Essential Travellers Entering Tasmania
Essential Travellers are:
- unvaccinated essential workers or
- unvaccinated visitors that may need to enter the state for exceptional circumstances.
Essential Traveller status may allow:
- entry into Tasmania where it would otherwise have been considered too high-risk
- an exemption from quarantine for work or compassionate reasons, such as to attend a funeral or in order to undertake essential work.
To obtain approval to enter the State as an Essential Traveller, an application must be made in the Tas e‑travel system. This includes:
- declaration of having had a negative COVID-19 test prior to travel to Tasmania - this can be either a rapid antigen test within 24 hours prior to departure or a PCR test within 72 hours prior to departure; and
- uploading evidence (e.g. letters, documents) detailing how the work or situation meets the scope of the Essential Traveller category.
Arrival conditions for Essential Travellers include:
- quarantine when not at work or seeking necessary supplies
- wearing a face mask in public, including when at work and
- having a COVID-19 test (PCR or RAT) on day 1 and day 5 of arrival.
Read more about supporting evidence for Essential Travellers and conditions for Essential Travellers.
Submitting an Essential Traveller application
Essential Traveller applications are submitted through the Tas e-Travel system.
There are two categories of essential traveller:
- Category 1 – Essential Workers. This is a person who must travel to Tasmania to provide a service that is time-critical, would cause (or has the potential to cause) a significant adverse consequence if not provided, requires the person to be in Tasmania, and the skills the person provides are not available in Tasmania.
- On a case by case basis, this could include workers with specialist skills, national security staff, maritime crew and/or transport, freight and logistics workers.
- Category 2 – Compassionate or exceptional circumstances travellers. This includes people visiting to attend a funeral, a loved one in hospital, or other exceptional circumstances.
Applications under 'Category 1 - Essential Workers' should clearly explain the need for the work to be undertaken, with supporting evidence included and uploaded to the Tas e‑Travel system. When there is an urgent need to travel to perform essential work, this should also be clearly explained in the application – including the consequences of the work not being undertaken.
Applications can be made seven days prior to travel to Tasmania.
If you arrive without approval, you may be required to quarantine at your own cost while your application is assessed or you may be required to leave Tasmania. Penalties apply for travellers who ignore entry requirements to Tasmania.
Testing of Essential Travellers
Essential Travellers are required to comply with specific requirements while in Tasmania as detailed in Schedule 4 of the Directions in Relation to Persons Arriving in Tasmania and in directions made under the Public Health Act 1997.
This includes:
- quarantine when not at work or seeking necessary supplies
- wearing a face mask in public, including when at work, and
- having a COVID-19 test on day 1 and on, or after, day 5 (PCR or RAT).
Essential Travellers who have had their COVID‑19 test on or after day five can cease complying with Schedule 4 on receipt of the negative test result.
We have confirmed that all states have agreed that agriculture and suppliers of essential services to agriculture will be categorised as essential services.
National Coronavirus Helpline Phone Number: 1800 020 080