A pause on quarantine-free travel from the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales has been extended indefinitely.
Ministry of Health officials met on Wednesday and said they still needed to get a better understanding of the scale of the Covid-19 outbreaks in the states before reinflating the travel bubble.
The ministry said a range of factors were considered, including the number of new cases, whether they were infectious in the community and the results of Covid-19 testing in the wider community.
Australian authorities have been dealing with a new Covid-19 outbreak.
READ MORE:* New Zealanders stuck in Australia due to Covid lockdowns can return home this week * Covid-19: ‘Don’t bank’ on repatriation flights from Australia during bubble pause, Jacinda Ardern says* Trans-Tasman bubble to re-open to select states, with pre-departure testing
As with previous pauses, it will be under constant review, the ministry said in a statement.
A series of flights to return New Zealanders trapped in Australian from Friday would still go ahead.
Anyone boarding these flights will need to have a negative pre-departure test taken within 72 hours before departure, the ministry said.
The travel bubble with Queensland and New South Wales has been extended indefinitely due to Covid-19 outbreaks.
The bubble extension with the two states comes after Sydneys lockdown was also extended on Wednesday by another week due to the number of cases still emerging in the community.
On Monday, the Government announced a way home for Kiwis stuck in NSW and Queensland due to Covid lockdowns occurring across the ditch.
New Zealanders stuck in NSW and Queensland would be able to return from 11.59pm on July 9 provided they meet certain conditions.
These travellers are required to produce a negative Covid-19 test prior to departure, and make a declaration that they have not been at a location of possible exposure to the virus in Australia.
Brendon Thorne/Getty Images
Sydneys lockdown has been extended after NSW recorded more cases on Wednesday.
For New South Wales, by the time we will be bringing those New Zealanders back to New Zealand, essentially we would have had a lockdown in place for a 14-day period, Ardern said on Monday.
There are layers there that we require of them to give us extra added satisfaction that they pose minimal risk to New Zealand.
In terms of Australias other states, a partial reopening of the trans-Tasman bubble has already occurred with quarantine-free travel allowed with South Australia, ACT, Tasmania and Victoria.
The travel pause with Western Australia and Northern Territory will lift at 11.59pm on July 9.
Travel requirements by the state
NSW: Quarantine-free travel has been extended indefinitely but Kiwis stuck in these states may travel home from 11.59pm July 9, provided they test negative for Covid in a pre-departure test and sign a declaration that they have not been to a Covid location of interest.
Queensland: Quarantine-free travel has been extended indefinitely, but Kiwis stuck in these states may travel home from 11.59pm July 9, provided they test negative for Covid in a pre-departure test and sign a declaration that they have not been to a Covid location of interest.
Victoria: Quarantine-free travel is open provided travellers who have been in Australia for more than 72 hours produce a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of departure.
ACT: Quarantine-free travel is open provided travellers who have been in Australia for more than 72 hours produce a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of departure.
Tasmania: Quarantine-free travel is open provided travellers who have been in Australia for more than 72 hours produce a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of departure.
South Australia: Quarantine-free travel is open provided travellers who have been in Australia for more than 72 hours produce a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of departure.
Northern Territory: Quarantine-free travel will resume from 11.59pm July 9, with travellers who have been there more than 72 hours required to produce a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of departure.
Western Australia: Quarantine-free travel will resume from 11.59pm July 9, with travellers who have been there more than 72 hours required to produce a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of departure.
Ministry of Health decides travel restrictions will continue for now as the Australian states battle with Covid-19.
