Permits will be required for Sydney-siders to enter regional NSW from next Saturday.
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Any person who wishes to travel to regional NSW for authorised reasons must have a permit which will be made available on Service NSW.
The authorised reasons which now require a permit include authorised workers from LGAs of concern, inspecting real estate and travelling to a second home.
Any person inspecting real estate in the regions must now "genuinely need a home to live in" with investment properties not included.
Travelling to a second home is now only allowed if the person is using the home for work accommodation or if the home requires urgent maintenance and repairs. If so, only one person may travel there.
It comes as part of the police Operation Stay at Home which will be enforced on Sunday.
Heightened fines are also set to kick in on Monday, including $5,000 on the spot fines for breaching self-isolation rules, lying on a permit (already a criminal offence), lying to a contact tracer (already a criminal offence); and $3,000 on the spot fines for breaching the two person outdoor exercise/recreation rule and breaching rules around entry into regional NSW for authorised work, inspecting real estate and travelling to a second home.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the vast majority of people are doing the right thing but there are a handful of people who are wilfully breaking the rules and putting the rest of the community at risk.
"The increased fines and heightened police presence are about ensuring people who are doing the wrong thing are caught and punished appropriately," Ms Berejiklian said.
A 'COVID-19 Test and Isolate Support Payment' will also be introduced from next week for eligible workers aged 17 and over who live in the LGAs of concern. People in those areas who have symptoms of COVID-19, get tested and isolate until a negative result is returned, will be eligible for one $320 payment in a four week period for lost wages.
The payment is aimed to help cover lost wages of casual workers but also those who may have exhausted their sick leave or carer's leave to isolate at home.
But Hunter Labor MPs are calling on the Premier to extend the test and isolate payment to Hunter residents.
The MPs say they have have been inundated with reports of residents waiting four days for test results without an income.
"The current COVID-19 outbreak is not just a Sydney problem but is impacting all of New South Wales. The fact Hunter workers have been excluded from this payment is just wrong and shows this Government is completely out of touch with our region," Swansea MP and Shadow Minister for Hunter Yasmin Catley said in a statement.
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