These Guidelines are supplementary to the current Public Health (COVID-19 Air and Maritime Arrivals) Order (No 1) 2022 (the Order) and should be read in conjunction with the Order. The Guidelines apply to all international travellers arriving by air and sea. Specifically:
All arrivals must comply with these Guidelines, including Part 5, for 14 days after arrival, or in the case of an international arrival who is not fully vaccinated, for 7 days after they leave a quarantine facility.
All international arrivals should ensure they meet the Australian Government entry requirements before travelling to Australia.
If planning an international flight or passage to Sydney, travellers should:
All international vessels must ensure they complete the required Australian Government forms within the indicated timeframes.
The master of the vessel must record and verify vaccination evidence for all disembarking persons and provide this to NSW Police or NSW Health if requested.
Arrivals must not disembark a maritime vessel if they are aware they have been in contact with a COVID-19 case in the previous 7 days, or if they have been directed to self-isolate by a Health Authority or other Government Official.
This section applies to:
International arrivals who are fully vaccinated, must:
A COVID-19 rapid antigen test on or after Day 6 is strongly recommended.
International arrivals who enter Australia in another state or territory and then travel to NSW within the first 14 days must comply with the requirements in these Guidelines. They must check the requirements of the receiving jurisdiction to ensure they are permitted to enter.
Arrivals who wish to travel to another state or territory from NSW may transit directly following arrival in NSW. If they test positive on a rapid antigen test prior to transit, they must immediately self-isolate and follow the advice in Testing positive to COVID-19 and managing COVID-19 safely at home.
Further information about safe travel and self-isolation for arrivals can be found in the NSW Health COVID-19 self-isolation guideline and support.
This section applies to arrivals who are not fully vaccinated and are not listed in Part 2A.
Arrivals who are not fully vaccinated must enter a managed (hotel) quarantine facility for at least 7 days. You will be asked to undertake testing for COVID-19 during your quarantine.
After leaving the quarantine facility, arrivals must follow these Guidelines for an additional 7 days (or until 14 days after arrival in NSW if their quarantine has been extended). See Part 5 for further information.
Flight crew who are fully vaccinated must follow the rules in Part 2A for fully vaccinated arrivals.
A flight crew member who has a layover period in Australia of less than 48 hours does not need to have a rapid antigen test within 24 hours of arrival, however this is strongly recommended. If they are not tested, they must self-isolate until they leave Australia. This applies to all flight crew regardless of their vaccination status.
Flight crew who are not fully vaccinated must self-isolate from when they arrive in NSW until at least 7 full days have passed. They may leave self-isolation to seek medical care, in an emergency, or to undertake duties that are essential for safety or other regulatory reasons including flight simulation training. They may also leave self-isolation early to depart Australia on an international flight.
Flight crew who are not leaving Australia within 48 hours, must have the following COVID-19 tests:
For further information about testing please see Getting tested for COVID-19.
After completing their 7-day self-isolation, flight crew must follow these Guidelines for an additional 7 days. See Part 5 for further information.
Flight crew who are NSW residents must isolate at their residence, or in accommodation arranged by their employer for their 7-day self-isolation period. Flight crew who are not NSW residents must isolate at accommodation arranged by their employer.
They must:
Transport providers and flight crew must comply with travel directions in the NSW Health COVID-19 self-isolation guideline and support.
Flight crew cannot leave their accommodation during their isolation period (as outlined above), except:
If the flight crew member needs to leave their accommodation for one of the permitted reasons, they must comply with these Guidelines.
Flight crew must remain separate from others during self-isolation. This means staying and sleeping in their own room if they share a home or the accommodation is a hotel room. They cannot have visitors unless the person is visiting them for medical or emergency purposes.
For further information on how to self-isolate safely, including supports available, please refer to NSW Health COVID-19 Self-Isolation Guideline and Support.
Arrivals who enter Australia in another state or territory and then travel to NSW within the first 14 days must comply with the requirements in this guideline.
Arrivals who wish to travel to another state or territory from NSW may transit directly following arrival in NSW. They must check the requirements of the receiving jurisdiction to ensure they are permitted to enter.
The shipping agent / master of the vessel is responsible for:
Maritime arrivals must self-isolate until they have a negative result from a COVID-19 test (rapid antigen test) taken within 24 hours of arrival. They should have this test prior to disembarkation.
If an arrival cannot have their test prior to disembarkation, they must travel directly from the vessel to their home or accommodation and self-isolate until they receive a negative result. For more information about safe travel and self-isolation please see NSW Health COVID-19 self-isolation guideline and support.
It is strongly recommended that all arrivals intending to disembark the vessel on the same day wait for a negative result from each person being tested before disembarking. This will help identify if there is an infectious person onboard, and whether other crew or passengers are required to isolate.
The shipping agent or master of the vessel should ensure there are sufficient COVID-19 rapid antigen tests on board the vessel for all crew members and passengers.
An additional COVID-19 rapid antigen test on day 6 after disembarking in NSW is strongly recommended.
Arrivals who have a positive COVID-19 test result prior to disembarking must not leave the vessel. They must notify the master of the vessel immediately that they have tested positive.
Arrivals who have already disembarked the vessel and have a positive rapid antigen test within the first 7 days or arrival must immediately return to the vessel, or self-isolate in their accommodation and follow the advice in Testing positive to COVID-19 and managing COVID-19 safely at home. They must notify the master of the vessel immediately.
The shipping agent or vessel master must notify the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment of all positive results in crew or passengers. All persons must remain on the vessel until otherwise advised by a Human Biosecurity Officer.
Arrivals who are not fully vaccinated cannot disembark from a vessel, unless:
Arrivals must immediately re-board the vessel after completing their essential task or when it is safe to do so.
All other arrivals who are not fully vaccinated and are disembarking the vessel must enter a managed (hotel) quarantine for at least 7 days. After release from managed (hotel) quarantine, arrivals must follow these Guidelines for an additional 7 days. See Part 5 for further information.
This part applies to transport providers who provide transport for certain passengers and crew, including:
All persons providing a transport service to passengers and flight crew who are required to self-isolate must have had at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The transport vehicle should be cleaned between uses. Please see the COVID-19 Vehicle Cleaning Procedure for further information.
NSW Ambulance and other emergency transport services should comply with internal procedures and the COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control Manual developed by the Clinical Excellence Commission.
All transport providers and their passengers must wear appropriate PPE, as described in the guidance for Authorised Transport Providers.
For further information, visit CEC COVID-19 infection prevention and control guidance and resources ‘Transport’ resources.
All arrivals who have a positive rapid antigen test result must immediately self-isolate and follow the advice in Testing positive to COVID-19 and managing COVID-19 safely at home. Further Information about self-isolation and safe travel can be found in NSW Health COVID-19 self-isolation guideline and support.
All arrivals should be aware that they are at risk of developing COVID-19 for 14 days since they were in contact with a person who has COVID-19. They should carefully think about their circumstances, including the risk they could infect vulnerable people in high-risk settings:
All arrivals must not visit any high-risk settings until it has been at least 7 days after they have arrived in NSW, unless they are a patient or a resident seeking care.
For the next 7 days a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test is recommended before entering a high-risk setting. This is recommended within the 24-hours prior to visiting a high-risk setting. All arrivals should contact the facility and check if there are any additional requirements or restrictions before visiting.
If there are extenuating compassionate reasons for visiting a high-risk facility (e.g. end of life) in the first 7 days after arrival, the arrival is fully vaccinated and does not have symptoms of COVID-19, they should contact the facility to discuss if this can be safely arranged.
Restrictions on high-risk settings do not apply to arrivals who require medical care, aged care or disability care services for themselves. These people will require careful management within the facility.
Fully vaccinated arrivals who work in a high-risk setting (aged care, disability care, healthcare and correctional facilities) may return to work after they have a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 24 hours of arrival. However, they must speak to their manager before returning to work to make sure the appropriate additional risk mitigation measures are in place.
All arrivals should watch carefully for symptoms of COVID-19 for the first two weeks after arriving in NSW, and if symptoms occur should immediately have a COVID-19 test. If they need to see a doctor, they should call ahead and make sure the doctor is aware of their symptoms and that they have recently returned from overseas.
Information about how to safely travel and self-isolate can be found in the NSW Health COVID-19 self-isolation guideline and support.
All fully vaccinated arrivals must carry evidence of their vaccination status with them, and provide this to a member of NSW Police on request.
