To stay up to date with COVID-19 information for Norfolk Island, visit this page regularly and/or follow the Emergency Management Norfolk Island Facebook page.
State of Emergency
Due to the threat posed by COVID-19, a State of Emergency remains in force on Norfolk Island until 31 December 2021, or until revoked.
The Norfolk Island COVID-19 Recovery Operations Plan will remain in place during the state of emergency.
Travelling to Norfolk Island
All visitors and travellers to Norfolk Island MUST apply for a NORFOLK ISLAND TRAVEL PASS.
You will find more information about travelling and applying for the Travel Pass here.
Norfolk Island COVID Normal requirements (As of 2 December 2021)
Travel to the Island
- All travellers to the island require an Entry Pass
- Travellers to the island from states and territories with ongoing community transmission are required to have a negative PCR test in the 72 hours prior to arrival. This currently applies to NSW, Victoria and the ACT. PCR tests are not required from Queensland, Tasmania, WA, SA or the NT.
- PCR testing for pre-departure from Norfolk Island is not currently available, unless for urgent medical reasons, such as hospital admission/transfer of care.
- PCR tests accepted are
- PCR test taken in a laboratory or Government run Testing station. Please check your state health website for locations in your area.
- Text message result for a PCR test are accepted, provided it Has: Date, Name, Result.
- Children under 12 do not need to be vaccinated as per National vaccination policy.
- Unvaccinated children, take on the vaccine status of the responsible parent/adult they are travelling with in terms of requirements to isolate.
- Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travellers are required to self-isolate at their home or accommodation until released by NIHRACS.
- Travellers who have been overseas (unless a quarantine free bubble exists) must spend 14 days on the mainland before traveling to the island and return a negative PCR test 72 hours prior to arrival.
Businesses and Premises
- Customers and visitors to premises are required to have customer registers (QR codes/paper based) and maintain this information for 3 months.
- Businesses on the island are required to have a COVID safe plan and operate according to the plan.
- Are required to encourage social distancing and maintain a density limit of 1 person/2 sqm indoors to a limit of 100 persons.
Public gatherings
- There is no restriction on Sport and Recreation, Weddings and Funerals and Religious services
- Density limits of 1 person /2 sqm apply indoors.
- Gatherings over 100 persons require an approved COVID safe plan by the Incident Controller.
UPDATED - THURSDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2021
MEDIA RELEASE
Travellers to Norfolk Island will not have to pay for the COVID-19 test.
The Commonwealth Government confirmed yesterday that domestic travellers will not have to pay for COVID-19 tests, which states, and territories require for entry. This announcement can be found at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-23/qld-coronavirus-covid-testing-fre....
Under our reopening requirements travellers from NSW, Victoria and the ACT from November 29 will require a negative PCR test for COVID-19 in the 72 hours before arriving on the island. At this point in time travellers from the other states and territories will not require the test. This however may change depending on the extent of COVID-19 circulating in these states and territories as they also reopen. The requirement to be fully vaccinated or undergo self-isolation on arrival until released by NIHRACS remains unchanged.
The flight to the island from both Sydney and Brisbane is a domestic flight originating from an international terminal. The test is therefore free providing it is undertaken at a state-run clinic and only a text message is required for the result. For entry into the island, we accept a text message result for the PCR test. Our requirements for travel are being made clear to the airlines to ensure that there are no problems for passengers boarding flights to the island. NIHRACS does not currently have testing capacity to undertake COVID-19 PCR testing for travellers leaving Norfolk island, unless an urgent medical requirement.
Importance of COVID safe behaviours and practices as we reopen
From next week we will be receiving visitors from areas of the mainland where there is on-going community transmission of COVID-19. Measures have been put in place associated with entry to the island to reduce the chance that the virus comes to the island, however it will eventually reach here, and we will be relying on COVID safe behaviours to ensure its local spread is minimised and can be traced.
Customer registers is a key measure to ensure we can undertake contact tracing on the island and businesses need to maintain these registers. Where customers have registered coming to your business or office using either the NSW or Queensland QR systems this is acceptable. If they cannot do this, then it is important that you ensure they use your paper-based register system to register them.
Similarly, it is important that businesses on the island have COVID safe plans that are being used and are understood by staff. These plans will need to be used when your business has a COVID positive customer, staff member or is a public exposure site. COVID safe plans prepared under the templates available from either NSW or Queensland are approved for use on the island.
Both customer registers and approved COVID safe plans are a requirement of the current directions covering recovery operations. The Police will be commencing random checks of these to ensure that they are being used.
For any questions about the COVID-19 response on Norfolk Island, please visit the Norfolk Island Regional Council website: http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/covid-19-advice-norfolk-island in the first instance or contact Detective Sergeant Glenn Elder, IMT Incident Controller at IO-Norfolk-Island [at] afp.gov.au or +6723 22222. Alternatively, could you contact the Welfare Co-ordinator on 52777.
25 November 2021
George Plant
EMNI Controller
UPDATED - FRIDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2021
MEDIA RELEASE
Reopening requirements for visitors to Norfolk Island from NSW, Victoria, and the ACT from November 29.
From 29 November visitors will be able to travel to the island from NSW, Victoria, and the ACT. This date has been brought forward to correspond with the flight schedules from Sydney.
Fully vaccinated travellers from NSW, Victoria and the ACT will be required to have a negative PCR test for COVID-19 in the 72 hours prior to arriving on the island. This will be required as part of the declaration on the Entry Pass system and they may be requested to provide evidence of this on arrival. A PCR test will not be required for travellers from other states and territories.
As of 29 November, unvaccinated travellers from anywhere will be required to undertake self-isolation on the island until released by NIHRACS.
The requirements for travellers from the other states and territories remain unchanged.
The EMT will review these requirements prior to 17 December when Queensland is expected to have reached its next reopening threshold.
Norfolk Island COVID-19 Response Escalation Matrix with open borders.
When the island opens the borders to the states and territories that have circulating COVID-19 it will eventually result in the virus coming to the island. The measures that have been instituted (such as PCR testing) are to reduce the frequency of the virus introduction and control the likely spread in the community once it arrives. Most jurisdictions have similar escalation responses to contain the disease when an outbreak occurs, even after communities are highly vaccinated.
The Norfolk Island Response Escalation Matrix has now been released to provide the community with an understanding of the necessity to keep any spread of the disease in the community as low as possible.
For any questions about the COVID-19 response on Norfolk Island, please visit the Norfolk Island Regional Council website: http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/covid-19-advice-norfolk-island in the first instance or contact Detective Sergeant Glenn Elder, IMT Incident Controller at IO-Norfolk-Island [at] afp.gov.au or +6723 22222.Alternatively, could you contact the Welfare Co-ordinator on 52777.
19 November 2021
EMT
Please read more information here.
Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Norfolk Island
The Emergency Management Team (EMT) and Incident Management Team (IMT) were established by the Emergency Management Committee (EMNIC) to manage the State of Emergency declaration for the COVID-19 pandemic. They were established under the island’s disaster management plan (NORDISPLAN).
The EMT is chaired by the Emergency Controller and is responsible for strategic operational decisions. It has appointed representatives who provide advice from NIHRACS, business, welfare, the community, NIRC and the Office of the Administrator. The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (DITRDC) is an observer.
The IMT is responsible for operational management of the pandemic and is led by the Incident Controller who for the pandemic is the OIC of Police. It is set up in functional areas covering medical (NIHRACS), welfare, planning & logistics, and operations.
Contacts
Health enquiries: Norfolk Island Health and Residential Aged Care Service (NIHRACS) +6723 22091
