need to register. 
 

Leaving or entering a local government area of concern for work (new permit) 

 

From 12.01am Saturday 28 August 2021, you will need to register your travel within NSW if you are:  


You do not need to register your travel if you are providing an emergency service. 
 

Leaving Greater Sydney (existing permit) 

 

From 12:01am Saturday 21 August 2021, if you live in Greater Sydney, you may need to register when travelling outside of Greater Sydney if you are: 

  • travelling for work more than 50km outside Greater Sydney (including authorised workers from local government areas of concern) 
  • inspecting a potential place of residence anywhere outside Greater Sydney because you genuinely need a place to live in, as soon as practicable (no investment properties) 
  • moving between 2 places of residence: 
  • for your work accommodation (only the worker can travel to the residence) 
  • need to undertake urgent maintenance, repairs, or attend to animal welfare (if so, only 1 person may travel to the other residence). 
     

Remember 

To register you will need a MyServiceNSW Account – you can create one when you start your registration. If you are eligible, you can register to travel within NSW now. 
  

You must carry your travel registration and supporting documents with you, as you will need to provide these to NSW Police if requested.  
 
You may also need to provide evidence of having had a COVID-19 test as required for some Sydney workers or that you have met any COVID-19 vaccination requirements that apply to you. 
 
Fines will apply for false declarations or failure to show a valid registration. For further information about COVID-19 travel registration visit nsw.gov.au. 
 
It is more important than ever to get vaccinated, get tested, and follow the COVID-19 rules. We appreciate your ongoing support in helping us stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community.
 

Rapid Antigen Testing and vaccinations in Local Government Areas of Concern 


From 30 August, authorised workers from local government areas (LGAs) of concern, who work outside their LGA, will only be permitted to work if they have had at least one dose of a vaccine, or they have a rapid antigen test at their worksite. 

The new measures are designed to help protect the communities at highest risk of COVID-19, and build on the great progress we're making to get NSW vaccinated and safe. 
 

What this means for businesses  

All businesses who have authorised workers who live in a LGA of concern and travel outside the LGA of concern for work will need to: 

  • confirm employees have received at least one dose of vaccine, or 
  • confirm employees have been issued with a medical contraindication certificate, or 
  • have employees undergo a rapid antigen test on site. 


To support these authorised workers, there are now an additional 200,000 priority vaccination appointments available. These appointments can be booked at nsw.gov.au. 

How to set up on-site rapid antigen testing 

Where businesses set up rapid antigen testing on site, implementation must include the use of endorsed testing kits and supervision of testing by a health practitioner. Businesses may engage a third-party provider to manage this process. 

To help, NSW Health has developed guidelines for rapid antigen testing, including what to do when a positive test occurs. Information on approved rapid antigen tests is available from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) website. 
 

Make your workplace COVID-19 Safe  

 

The NSW DPI strongly encourages all businesses to have a COVID Business Safety Plan in place. For some sectors, this has been mandatory for some time. Now is an important time to review your plan to make sure it is current and that your business is actively implementing all measures to protect your workers and customers.   

If you don’t have a COVID Business Safety Plan, complete a COVID-19 Safety Plan specific to your industry and register as a COVID Safe business.   

There is a plan specifically for agriculture and we ask all farm businesses who have upcoming seasonal activity, such as grain harvest, shearing, fruit and vegetable picking, pruning, etc,  to have a plan to protect their family, community and workforce who are critical at this time of the year across NSW. We have a poster on keeping farms safe to download and use in your workplace.  

 Visit the COVID Safe businesses webpage for more information, or the DPI COVID website for more information.   


To find out more information contact:  


NSW DPI COVID-19 or call 1800 680 244 (option 6) Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm  

 

DPI COVID Support Team

 

 

 

This news article was published on 06 January 2015.