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Georgia Hitch

NZ travel bubble was only supposed to be with NSW and the NT, so why are Kiwis heading to other states?

It was supposed to be the first attempt at opening Australia's international borders. But just days after welcoming the first planeloads of people from across the ditch, confusion has already set in about where they're actually allowed to go.

Travellers from New Zealand who arrived in Sydney have turned up in Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.

But is there anything wrong with that? Does it go against the initial plan? Here's what we know.

What were the rules?

When the Government announced the first stage of the "trans-Tasman bubble" a few weeks ago it stressed that, at least to start with, it was only with New South Wales and the Northern Territory.

At the time, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said it would mean quarantine-free travel from New Zealand into those jurisdictions.

The main rule was that visitors from across the ditch couldn't have been in a defined COVID-19 hotspot in the past 14 days.

But there was nothing said publicly about where they were allowed to go once they had touched down.

Speaking on Monday, Australian Border Force Commissioner Michael Outram said the "bubble stops at the international terminal".

"Once somebody comes into NSW … and are free to move around, they are subject to the same state laws and restrictions in terms of domestic travel as anyone else in Australia," he said.

Why is there confusion?

While some people thought limiting the bubble to NSW and the NT meant visitors had to stay in those areas, it's become clear that's not the case.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said his Government had repeatedly asked not to be part of the travel bubble.

There was an expectation that if New Zealanders were traveling on to areas not in the bubble, their officials would be notified.

"People turning up unannounced should never happen again. That is the point I made. The notion we have to wait 12-plus hours to get the names and addresses of people should never happen again," Mr Andrews said.

"If they were going to [travel on], we might have been told about it, as opposed to having to find out as they got off a plane."

The state has now updated its guidance on interstate travel, with the Department of Health and Human Services website saying people who fly into NSW from New Zealand can enter Victoria without needing to quarantine for 14 days.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has also spoken out about New Zealand travellers entering the state and going into hotel quarantine, calling for greater support from the Commonwealth to help manage the increase in arrivals.

Making things even more confusing is that the Federal Government said the chief health officers of every state and territory knew visitors could move between states once they were here, because it was discussed at one of the joint meetings before it came into place.

"[States and territories] at the end of the day have the jurisdictional responsibility for their state borders," Mr McCormack said.

Why include other states later if it's free travel now anyway?

This is really the most important question.

South Australia wasn't part of the first bubble announcement because it didn't sign up to the Commonwealth's definition of a hotspot. So why would it change now, when people can fly there after they land in NSW?

The Prime Minister's Office says the answer is simple: flying directly into a city is more cost effective and attractive for overseas travellers.

Darwin, which is included in the bubble, currently has no direct flights arriving from New Zealand.

So where can our NZ friends go?

That depends on which state or territory they fly into and where they want to go.

If they're going to states with hard borders, like WA and Tasmania, they'll have to quarantine for 14 days before they're allowed in, just like everybody else.

On Monday, South Australian Premier Steven Marshall said five travellers had arrived in the state and all were in hotel quarantine as SA considered its border arrangement with NZ.

We know they're welcome in Victoria and the ACT.

But as for whether they can enter Queensland — that's still unclear.

Can we go to NZ yet?

Unfortunately, no.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has previously said the country will only open up to quarantine-free travel from Australia when her Government thinks it's safe to do so.

But with more good news on cases from Victoria and low numbers elsewhere, that will hopefully be not too far away.

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