Coronavirus: Greater Sydney Lockdown Two rules: Your car questions answered

With lockdowns in place for Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong and the Central Coast for two weeks (as this article was published) to stop the spread of the coronavirus, there are restrictions on vehicle movement.

Interstate and regional travel is banned (with fines up to $1000 for breaching a public health order and leaving lockdown areas), which has come at a frustrating time for families preparing to enjoy the school holidays.

However, you can use your car within the lockdown areas in certain situations.

Note: The information in this story has been gathered to the best of our ability at the time of publication – 28 June 2021, within the first few days of Lockdown Two.

This article is not a legal document, the advice is general in nature, and the conditions are subject to change.

Unlike recent lockdowns in Greater Melbourne which restricted travel to within 25km of your home address, there is currently no specific distance limit imposed on how far you can travel within Greater Sydney and surrounding areas for essential goods and services during the current lockdown phase.

According to information published on a NSW Government website, residents who live in Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong and the Central Coast are allowed to travel within these areas for the following purposes:

• Obtain food, goods, and services for personal needs or for the household (including for pets);
• Travel for work or education if it’s not possible to do from home;
• Travel outside your council area (known as a local government area) if the food or goods and services are not available in the local government area you live in;
• Travel for medical reasons or as a carer for a friend or family member;
• Travel to attend a wedding or a funeral (though limits on the number of attendees apply);
• Travel to provide emergency assistance or to avoid domestic violence;
• Travel to move to a new place of residence;
• Travel to undertake legal obligations;
• Travel to avoid injury or the risk of harm.

However, a warning on the NSW Government website clearly states: “Taking a holiday is not a reasonable excuse” to travel.

NSW Police have published on social media photos of highway patrol cars preparing for deployment on major highways out of Sydney.

Face masks are compulsory on buses, trains, taxis and share ride services such as Uber, and when grocery shopping or attending any indoor venue or office.

Can I buy a car from interstate?

For now, interstate travel is restricted (check with authorities in the destination state or territory) and visitors may be refused entry or be required to quarantine.

If buying a car from interstate you may need to consider having it sent by a car carrier.

Can I go for a drive with a friend or to clear my head?

This is open to interpretation, but based on our reading of the NSW Government guidelines as this article was published, you and one or more friends can travel together in a car to buy essential goods or services, seek medical help, or for one of the other reasons listed above.

But we suspect police would take a dim view of unnecessary travel, and you could face a $200 on the spot fine if your reason for travel was not for one of the above exemptions.

Can I refuel my car?

Most petrol stations are open but your car can only be used for essential reasons such as those listed above. Be sure to wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth when going into the service station to pay for fuel.

Can I wash my car?

There’s no mention of not being allowed to wash your car on your own private property according to the information we read as this article was published.

We saw some hand car wash locations in Greater Sydney remain open in the early days of Lockdown Two, while others were closed.

We suspect the closed car wash locations had shut their doors due to the slowdown in business.

One hand wash operator we spoke to on the first day of Lockdown Two said car cleaning was regarded as an essential service (to sanitise vehicles, including some government vehicles that we witnessed being cleaned).

However, some car wash outlets were obliged to close during Lockdown One (in early 2020) due to their location.

Important footnote:

The above information has been gathered to the best of our ability at the time of publication – 28 June 2021, within the first few days of the second Greater Sydney lockdown.

However, this article is not a legal document, the advice is general in nature, and the conditions are subject to change.

Please consult the NSW Government website (and the websites for other jurisdictions if relevant) for the latest information regarding travel restrictions in, to, and from NSW during Lockdown Two.

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