Agriculture permit for Victorian farmers to cross into NSW
Victorian agriculture workers can apply for a new permit to cross into NSW. Here’s how it will work.
FARMERS and agricultural workers who need to cross the Victorian-NSW border can now apply for a permit, as the ongoing border closures threaten to cripple the sector.
Industry had been waiting for the promised permit to be finalised, after warning of critical supply and worker shortages if those in the sector could not freely cross the border.
The new agriculture permit will allow Victorians outside the existing “border bubble” to enter NSW, with travel limited up to 100km over the border.
NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said exemptions for moving beyond 100km would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Mr Marshall said it was a sensible solution to the ongoing issues caused by the border closure, but conceded it “does not solve all the problems”.
“(This permit) is just the first step towards allowing the critical agriculture sector on both sides of the border to operate freely, as it needs to,” he said.
“At my request, the Health Minister (Brad Hazzard) has committed to reviewing the public health order again next week.”
Eligibility for the permit includes:
PROVIDING a highly specialised critical agricultural service;
MOVING anywhere within 100km of the Victorian border, on the NSW side;
COMPLYING with strict restrictions if staying overnight; and
SELF-ISOLATING when not providing the critical service.
The new permits are available through Services NSW.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews this morning said there had been “significant progress” with NSW in addressing the issues faced by cross-border farmers.
“I think that while it won’t necessarily be a perfect outcome, it will be a significant step forward for those in our primary production sector … to be able to move more freely while at the same time protecting public health,” Mr Andrews said.
“We know how important that is to keeping food on our supermarket shelves and getting the job done in a broader sense.”
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