A Victorian Department of Transport spokesperson said Victoria Police was responsible for monitoring travellers leaving metropolitan Melbourne by any means to ensure they are travelling for one of three outlined reasons and enforce any breaches of restrictions.
“For six weeks, if you live in these areas, there’ll be only three reasons to leave metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire: shopping for food and essential items, medical care and caregiving and work and study if you can’t do it from home,” a spokesperson said.
“Otherwise - you must stay home.
“Victoria Police will be monitoring those leaving Melbourne to ensure they are travelling for one of the three reasons.”
However, the Department of Health and Human Services is urging people who do not live in the Mitchell Shire or Melbourne not to travel into Melbourne if unnecessary.
“Shopping for necessary goods or services, such as food or groceries, is one of the reasons to travel to the Melbourne metropolitan area or the Shire of Mitchell,” the DHHS website said.
“If you don’t live in the Melbourne metropolitan area or the Shire of Mitchell then you should not be visiting friends or family in these areas except for caregiving or compassionate reasons.
“If you need to travel through the metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, you can.
“You should plan your trip so that you don’t need to stop in an impacted area unless it is for one of the three reasons,” the DHHS said.
V/Line has however ceased all services in New South Wales following the Victoria-NSW border restrictions.
In most cases scheduled coach services will travel to the normal timetable within Victoria but start or finish their journey at the last Victorian stop before the NSW border.
“Public transport services will continue to run as normal to support those who need to make essential journeys in line with the three reasons to travel, except for V/Line services which usually cross the NSW border,” a spokesperson said.
Coaches will replace trains for all or part of the journey between Southern Cross Station and Wodonga.
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