Changes to quarantine rules and border restrictions in the Northern Territory from December 20

Red and green zoning will be scrapped from December 20, with fully vaccinated travellers to the NT only required to get three tests. HERE’S EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

UPDATE: From December 20, there will be no coloured zones for travel into the Territory meaning if you’re vaccinated, you’re allowed in.

Arrivals will be required to have evidence of a negative PCR test within the 72 hours before arriving in the Territory, take a PCR test in the first 72 hours following their arrival in the Territory, and then take a third and final test on their sixth day in the Territory.

Unvaccinated travellers remain banned from entry to the NT unless they are returning Territorians, have an exemption or are under 12 years old.

Those adults will have to undertake mandatory quarantine at a government facility at their own cost for 14 days.

Children under 12 or those unable or ineligible to be vaccinated will treated as if they were vaccinated.

At this stage, it’s understood the government has no plans to change these rules once vaccinations are available to children aged 5-12.

MORE INFO: MORE details on what travel to the Northern Territory will look like post December 20 is expected within the week.

But the Territory’s leaders have assured the community that quarantine requirements will be scrapped. As long as you can prove you’re double-vaccinated, that is.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles confirmed there was no turning back, and the Territory will be moving past the need for home or supervised quarantine, with Chief Minister Michael Gunner to provide more information on this in the coming days.

“We certainly won’t be going back to quarantining and home quarantine for the fully vaccinated — so I think that will reassure the community,” Ms Fyles said.

“I can assure them that there’ll be an announcement with all the details within the next couple of days.”

Vaccinated residents from any state or territory will be free to cross the border without having to quarantine.

Unvaccinated Australians will be unable to enter, unless they are returning residents, children under 12 or adults with exemptions.

Returning Territorians who are unvaccinated, and those with approved exemptions, must enter supervised quarantine for 14 days at their own expense.

Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Charles Pain said, despite concern around the Omicron variant and outbreaks in southern states, the high vaccination rate of the NT has given authorities some confidence.

”We are as confident as we can be, with vaccination rates and our systems that have been tested over months and years, that we have gotten to the point where we can have limited outbreaks which we can manage,” he said.

Dr Pain said any issues that come up with new variants or fresh outbreaks will be dealt with as they happened.

“There are factors that might affect our decision making. I think what we’ve demonstrated throughout this pandemic is that we’ve been agile (and) we’ve been prepared to adapt and make the necessary decisions to protect the community,” he said. .

Pointing to a successful pilot program, Mr Gunner said home quarantine will be abolished altogether for fully vaccinated arrivals from December 20, just in time for Christmas.

Regardless of whether you’re entering from a red zone or a green zone – you will not be required to quarantine if you’re double vaxxed.

How will it work?

From December 20, travellers will need to have evidence of a negative PCR test within the 72 hours before arriving in the Territory, take a PCR test in the first 72 hours following their arrival in the Territory, and then take a third and final test on their sixth day in the Territory.

There will be no rapid antigen testing on arrival in the Territory.

This is a change from previous plans because, Chief Minister Michael Gunner said, the testing regime was unfeasible and unable to be scaled up at airports.

However, all arrivals will be given a free rapid antigen test to take themselves if they’d like.

As usual, unvaccinated people are not permitted into the Territory, regardless of where you’re coming from. Returning Territorians who are unvaccinated and those with approved exemptions must enter supervised quarantine for 14 days at their own expense.

“The ability to now rapidly test people on arrival in the Territory is a game-changer,” Mr Gunner said last month.

“It gives us an extra layer of protection, and gives us the confidence to start moving away from home quarantine.”

Where can I travel?

Across the country, travel to other states and territories may be on the cards even without proof of vaccination.

Victoria and New South Wales are currently open to all Territorians and do not require any time in quarantine.

The ACT will be open to both vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers, provided you haven’t been to a high-risk geographical area.

South Australia is open to vaccinated travellers only, with the NT declared a low-risk zone. Queensland’s borders will be open for vaccinated people as of December 13, with a negative PCR test required 72 hours before arrival.

Tasmania will allow vaccinated travellers into the state as of December 15, unless coming from an extreme-risk location. There are currently no extreme-risk areas listed.

Western Australia is currently closed to all Territorians who do not wish to undertake 14 days of quarantine.

Originally published as Changes to quarantine rules and border restrictions in the Northern Territory from December 20